August 31, 2006
'Zero Tolerance for People,' Chertoff Says
In a move aimed at further tightening airport security, the Federal Aviation Administration announced today that it would ban all people from flights leaving or entering the United States , effective immediately.
The FAA, which has in the past banned such objects as toenail clippers and hair gel, took the extraordinary step of banning people after the Department of Homeland Security conducted a thorough investigation of previous terror plots.
"We looked at terror plots of the past, and in each and every case, people were involved," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff at a Washington press briefing. "These new rules send the strong message that the FAA has zero tolerance for people."
Mr. Chertoff said that while banning liquids from flights was a constructive step, the only true solution was to ban people altogether.
"Let's face it, hair gel doesn't kill people," he said. "People kill people."
The Homeland Security Secretary acknowledged that the new rules would curtail Americans' ability to travel, but added, "On the plus side, that will make them easier for us to spy on."
The FAA's ban on people onboard flights raised questions for the nation's airlines, which must now ponder what, if anything, their airplanes will be carrying.
Davis Logsdon, who studies the airline industry at the University of Minnesota , said that the FAA's crackdown on people could be a "win-win" for the airlines: "Maybe if the airlines don't have people to worry about, they can finally concentrate on getting our luggage to the right destination."
Gasoline prices could keep falling: "We'll be closer to $2 than $3 come Thanksgiving."
8/30/2006 -Gasoline prices are falling fast and could keep dropping for months.
"The only place they have to go is down," says Fred Rozell, gasoline analyst at the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS). "We'll be closer to $2 than $3 come Thanksgiving."
Travel organization AAA foresees prices 10 cents a gallon lower by the end of next week. It reported a nationwide average of $2.84 Tuesday, the lowest since April 20.
It's good news for consumers and the economy. Continued lower prices "may act like a tax cut" and stimulate spending, says Richard DeKaser, chief economist at National City in Cleveland ...
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2006-08-29-gas-price-usat_x.htm
Oil Inventory Report - Strong 2.4 million barrels increase
http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/weekly_petroleum_status_report/current/txt/wpsr.txt
US economic growth revised up to 2.9 percent
Aug 30 -The US government has revised second-quarter economic growth up to 2.9 percent from an initial estimate of 2.5 percent thanks to robust private-sector investment.
The Commerce Department's gross domestic product (GDP) figure for the three months ended June was roughly in line with Wall Street's consensus forecast of 3.0 percent.
...The lift to GDP came as the Commerce Department reported massive investment by companies in infrastructure. At 22.2 percent, the rise in investment was the strongest since the second quarter of 1994...
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/08/30/060830134229.hkc30taq.html
GDP Increases in Spring
Aug 30-The economy grew at a 2.9 percent annual rate in the spring - better than first estimated...
The latest snapshot of economic activity, released by the Commerce Department Wednesday, showed that gross domestic product in the April-to-June quarter increased slightly more than the 2.5 percent pace first reported a month ago. That upgrade mostly reflected an improvement in the country's trade picture and stronger inventory building by businesses...
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060830/D8JQOF8G0.html
Ernesto didn't strengthen – weathermen stumped
Storm comes ashore as dud despite forecasts of intensification
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-0829stumped,0,7138105.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines
Some illegals find U.S. border tougher to cross
'The 1st fence I jumped. But I never dreamed there would be another one'
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003233107_bordersecurity29.html
Teachers urged to tolerate swearing (New Age gobbledygook)
August 27, 2006 — Victor Valley Union High School District teachers have been coached on a new approach to disciplining students.
Culberson, director of youth services for the San Bernardino City Unified School District , said at a back-to-school inservice meeting that students today have less respect for authority than they did when many teachers were in school and consequently, some teachers have unrealistic expectations of their students.
...teachers need to learn to interpret their students’ body language. When a student is visibly agitated, the teacher might not want to push any buttons by asking if he or she brought in homework that day. (So just walk around with a scowl all day and never be bothered by another teacher again)
“We need to see ourselves as teachers and adults in the classroom,†Weaver said, “but we shouldn’t see ourselves as dictators, where students see themselves as far less than the teacher.†(Oh, puttung kids and teachers on the same level should work great...)
Teachers should never take anything a student says personally, Culberson said. He referred to a teacher’s personal “f-— you†meter, meaning the number of times a teenager swears at them before they would discipline the student. If teachers have a low tolerance for bad behavior and frequently send a student out of the classroom, the students will drive them crazy whereas teachers with a high tolerance will be able to calmly follow school procedure and still discipline the student, Culberson said in an interview. State law prohibits vulgarity and swearing in the classroom and allows discipline ranging from suspension to being expelled, no matter what background a student comes from.
“Everything that I do is designed for the mental health of the teacher,†Culberson said
http://www.vvdailypress.com/2006/115669067893658.html
Arnold terminates school moral codes
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has tossed out all sexual moral conduct codes at colleges, private and Christian schools, daycare centers and other facilities throughout his state, if the institutions have any students who get state assistance.
The governor yesterday signed a bill that would require all businesses and groups receiving state funding -- even if it's a state grant for a student -- to condone homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality.
There is no exception for faith-based organizations or business owners with sincerely held religious convictions, critics note....
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51732
CNN'S BATHROOM BREAK
Tuesday CNN was carrying a speech by President Bush about the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and left open the microphone of anchor Kyra Phillips while she went to the bathroom. [video of President Bush with extra audio http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fjxSoHgSN4 ]
…viewers saw President Bush standing in front of an American flag, talking about his administration's response to Hurricane Katrina while viewers heard over the top of the speech Kyra Phillips heading into the commode, speaking to a co-worker about her wonderful husband and her brother's controlling wife.
As someone else put it, “things sure are going to be frosty around the Thanksgiving table this year at the Phillips household. Calling your sister-in-law a "control freak" on national television will do that.â€
Activist Blasts Bay State Officials' Anti-Parental Notification Argument
August 29, 2006 (AgapePress) - A Massachusetts pro-family activist, who is also one of the co-plaintiffs in a lawsuit brought against city and school officials in Lexington, is denouncing the defendants for trying to make a legal argument that the state has a "legitimate interest" in promoting homosexuality to elementary students.
In late April, David and Tonia Parker and Rob and Robin Wirthlin filed a federal civil rights suit against the town of Lexington and its public school officials over their refusal to notify parents before holding classroom discussions with students regarding homosexuality and same-sex "marriage." The defendants have since filed a 57-page motion to dismiss the lawsuit...
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/8/292006b.asp
MIT's inconvenient scientist [He doubts global warming propaganda]
August 30, 2006
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2006/08/30/mits_inconvenient_scientist/
Facts Drown In Press Coverage [Katrina]
http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=241744198481684
Mowing in San Francisco
I’m sure you heard about the “nut†that ran down at least 15 people and killing one. How much you want to bet that USAToday, CNN, or any other news outlet would not run this headline:
"Muslim Man Mows Down San Fran Pedestrians"?
USAToday: SUV Mows Down San Fran Pedestrians
...Police ...have identified the driver as Ohmeed Aziz Popal...
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2006/08/suv_driver_runs.html
CNN: One killed in SUV hit-and-run rampage
...state motor vehicle records show the license plate on the SUV registered to Omeed A. (Aziz) Popal of Fremont ...
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/29/suv.rampage.ap/index.html
CBS: SUV Mows Down San Fran Pedestrians
...Department of Motor Vehicles records show the license plate on the SUV registered to Omeed A. (Aziz) Popal...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/30/national/main1949442.shtml
Fox: One Dead, 14 Injured After Driver Plows Into People in California (well, at least they didn't blame the SUV)
...Omeed A. Popal, 29, was taken into custody Tuesday following a rampage that terrorized pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists...
...No weapons were found on the suspect, though the car had not been searched, (police spokesman Sgt. Neville) Gittens said... (well, why the heck didn't they search the car?)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,211101,00.html
Perhaps Ohmeed Aziz was “inspired†by the recent anti-Israel rally in San Francisco . (See photos in link) Those people are probably not shedding any tears: http://www.zombietime.com/stop_the_us_israeli_war_8_12_2006/ "
San Francisco police spokesman Sgt. Neville Gittens said the attacks in the city occurred at 12 locations over a 20-minute period. "The hits were intentional,'' he said, noting that police are treating them as assaults.
Gittens had no information about a possible motive. (How about “they were Americans†or “He was heading for the Jewish Community Center.�).
...A dental office manager, who identified herself only as Kira, watched from a second-floor window as police dragged the driver out of his vehicle. "He was absolutely indifferent, no fear, no _expression,'' she said. "He was like a zombie.''
The SUV struck two people in front of the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco on California Street (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/chronicle/archive/2006/08/29/BAGAEKRCO55.DTL&o=3) , a few blocks from where the rampage ended.
…according to Aaron Rosenthal, spokesman for the (Jewish) community center… "The 3500 California St hit was a 1/2 mile from the main Jewish temple, Temple Emanu-El and 41 miles from his starting point in Fremont ."
http://michellemalkin.com/archives/005827.htm
From KTVU in San Francisco , here’s a little bit of information that somehow failed to make it into any of the media reports on yesterday’s hit and run attacks in San Francisco :
Watch as reporter Rob Roth says a witness heard the suspect refer to himself as a “terrorist,†then without taking a breath tells us this was not an act of terrorism: http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=22332_SF_Driver_Called_Himself_a_Terrorist&only
Can you imagine, if someone had driven a car into over a dozen gay people, how quickly the press would have managed to cover the story? They sure wouldn’t be blaming the SUV!!
And don't forget this tidbit on May 2 2006:
UNC (Muslim) attacker: 'I aimed to exact casualties'
CHAPEL HILL - A man charged with trying to kill students at the University of North Carolina by driving through a popular campus gathering spot ...refers to Mohammed Atta, ringleader of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, as "one of my role models."
Mohammed Taheri-azar is accused of driving a Jeep Cherokee into a crowd of students gathered at the Pit on March 3 at UNC-Chapel Hill and hitting nine people.
He has told investigators and reporters he wanted to avenge the deaths of Muslims caused by the U.S. around the world.
Taheri-azar, who lived in Charlotte and attended South Mecklenburg High School, said in letters answering more than three dozen questions from Shannon Bowen, a reporter at the university's student newspaper, that he won't plead guilty, as he previously planned, because his attack was justified and he doesn't deserve punishment.
"I aimed to exact casualties from an enemy responsible for thousands of casualties among Allah's followers," Taheri-azar wrote to the Daily Tar Heel on May 2.
...His letter also describes, step by step, his preparations on the day of his alleged attack on the students. He says he never considered committing suicide but expected police to kill him after he drove into the Pit...
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/breaking_news/14563079.htm
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1631805/posts
David Bennett <><
posted by David Bennett | 6:42 PM
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