29 April 2008
134th run for the roses this saturday 03 may 2008
nbc will be broadcasting the kentucky derby this saturday 03 may 2008. coverage begins at @ 4 p.m. et -- 3 p.m. in louisiana. kentucky derby post time is reportedly at 5:04 p.m. central time.
pyro, won the louisiana derby on 08 march 2008 [video] he seems to be the early favorite.
see the rest of the contenders here.
related posts
city of alexandria, la. city council taking cleco to trial
gannett town talk snip:City Council members voted unanimously to reject Cleco’s settlement offer today after almost two hours of executive session, a closed-door meeting involving only lawyers and city officials.
good! its about freaking time this was resolved. the trial date is set for january 2009.
new website promises the 'true landrieu story'
a new website promises to give us the low down on katrina mary landrieu snellings sordid goings on.related posts
pastor james david manning is right: obama IS trash
UPDATE: jeff rense interviews pastor james david manning 'trinity of hell'
anyone who took the time to watch reverend jeremiah wright's speeches to the naacp or the national press club or both, could easily see that there was nothing racist or offensive about rev. wright's remarks.
today, cnn posted a video by jeanne moos "playful pastor" which can only be described as a hit piece on rev. wright. what cnn has done is taken selected clips from rev. wright's speech(s) and strung them together to once again make rev. wright look like a racist and a nutter.
barack obama, instead of condemning cnn et al, responds thusly:
Obama says he's outraged by former pastor's comments
By MIKE GLOVER
HICKORY, N.C. (AP) — Democrat Barack Obama said Tuesday he was outraged by the latest assertion by his former pastor that criticism of his fiery sermons is an attack on the black church.
The presidential candidate is seeking to tamp down the growing fury over Rev. Jeremiah Wright and his incendiary remarks that threaten to envelope his campaign.
"I am outraged by the comments that were made and saddened by the spectacle that we saw yesterday," Obama told reporters at a news conference.
After weeks of staying out of the public eye while critics lambasted his sermons, Wright made three public appearances in four days to defend himself. The former pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago has been combative, providing colorful commentary and feeding the story Obama had hoped was dying down.
"This is not an attack on Jeremiah Wright," Wright told the Washington media Monday. "It has nothing to do with Senator Obama. It is an attack on the black church launched by people who know nothing about the African-American religious tradition."
Obama told reporters Tuesday that Wright's comments do not accurately portray the perspective of the black church.
"The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago," Obama said of the man who married him.
related posts
shameless katrina mary landrieu snellings still a-whoring for randy best
via the dead pelican
excerpt:
Politically connected business man Randy Best appears to be attending a fund raiser for Mary Landrieu this weekend THE DEAD PELICAN has learned. What's so special about Randy Best?
After Landrieu secured the earmarks, CBS reported that Best held a fund raiser for Landrieu with donations from Best's employees totaling $30,000. ~ click link to read more...
related posts
u.s. department of justice caught editing wikipedia for zionist benefit
Wikinews has learned that a United States Department of Justice (DOJ) IP Address has been blocked on Wikipedia after making edits to an article which were considered "vandalism". In two separate instances, the IP address from the DOJ removed information from the Wikipedia article about the organization Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA), regarding an attempt by the organization to secretly gain influence on the site. The IP address has been confirmed by Wikinews to be registered and used by the DOJ located in Washington, D.C.now you know why the fbi is called the federal bureau of israel.
On April 21, Electronic Intifada published a report based on leaked emails written between CAMERA and Wikipedia contributors who are allegedly planning to gain influence on the online encyclopedia. Information about CAMERA's campaign to influence Wikipedia was first added to the site's article about the organization on April 21 by user 'Bangpound', who cited the Electronic Intifada article.
According to the edit history on the Wikipedia article CAMERA, the entire subsection relating to this controversy was removed by the IP address 149.101.1.130, which is hosted by 'wdcsun30.usdoj.gov' and is used by the DOJ. The IP address removed information regarding CAMERA's plan to "cooperate with prominent Wikipedia editors to promote a Zionist viewpoint and oppose pro-Arab viewpoints on Wikipedia" at least two separate times, on April 24 and April 25. ~ read more
original article from wikinews
US Dept. of Justice IP address blocked after 'vandalism' edits to Wikipedia
see also
christopher bollyn
bush appoints zionist michael b. mukasey to be next attorney general
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and also
judicial inc - wikipedia caveat
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latest trend: american farmers moving to mexico; brazil
South of the border
Labor shortage sending farmers to Mexico
Originally published April 28, 2008
By Ike Wilson
News-Post Staff
Some American farmers are making their way southward, setting up shop across the border in Mexico and farther away in Brazil. It's a trend described as the future of U.S. farming.
Farmers making the move say they are at the leading edge of the future of American agriculture.
To date, U.S. farmers have 46,000 acres of farm production in Mexico, a figure that pales in comparison to the 27 million acres in California alone, but that number is expected to increase, according to a recent report by CBS reporter John Blackstone.
American farmers are also setting up operations in Brazil where the growing seasons are longer and labor and land costs are much lower, according to media reports.
Blackstone interviewed California farmer Steve Scaroni, whose 2,000 acres and 500-employee lettuce operation is in full production in Mexico.
"It's a very sad story for me to go Mexico to complete the American dream," Scaroni said.
Scaroni had to move part of his $50 million farm operation south because American farmers are unable find enough daily labor on a consistent basis, he said. He produces two million pounds of lettuce a week.
Scaroni received a big welcome from Mexican agriculture officials. They who told him that with U.S. farmers coming to Mexico, their citizens don't have to risk life and limb entering the United States in search of jobs. ~ click link to read more
related posts
28 April 2008
piyush scams the tonight show
jay leno devoted a whopping seven minutes to louisiana's fast talking bullshit artist piyush "bobby" jindal. apparently, piyush's schtick doesnt go over that well in california.
video: pastor james david manning's obama drama explained
related posts
local media silent on cenla legislators 'non-governmental organizations (NGOs)' scam
the local media has reported nothing about the non-governmental funding requested by central louisiana legislators - why?
in his blog post here c.b. forgotston gives us instructions on how to uncover our legislators non-governmental funding requests.
following mr. forgotston's instructions and once you get to the search screen you can search each legislator by name - heres one example:
the list of all the ngos that legislator is requesting taxpayer money for will show up -- you can then click on that organizations name to learn more about it -- such as:
The recipient entity's mailing address (if different): $180,509
Mt. Zion Community Development Corporation - Health and Wellness Ministry
P. O. Box 7314
Alexandria, LA 71306
Type of Entity (for instance, a nonprofit corporation): Non-Profit Religious Corp.
If the entity is a corporation, list the names of the incorporators:
Jerry Sampract, Dexter Sapp, Kelvin Sanders, Clyde Irvin, Rev. Donnie Granvel, Louis Marshall, Myron Lawson, and Ruby Freeman, Legal Representative
The last four digits of the entity's taxpayer ID number: 5982
Which legislator requested the amendment? Dixon, Herbert B. (H)
Which legislator is the sponsor?
Provide the name of each member of the recipient entity's governing board and officers:
Verena Pannell, Director
Jerry Sampract, President
Daniel Dykes, Secretary
Dexter Sapp, Treasurer
Kelvin Sanders, Attorney
Rev. Ameal Jones, Sr., Member
Annette Drummer, Assistant Director
What is the dollar amount to be appropriated by the amendment? $180,509
What are the entity's budgeted amounts for the following?:
Salaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . $126,274
Professional Services. . . $21,120
Contracts . . . . . . . . . . . $3,200
Acquisitions . . . . . . . . . $18,230
Major Repairs . . . . . . . $1,500
Supplies. . . . . . . . . . . . $5,730
Other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,455
mayor roy/city of alexandria getting set to advance the prescott road to cabrini hospital scam
the gannett/town talk's karina donica reports in her 'city notebook' column today (see link)[alexandria, la. mayor] roy made the brief comment tuesday during a legal committee meeting when he was talking about a request for a new walking trail in the city. "if we move toward any kind of revocation of part of prescott road ... there is also talk of some green space trade off that could occur there that is in mr. (everett) hobbs district."
now most normal people would have been so embarrassed and ashamed at being caught out in a scam - read lie that, that would have been the end of the prescott road scam right? as chris rock would say: hold on not so fast...we are talking louisiana politicians here and they have no sense of shame, honor or integrity, because we see all they do is wait a couple of months until most people have forgotten their past hi-jinks and try it all over again.
with the alexandria mayor's determination to give away a city street to the detriment of elderly people who live and use the street not to mention all the other alexandrians who use it -- to a for profit corporation and now with the news of his commie s.p.a.r.c. plan which is just another vehicle to transfer taxpayers dollars to certain select businessmen, surveyors, engineers, architects, attorneys and consultants - you know the usual suspects -- leaves one wondering just who's mayor is he? is mayor roy working for the best interests of the people he was elected to serve or for the best interests of the local bluebloods and corporations? we think you know the answer.
related posts
see also
corporate crime reporter
louisiana most corrupt state in the nation
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related posts
earth's axis tilt has recently increased by an additional 26 degrees
UPDATE: 13 march 2011 SPACE.COM
The massive earthquake that struck northeast Japan Friday (March 11) has shortened the length Earth's day by a fraction and shifted how the planet's mass is distributed.UPDATE: 12 march 2011:
A new analysis of the 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Japan has found that the intense temblor has accelerated Earth's spin, shortening the length of the 24-hour day by 1.8 microseconds, according to geophysicist Richard Gross at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
Gross refined his estimates of the Japan quake's impact – which previously suggested a 1.6-microsecond shortening of the day – based on new data on how much the fault that triggered the earthquake slipped to redistribute the planet's mass. A microsecond is a millionth of a second. [Photos: Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in Pictures]
"By changing the distribution of the Earth's mass, the Japanese earthquake should have caused the Earth to rotate a bit faster, shortening the length of the day by about 1.8 microseconds," Gross told SPACE.com in an e-mail. More refinements are possible as new information on the earthquake comes to light, he added. ~ read more
(CNN) -- The powerful earthquake that unleashed a devastating tsunami Friday appears to have moved the main island of Japan by 8 feet (2.4 meters) and shifted the Earth on its axis.
"At this point, we know that one GPS station moved (8 feet), and we have seen a map from GSI (Geospatial Information Authority) in Japan showing the pattern of shift over a large area is consistent with about that much shift of the land mass," said Kenneth Hudnut, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Reports from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Italy estimated the 8.9-magnitude quake shifted the planet on its axis by nearly 4 inches (10 centimeters). ~ source/video/read more
excerpt:
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 8:13 AM on 6th September 2010
The earthquake that devastated a city in New Zealand tore open a new 11ft faultine in the Earth’s surface.
The 7.1-magnitude quake which hit Christchurch, the country’s second-largest city, destroyed about 500 buildings and caused an estimated £930million of damage.
But hundreds of lives were saved by tough building rules, it was claimed. Only two injuries were reported.
The quake was caused by the continuing collision between the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates, said Professor Mark Quigley, of Canterbury University.
‘One side of the Earth has lurched to the right ... up to 11ft and in some places been thrust up,’ he said. ‘We went and saw two houses that were completely snapped in half by the earthquake.’
The quake cut power across the region, roads were blocked by debris and gas and water supplies were disrupted.
Christchurch mayor Bob Parker said power was back to 90 per cent of the city and water supply had resumed for all but 15 to 20 per cent of residents. ~ read more
so, we were over on jim brown's blog where in his 'relevant news articles' section we noticed that he had a text link captioned 'earth's axis tilt-take a look views of the earth' the link takes you to the above website which shows how the earth's axis has increased from the normal 23.5 degree tilt to a current tilt of 49.5 degrees. the website maintains that "It did not slip all at once. It has been a slow change over the past 20 years, but two of the most significant axial shifts occurred between Dec 4 and 6, 2006." ~ source
which brought to mind a january 2006 post we did based upon a radio interview of lloyd stewart carpenter by jeff crouere. mr. carpenter claims that a polar shift is immenient and that the earth is about to tip over on its axis. mr. carpenter also said that the earth's magnetic field will change at the same time [as the polar shift] so there will be no more electricity. mankind will revert to tribal living. scientists know that the magnetic field of the earth changes or reverses about once every 50,000 years and its been well over 50,000 years since thats last happened.
divulgence.net also says that "This change in tilt has resulted in moving the Tropic of Cancer from central Mexico to Maine and across the Dakotas (aprox) & has begun to wreak havoc upon the global weather patterns."
crawford et al v marion county election board et al
In HAVA, Congress required every State to create and maintain a computerized statewide list of all registered voters. 42 U. S. C. §15483(a) (2000 ed., Supp. V). HAVA also requires the States to verify voter information contained in a voter registration application and specifies either an “applicant’s driver’s license number” or “the last 4 digits of the applicant’s social security number” as acceptable verifications. §15483(a)(5)(A)(i). If an individual has neither number, the State is required to assign the applicant a voter identification number. §15483(a)(5)(A)(ii).requiring citizens to have and show photo id to vote is also another great way for the state to further condition the citizenry to accept the "papers please" nazification of amerika:
Photo identification cards currently are needed to board a plane, enter federal buildings, and cash a check. Voting is equally important.” Commission on Federal Election Reform, Report, Building Confidence in U. S. Elections §2.5(Sept. 2005), App. 136–137 (Carter-Baker Report) ~ opinion page 13if the government was truly interested in voter fraud then they would get rid of the electronic voting machines.
related posts
27 April 2008
sunday matinée: 'the survellance society'
see also
christopher bollyn
the 'war of terror' a zionist deception to control america
====excerpt:The "war on terror" is a fraud and dangerous threat to the American people and republic. It is nothing more than a Zionist deception that has been used to manipulate the U.S. military to wage war on Israel's behalf while imposing a centralized police command under the guise of "homeland security" throughout the United States.
related posts
25 April 2008
mysterious image in hospital chapel door
this image appeared on a door in the chapel of florida hospital orlando around 1:30 a.m. thursday, 10 april 2008. local6.com reported that it drew a crowd and brought some to tears before vanishing.more photos at link.
lsu agcenter rice research station: rice bounces back at zaunbrecher farm
if theres anything better than a breaded and fried pork chop, rice and gravy, black-eyed peas, a hot buttered dinner roll, a garden salad, cherry topped cheesecake for dessert and all washed down with a tall glass of iced tea we havent found it -- except maybe if you substitute deer back-strap for the pork. thats why we were concerned last thursday when the lsu agcenter informed us that their young rice was struggling.dr. johnny saichuk, lsu agcenter rice specialist said that the recent cold snap was probably behind the problem. however, in this weeks report, dr. saichuk informs us that he is "pleased with the rice’s recovery.
most of the leaves were upright, and the plants looked much greener. and new leaves appeared to be wider and more robust than the spindly leaves floating on the water."
the agcenter also informs us that they have planted a new long-grain rice variety called "catahoula" and we cant wait to put some gravy on that.
if you click over be sure and check out their rice field webcam.
EXTERNAL LINK
paul craig roberts: the agenda behind the iraq war hoax
By Paul Craig Roberts
On April 17, 2008, AP News reported that a new study released by the RAND Corporation concludes that “some 300,000 U.S. troops are suffering from major depression or post traumatic stress from serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 320,000 received brain injuries.”
On April 21, 2008, OpEdNews reported that an internal email from Gen. Michael J. Kussman, undersecretary for health at the Veterans Administration, to Ira Katz, head of mental health at the VA, confirms a McClatchy Newspaper report that 126 veterans per week commit suicide. To the extent that the suicides are attributable to the war, more than 500 deaths should be added to the reported combat fatalities each month.
Turning to Iraqi deaths, expert studies support as many as 1.2 million dead Iraqis, almost entirely civilians. Another 2 million Iraqis have fled their country, and there are 2 million displaced Iraqis within Iraq.
Afghan casualties are unknown.
Both Afghanistan and Iraq have suffered unconscionable civilian deaths and damage to housing, infrastructure and environment. Iraq is afflicted with depleted uranium and open sewers.
Then there are the economic costs to the US. Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz estimates the full cost of the invasion and attempted occupation of Iraq to be between $3 trillion and $5 trillion. The dollar price of oil and gasoline have tripled, and the dollar has lost value against other currencies, declining dramatically even against the lowly Thai baht. Before Bush launched his wars of aggression, one US dollar was worth 45 baht. Today the dollar is only worth 30 baht.
The US cannot afford these costs. Prior to his resignation last month, US Comptroller General David Walker reported that the accumulated unfunded liabilities of the US government total $53 trillion dollars. The US government cannot cover these liabilities. The Bush Regime even has to borrow the money from foreigners to pay for its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There is no more certain way to bankrupt the country and dethrone the dollar as world reserve currency.
The moral costs are perhaps the highest. All of the deaths, injuries, and economic costs to the US and its victims are due entirely to lies told by the President and Vice President of the US, by the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Advisor, the Secretary of State, and, of course, by the media, including the “liberal” New York Times. All of these lies were uttered in behalf of an undeclared agenda. “Our” government has still not told “we the people” the real reasons “our” government invaded Afghanistan and Iraq.
Instead, the American sheeple have accepted a succession of transparent lies: weapons of mass destruction, al Qaeda connections and complicity in the 9/11 attack, overthrowing a dictator and “bringing democracy” to Iraqis.
The great moral American people would rather believe government lies than to acknowledge the government’s crimes and to hold the government accountable.
There are many effective ways in which a moral people could protest. Consider investors, for example. Clearly Halliburton and military suppliers are cleaning up. Investors flock to the stocks in order to participate in the rise in value from booming profits. But what would a moral people do? Wouldn’t they boycott the stocks of the companies that are profiting from the Bush Regime’s war crimes?
If the US invaded Iraq for any of the succession of reasons the Bush Regime has given, why would the US have spent $750 million on a fortress “embassy” with anti-missile systems and its own electricity and water systems spread over 104 acres? No one has ever seen or heard of such an embassy before. Clearly, this “embassy” is constructed as the headquarters of an occupying colonial ruler.
The fact is that Bush invaded Iraq with the intent of turning Iraq into an American colony. The so-called government of al-Maliki is not a government. Maliki is the well paid front man for US colonial rule. Maliki’s government does not exist outside the protected Green Zone, the headquarters of the American occupation.
If colonial rule were not the intent, the US would not be going out of its way to force al Sadr’s 60,000 man militia into a fight. Sadr is a Shi’ite who is a real Iraqi leader, perhaps the only Iraqi who could end the sectarian conflict and restore some unity to Iraq. As such he is regarded by the Bush Regime as a danger to the American puppet Maliki. Unless the US is able to purchase or rig the upcoming Iraqi election, Sadr is likely to emerge as the dominant figure. This would be a highly unfavorable development for the Bush Regime’s hopes of establishing its colonial rule behind the facade of a Maliki fake democracy. Rather than work with Sadr in order to extract themselves from a quagmire, the Americans will be doing everything possible to assassinate Sadr.
Why does the Bush Regime want to rule Iraq? Some speculate that it is a matter of “peak oil.” Oil supplies are said to be declining even as demand for oil multiplies from developing countries such as China. According to this argument, the US decided to seize Iraq to insure its own oil supply.
This explanation is problematic. Most US oil comes from Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela. The best way for the US to insure its oil supplies would be to protect the dollar’s role as world reserve currency. Moreover, $3-5 trillion would have purchased a tremendous amount of oil. Prior to the US invasions, the US oil import bill was running less than $100 billion per year. Even in 2006 total US imports from OPEC countries was $145 billion, and the US trade deficit with OPEC totaled $106 billion. Three trillion dollars could have paid for US oil imports for 30 years; five trillion dollars could pay the US oil bill for a half century had the Bush Regime preserved a sound dollar.
The more likely explanation for the US invasion of Iraq is the neoconservative Bush Regime’s commitment to the defense of Israeli territorial expansion. There is no such thing as a neoconservative who is not allied with Israel. Israel hopes to steal all of the West Bank and southern Lebanon for its territorial expansion. An American colonial regime in Iraq not only buttresses Israel from attack, but also can pressure Syria and Iran from giving support to the Palestinians and Lebanese. The Iraqi war is a war for Israeli territorial expansion. Americans are dying and bleeding to death financially for Israel. Bush’s “war on terror” is a hoax that serves to cover US intervention in the Middle East in behalf of “greater Israel.”
Paul Craig Roberts [email him] was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during President Reagan’s first term. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal. He has held numerous academic appointments, including the William E. Simon Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University, and Senior Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He was awarded the Legion of Honor by French President Francois Mitterrand. He is the author of Supply-Side Revolution : An Insider's Account of Policymaking in Washington; Alienation and the Soviet Economy and Meltdown: Inside the Soviet Economy, and is the co-author with Lawrence M. Stratton of The Tyranny of Good Intentions : How Prosecutors and Bureaucrats Are Trampling the Constitution in the Name of Justice. Click here for Peter Brimelow’s Forbes Magazine interview with Roberts about the recent epidemic of prosecutorial misconduct.EXTERNAL LINK
der angriff northside journal sold
according to the notice posted to the northside journal's website (see link) the weekly publication has been sold to a "a media group that required a confidentiality agreement as a condition of the sale."
the notice goes on to state that "An announcement from the new owner group is expected soon."
in our admittedly asinine opinion, the northside journal started out as potentially, a pretty good alternative news source and outlet. however, over the past year or so, it totally prostituted itself into nothing more than an unscrupulous propaganda organ for the city of pineville and especially republican party bull-shit. we wish the new owners well.
related posts
24 April 2008
rep. herbert dixon withdraws hb1094 controversial tax increment financing bill
UPDATE: video and post here
UPDATE: central la politics is working on posting the committee video for hb1094. it will probably be live early friday morning.
according to the gannett/town talk (see link) rep. dixon has withdrawn his controversial bill which would create a tax increment financing district in downtown alexandria, la.
the bill was scheduled to be heard today by the house committee on municipal, parochial and cultural affairs.
the town talk says that "by deferring the bill himself, dixon can bring it up later in the session, which ends june 23."
we assume that if there is any, central la politics blog will have the committee video up later this evening or tonight.
and also
video blogging the alexandria city council
special city council TIF meeting 05 march 2008
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related posts
undercover drug deal broadcast over police scanner
UPDATE: pineville dare officer, rpso deputy arrested in operation partly broadcast over police scanner
note: while this was recorded to a .mov file it contains only audio and no video.
town talk snip:A Pineville Police DARE officer was arrested Wednesday evening after reportedly making a drug deal with a police informant while on duty Wednesday afternoon at Lessie Moore Elementary School in Pineville, officials said.
Much of the undercover drug deal involving the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office Metro Narcotics Division was somehow broadcast over the police scanner, although sheriff’s officials still aren’t sure how. ~ read more and download your own copy of the exchange.
related posts
judicial incest scam at the third circuit court of appeals
UPDATE: gold law firm puppet judge harry randow to run for third circuit court of appeals justice
no one has to tell your average louisianaian twice that our judicial system is lousy and this patrician attitude that a seat on the court of appeals is the family business or a family entitlement sure doesnt help.
related posts
23 April 2008
food shortages/rationing starting in america
Wed Apr 23, 2008 2:12pm EDT
By Nicole Maestri
NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc's Sam's Club warehouse division said on Wednesday it is limiting sales of several types of rice, the latest sign that fears of a rice shortage are rippling around the world.
Sam's Club, the No. 2 U.S. warehouse club operator, said it is limiting sales of Jasmine, Basmati and long grain white rice "due to recent supply and demand trends."
U.S. rice futures hitting an all-time high Wednesday on worries about supply shortages.
On Tuesday, Costco Wholesale Corp, the largest U.S. warehouse club operator, said it has seen increased demand for items like rice and flour as customers, worried about global food shortages and rising prices, stock up.
Sam's Club, the No. 2 U.S. warehouse club operator, is limiting sales of the 20-pound (9 kg), bulk bags of rice to four bags per customer per visit, and is working with suppliers to ensure the products remain in stock. ~ read more
By Patrice Hill
April 23, 2008
Their pleas did not find a sympathetic audience at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), where regulators said high prices are mostly the result of soaring world demand for grains combined with high fuel prices and drought-induced shortages in many countries.
The regulatory clash came amid evidence that a rash of headlines in recent weeks about food riots around the world has prompted some in the United States to stock up on staples.
Costco and other grocery stores in California reported a run on rice, which has forced them to set limits on how many sacks of rice each customer can buy. Filipinos in Canada are scooping up all the rice they can find and shipping it to relatives in the Philippines, which is suffering a severe shortage that is leaving many people hungry. ~ read more
Steve Hawkes, Greg Hurst and Valerie Elliott
Experts told The Times yesterday that prices of rice, wheat and vegetable oil would rise further. They also forecast that high prices and shortages — which have caused riots in developing countries such as Bangladesh and Haiti — were here to stay, and that the days of cheap produce would not return. Food-price inflation has already pushed up a typical family’s weekly shopping bill by 15 per cent in a year.
A further 15 per cent increase in the price of a standard Kingsmill loaf would push it up from £1.09 ($2.16) to £1.24. ($ 2.45) Butter has gone up by 62 per cent in the past year. A similar rise would bring the price of a 250g (1/2 lb.) pack to £1.52. ($3.00)
The price of rice, which has almost tripled in a year, rose 2 per cent on the Chicago Board of Trade yesterday as the United Nations food agency gave warning that millions faced starvation because aid agencies were unable to meet the additional financial burden. ~ read more
meanwhile the lsu agcenter rice research station reports on their blog that:
The herbicide used for the Juncus has soundly knocked the weed down. “That’s the best job on Juncus I’ve ever seen,” said Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist. In the photo below, the dead Juncus can be seen at the base of a rice plant.But he was concerned that the rice is looking feeble and much of it is laying on the surface of the water. ~ read more
city of alexandria, la. trying to stiff abandoned car ordinance attorney his legal fees
yesterday in the public safety zoning committee, chairman roosevelt johnson heard an update on "abandoned vehicles." in january 2007 the alexandria city council unanimously passed and the alexandria mayor signed, a so called abandoned car ordinance. the ordinance was so seriously flawed constitutionally that your average citizen could see it. besides being constitutionally flawed the ordinance was predatory and racist. the ordinance actually empowered city bureaucrats to come onto private property, tag and order removed privately owned automobiles. we're not talking cars parked on the side of the street but cars stored under sheds, garages and in one case, reported by the media, from an elderly alexandriaian's back-yard.sure enough, the city towed one man named errick fatheree car which was stored "in an enclosed garage/shed upon private property."
a courageous local attorney, thomas d. davenport, jr., took mr. fatheree's case pro bono and won.
which brings us up to yesterday and city attorney johnson's statement to chairman johnson that one "sticky issue" remains and that is a "dispute over the fee that the attorney is seeking." it dont matter if mr. davenport's fee is one hundred or a hundred thousand or a million dollars, the city should pay whatever hes asking and be glad that no one was shot during the enforcement phase of this disastrous ordinance. mr. davenport provided a good and valuable service to the citizenry and more importantly to the constitution when seven members of the city council and the mayor who all should have known better passed this garbage.
the alexandria mayor is a lawyer and as the gannett/town talk editors pointed out in their sunday 20 april 2008 editorial [screen grab] how mayoral candidate roy sounded "jeffersonian." actually the mayor quoted jefferson quite often during the campaign. then on 22 december 2006 only eighteen days after he took office, this ordinance which is about as anti-jeffersonian as you can get, was introduced and which he eventually signed.
now the mayor and his city attorney want to stiff an attorney who reminded them about constitutional and jeffersonian principals? the city should pay mr. davenport whatever he is asking and be glad they got off so cheap.
something ominous that we can see in store is that councilman johnson was wanting to know when this suit will be finished so that the city council can revisit abandoned cars and another abandoned car ordinance. they never learn.
stick a spork in the sparc
according to harvard university some good examples of regionalism are the north american free trade association (NAFTA) and the european union (EU). another website says that the correct term for our area is "regionalization," which "is an economic process whereby the economies of a region become more closely entwined." while regionalism "is a political process where a group of countries agree to reduce the barriers to trade between each other to lower levels than exist against the rest of the world." ~ source
charlotte iserbyt and others, writing a series of articles for newswithviews.com insists that regionalism is communism.
anyway, first up in the plan to more closely entwine the region's economies, is the rivefront improvement venture and essential recreation (R.I.V.E.R.) act.
Total project cost is estimated at $40 million It requires $32 million from appropriations. $600,000 has already been appropriated. Local contribution is to be $8 million.what they are talking about here is the red river waterfront development. now dont get the wrong idea, we're all for developing the red river but what doesnt make sense is spending millions of dollars on a full blown marina when they dont even know if it would be needed or successful. what the city should do is start off small -- build a simple inexpensive pier for the old timers and recreational boaters to tie up to and have a small store to sell gas, bait and beer and then over time if they see that a full blown marina is needed and would be successful then let interested businesspeople put up their own money to build it.
while the city is sitting around putting together all these flowery-worded presentations (which you have to have a, what the urban redneck calls a, word book, to refer to about every other word to figure out what they are saying) they could have already built a pier.
another thing that gives us pause is on page 30 "An associated workforce and recreational program for young adults and teenagers known as “Alexandra Corps.” we think they mean "alexandria corps." this sounds like some kind of scheme to recruit and brainwash the youth to love big government and to love serving the new regionalization paradim which is really corporatocracy.
what the alexandria mayor wants to do is set up this "corporation" under La. R.S. 33:9034. we can just imagine how this "corporation's" board of directors would look. so if you dont want to see the same old gang of people like roy o. martin, charlie weems, wayne denley, billy barron, martin johnson, buddy tudor and bridgett brown running the "economic engine" of this "region" and them and their cronies reaping all the benefits from it -- then you need to be against the sparc.
related posts
gannett/town talk's tom bonnette and alexandria, la. mayor jacques roy go head-to-head on public records request flap
UPDATED video added see also the town talk 'mayor releases sparc presentation'
in a spirited question and answer session today, the gannett/town talk's tom bonnette and city of alexandria, la. mayor jacques roy discussed the recent public records request the town talk propounded upon the city regarding the s.p.a.r.c. proposal. mayor roy told mr. bonnette that he knows that "the town talk is interested in creating news that doesnt exist, so let me just be as straight forward as i can be..."
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22 April 2008
glen beard appointment to alexandria fire and police civil service board mysteriously pulled for second time
for the second time in a row, the scheduled resolution confirming glen beard to the alexandria fire and police civil service board was pulled from consideration by the alexandria, la. city council.
oddly, the civil service board's official website still lists mr. beard as a member.
councilman charles frederick smith: "its politics time, we running for office and we targets"
councilman smith in todays public works and safety committee meeting said that he has been receiving calls from a neighborhood group about big trucks and school buses parking in the street in his district.
apparently, what happened was that the same thing was happening in councilman lawson's district and he did something with the chief of police about it. its kinda hard to follow what councilman smith is on about and we suppose this is his way of somehow addressing the belief that councilman smith's political opponent is put up by and a puppet to councilman lawson. we'll have the video up later so you can figure it out yourself.