Castro Is Fin

That long awaited day has finally come ... Castro is stepping aside.

Cuban revolutionary icon Fidel Castro announced Tuesday he was stepping aside, ending five decades of ironclad rule marked by his brash defiance of the United States.

Citing poor health, Fidel Castro, 81, said he would not retain the presidency when the national assembly meets later this week, in a message published by the online version of the Cuban Communist Party newspaper Granma.

"I neither will aspire to, nor will I accept, the position of president of the Council of State and commander-in-chief," Castro wrote, almost 19 months after undergoing intestinal surgery and handing power temporarily to his brother Raul Castro.

"It would betray my conscience to take up a responsibility that requires mobility and total commitment that I am not in physical condition to offer," he said.

Castro did not say who he thought should be his successor. Any member of his inner circle is arguably a contender, although many Cuba-watchers believe Raul Castro, who has been serving as interim president, is the leading choice.

Hopefully we can all start vacationing in Cuba, and buy Cuban cigars (oh yeah) in the near future. It's still a little early for that though. Especially if Raul is in charge.

While Castro is not dead, he is not far off either. At least we still have something to look forward to. We also must not forget the great memories that Castro has given us ... like the one below.


Timeless.

Freedom! Kosovo Independence Is Good For The World

As you know by now, Kosovo has declared its independence from Serbia. The internet is bustling with theories on if this is a good or bad thing. Even John Bolton is weighing in on the issue by saying it is no bueno. I myself couldn't be happier for the Kosovars, and I am much more optimistic than many out there.

Hotair asked the question earlier on if this was good or bad, but they missed some key points while remaining reserved in their optimism.

There are a few things we must keep in mind before we start making assumptions that Kosovo will become FOB al Qaeda. First and foremost is that the Kosovars love the United States. Let's not forget that it was the Christians who were the bad guys in that conflict, and the Muslims were fighting for their lives. While the Muslim world, including al Qaeda, left the Kosovars to die ... it was the US who was able to finally stop Milosevic and his Tigers from wiping them off the face of the earth. Bin Laden has even admitted that our aid to Kosovo led to his war with us. They have never forgotten this, and it is confirmed by everyone I speak with returning from their tour of duty there.

The western world, including the US, still has a serious military presence in Kosovo because we have been the ones defending it since the late 90's. While al Qaeda may attempt to move into Kosovo they will do it at great risk. Bin Laden has been trying to solidify a jihadi movement in Kosovo since at least 2000, but it has never really taken hold.

I would also like to point out that Kosovo could have named themselves the 'Islamic State of Kosovo,' but they didn't. They chose the 'Republic of Kosovo." I think that is significant, and deserves more attention. Something can also be said for only western countries officially recognizing Kosovo's independence. Especially since the US, who has long supported Kosovo independence, will be first in line with a whole host of diplomatic offers. At the end of the day though we can all agree that if Russia and China are opposed to it ... chances are it will benefit us.

Venezuela Cuts Off Exxon Supply

Well we knew this would be coming sooner or later. Especially with Exxon kicking the crap out of Hugo Chavez in courts around the globe.

Old Hugo has now made his next move.

Venezuela's state oil company said Tuesday that it has stopped selling crude to Exxon Mobil Corp. in response to the U.S. oil company's drive to use the courts to seize billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets.

Exxon Mobil is locked in a dispute over the nationalization of its oil ventures in Venezuela that has led President Hugo Chavez to threaten to cut off all Venezuelan oil supplies to the United States. Venezuela is the United States' fourth largest oil supplier.

In other words, prepare for gas prices to go up. Then prepare for the BDS idiots to blame Bush for it, and somehow tie it to Iraq.

China Is Forcing Olympic Athletes To Promise They Won't Criticize Chinese Government

Well, technically it's the Olympics themselves, but China is a-o-k with it.

England is caving to the demands. I wonder who is next.

British Olympic chiefs are to force athletes to sign a contract promising not to speak out about China's appalling human rights record – or face being banned from travelling to Beijing.

The move – which raises the spectre of the order given to the England football team to give a Nazi salute in Berlin in 1938 – immediately provoked a storm of protest.

The controversial clause has been inserted into athletes' contracts for the first time and forbids them from making any political comment about countries staging the Olympic Games.

It is contained in a 32-page document that will be presented to all those who reach the qualifying standard and are chosen for the team.

From the moment they sign up, the competitors – likely to include the Queen's granddaughter Zara Phillips and world record holder Paula Radcliffe – will be effectively gagged from commenting on China's politics, human rights abuses or illegal occupation of Tibet.

Prince Charles has already let it be known that he will not be going to China, even if he is invited by Games organisers.

It's pretty sad when Prince Charles is the moral compass, and pillar of strength in England. At least it looks like England is backing off on the gag order.

Exit question: If you are a guest of China ... should you insult your host? Why not just withdraw from the Olympics if you are so opposed to the hosting country?

Hugo Chavez Accuses Exxon Of Terrorism

BWAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

This is too funny! Hugo "The Human Cannonball" Chavez doesn't think fair play is well ... fair.

Venezuela accused Exxon Mobil of legal "terrorism" on Friday after the giant oil company won court orders freezing $12 billion of the major crude supplier's assets in a dispute at the heart of a worldwide fight for control of natural resources.

Venezuela's oil minister Rafael Ramirez vowed to overturn the rulings, reassuring investors they had little impact on the supplies, operations or cash flow of the state oil company, PDVSA, which has close to $100 billion in assets.

He said Exxon hoped to destabilize the government of anti-American President Hugo Chavez by using the legal battle over the nationalization of an Exxon project to create panic about the OPEC nation's finances.

Yeah, Exxon Mobil is the terrorists. Venezuela is a-o-k with seizing Exxon's assets, but heaven forbid you seize theirs.

It wasn't too long ago that Hugo took control of the last private oil fields in Venezuela. I remember Hugo relishing in his accomplishment. Not once did he ever call himself a terrorist. Hell, he wouldn't even admit he is a communist.

Good for Exxon Mobile for fighting back. Turnabout is fair play.

U.S. & Iranian Navy Clash - Update: Video Added

This is still developing so we may get new information as time goes on.

Five Iranian boats threatened US warships, and said they were going to blow our ships up. The US Navy had just received the order to fire when the Iranians broke off their "attack."

Fox:

Five Iranian Revolutionary Guard speedboats took threatening actions toward three U.S. Navy ships sailing in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, FOX News has confirmed.

The U.S. ships — a cruiser, a frigate and a destroyer — were passing through the strait en route to the Persian Gulf when they took defensive action to avoid striking the close by Iranian ships and armed their weapons, but neither side fired any shots.

The small Iranian boats reportedly came within 200 yards of the U.S. ships, and also threw boxes into the water ahead of the U.S. boats before speeding off. It could not immediately be determined what was in the boxes.

The Associated Press, citing an anonymous Pentagon official, said the incident occurred at about 5 a.m. local time Sunday.

"Five small boats were acting in a very aggressive way, charging the ships, dropping boxes in the water in front of the ships and causing our ships to take evasive maneuvers," the Pentagon official said.

"There were no injuries but there very well could have been," he said, adding that the Iranian boats turned away "literally at the very moment that U.S. forced were preparing to open fire" in self defense.

The AP source said he didn't have the precise transcript of communications that passed between the two forces, but the Iranians radioed something to the effect that "we're coming at you and you'll explode in a couple minutes."

I recently responded to a list making its way around the internet on the top 10 things Americans want. I made my own list of the REAL things Americans want, and both addressed the Iranian situation. I pointed out that the ball was in Iran's court. I wonder if the Revolutionary Guard commander will get another medal for this endeavor like he did when they illegally kidnapped the British sailors last year.

Yep, The US Is Still Doing Better Than Kyoto Countries On Emissions

It's been a year since you were last told that the US is doing better at reducing emissions than the Kyoto nations. Now it seems that some nations to have signed Kyoto are increasing their emissions by 80%.

Aftenposten:

Just as Norwegian delegates to the UN's conference on climate change started heading home from Bali, came news that Norway's own carbon emissions rose 80 percent from 1990 to 2004. Statoil's refinery at Mongstad is the biggest contributor.

So how exactly do they plan to fix this problem? Well, they don't. Instead they are invoking the Ultimate Scam, and using carbon credits.

Erik Solheim, the government minister in charge of environmental issues who was in Bali last week, admits that Norway's own high level of emissions is "embarrassing." That's why the government plans to donate NOK 15 billion (nearly USD 3 billion) over the next five years to help preserve the world's rain forests. That's viewed as an efficient way of offsetting carbon emissions.

I hate to be a scrooge so close to the holidays, but only the worst of dimwits view carbon credits as an efficient way of offsetting emissions. Let's not forget that Guyana slammed Kyoto's carbon credit scheme, and Kyoto's carbon credit program has also been causing deforestation.

Basically, Kyoto along with all of the signatory nations are FUBAR. Meanwhile, the US continues to grow its economy, reduce its emissions, and all without sacrificing any freedoms to a foreign body while throwing away billions of dollars. God bless capitalism!

Turkey Authorizes Military Strikes Against Kurds In Iraq

It's been coming for a while now, but Turkey's Prime Minister finally confirmed what we all knew would happen.

VOA:

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the Turkish government has authorized the army to carry out a cross-border operation against Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq.

In televised comments Friday, Mr. Erdogan said the decision to carry out the operation was made at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. He said Turkish President Abdullah Gul approved of the plan.

Looks like the Dems will get a chance to see if Turkey and the US will part ways as friends.

ACLU Violates Civil Rights Of Death Row Inmate

That would be his desire for the execution to go forward.

You should know about the debate on executions going on right now, and whether lethal injection is "cruel and unusual" punishment. If you aren't aware ... it's time to read up.

Start with the José Ernesto Medellín case, and then read the Heliberto Chi case.

Essentially what we have is 51 foreigners , that have been convicted and sentenced to death in the US, may not have their sentences carried out because of the 1963 Vienna Convention. President Bush is also throwing his weight around in the matter, and Texas seems to be standing alone in fighting for their right to execute convicted criminals.

The Vienna Convention states that people arrested abroad should have access to their home country's consular officials. Many of the foreigners (illegals) are arguing that they were not granted access to their country's consular officials. Keep in mind that many have confessed to their crimes of rape and murder.

As a result of these cases we have the ACLU, and other groups opposed to the death penalty, challenging the Constitutionality of lethal injections. Many executions across the country have been halted until the U.S. Supreme Court reviews the constitutionality of lethal injections.

Obviously we have several problems with the current situation. State's rights are being violated, this is not a Constitutional issue, and we have international law infringing upon American sovereignty.

The Vienna Convention has no power over internal US affairs, and foreign nationals are NOT permitted under US law access to their consular officials. The US Supreme Court ruled on this very matter last year.

Stating that American law outweighs an international treaty, the Supreme Court said Wednesday that foreign criminals held in state prisons did not have a right to reopen their cases if their rights under the Vienna Convention had been violated.

The 6-3 ruling spares state prison officials a major headache. If the high court had ruled the other way, thousands of state inmates who were not U.S. citizens could have sought to have their convictions reversed.

The international treaty, drafted in 1963, seeks to protect foreigners, including Americans traveling or living abroad. It requires that officials notify the home-country consulate when a foreigner is arrested or held for "pending trial."

Despite its clear terms, police and prosecutors in the United States have failed to notify foreign criminal suspects that they have a right to the help of their nation's consulate.

Two years ago, the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, took up an appeal from the governments of Mexico and Germany. The court, based in The Hague, ruled that the treaty gave individuals a right to reopen their cases if they did not get the proper notification.

But the Supreme Court said Wednesday that it was not bound to follow that ruling.

As you can see ... the Supreme Court has already ruled on this issue, and they ruled that US law trumps an international treaty ... as it should.

Why this case is being reheard is beyond me, but Phyllis Schlafly thinks it has something to do with the Law of the Sea Treaty.

Now for the ACLU (NV chapter) violating the rights of a death row inmate.

William Castillo was sentenced to death in 1996 for bludgeoning to death an 84 year old retired teacher as she slept. He then robbed her house, left, returned, and burned it down. He would later confess to the murder, and was sentenced to die this month by lethal injection. We waived his right to appeals, and accepted his fate. Castillo requested that the ACLU and the Nevada Coalition Against the Death Penalty not stop his execution, but his request was ignored for pure ideology.

Nancy Hart of the Nevada Coalition Against the Death Penalty and Richard Siegel of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada said the Pardons Board has the authority to halt Castillo's lethal injection pending a U.S. Supreme Court review of such injections.

Nevada uses the injection method being reviewed by the court, Hart and Siegel wrote, adding that executing Castillo might put the state "in the untenable position of having to explain why it felt compelled to rush an execution before the Supreme Court was able to rule."

"The state of Nevada should not be executing any of its prisoners, 'voluntary' or not, while the U.S. Supreme Court is deciding whether the method violates the Constitution," they wrote.

As you can see, they didn't give a damn about what Castillo wanted. It's even more laughable that the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty asked people to "write to Gov. Jim Gibbons on behalf of William Castillo!" Even though he opposes their stance on capital punishment.

Their assertion that NV uses the same method under review by the US Supreme Court is false. Nevada uses double the formulation strength being challenged in the Supreme Court.

State Corrections Director Howard Skolnik said that Castillo will get double doses of the three drugs normally used in executions. He said that the change ensures that Castillo should "go out instantly" and not experience "any kind of discomfort."

Skolnik also said the double dose makes the Nevada method different than the Kentucky method of lethal injections, which is the subject of the U.S. Supreme Court review.

That means that if the US Supreme Court rules that the Kentucky method of lethal injections is unconstitutional ... it would not apply to Nevada anyway. The Supreme Court has not issued a halt to all executions in the US anyway, and therefore Nevada would not have to "explain why it felt compelled to rush an execution."

Their arguments are insensitive and false, but they worked.

Convicted killer William Castillo was 90 minutes away from death by lethal injection Monday night when the Nevada Supreme Court stepped in and issued a stay to allow more time to consider legal issues raised by the ACLU of Nevada.

Castillo had his final meal, and was sedated already when the order came down. Also, two of the victim's family members had come to town to witness the execution. I doubt the ACLU will reimburse them for the time and cost of their trip.

Something else had already taken place as well. Castillo's mom had said her final goodbye to her son ... only to be called later that he was not executed. You'd think Castillo and his mom would be relieved, right? Well, you'd be wrong.

News 3's Jesse Corona spoke exclusively to Castillo's family and found they are not happy about the execution being halted.

His family says he had already refused any more legal action on his behalf and that he was ready and willing to die.

"Not that I want my son to die, but I had to accept my son's decision," said Castillo's mother.

Mrs. Castillo says her son told her that he would refuse any more appeals filed on his behalf to stop his execution two months ago. She says it was the most difficult thing she's ever had to do but her son told her he wanted to take responsibility for his actions and die like a man, so she agreed to respect his wishes.

"I had to accept this, and these people come along and yank that from us?" she said.

Now I don't have sympathy for Castillo, but I do for his mother. It is impossible to imagine what she is going through. Not only does she discover that her son is a monster, but she had to come to terms with his death. Now she has to get a lawyer and fight for her son's right to be executed.

"When I hung up that phone, my son died. According to the state he was going to die 8:30 but my son died at 7 when I said goodbye," she said.

Castillo had already ate his last meal and taken the pre-execution sedative and was ready to die.

"His first words were, mom this ain't right. Get a lawyer, get someone out there to help us that was not right they had no business being here."

On top of all that ... she says that the ACLU is far more cruel than the methods they are arguing against.

Mrs. Castillo says what the ACLU did to her family was itself cruel and unusual.

She's right, and I hope she sues the hell out of the ACLU.

Mrs. Castillo, like me, is convinced the ACLU's move was a publicity stunt.

Mrs. Castillo also said that she thinks the last minute stay of execution by the ACLU was really a publicity move for the organization, and not about the issues they say it was about. She says if the ACLU's motivations were pure, they would have requested a hearing last week.

Again, she is right. Requesting a hearing the week before would have saved a lot of grief for the Castillo family, and the victim's family. Instead of requesting that hearing, however, the ACLU was polluting every news agency with their rhetoric on the situation.

The ACLU told News 3 Thursday that they have a lot of sympathy for everyone affected by what happened, but they say the issue was not about any one particular individual on death row, but instead was about the constitution.

Oh really?

So Castillo's desire to die after being convicted, and sentenced to death, was about the Constitution? Even though the Constitution gives states the right to enforce capital punishment, and even though the method of execution being used for Castillo is not the method being constitutionally challenged in the Supreme Court? Give me a break!

This is further illustration of the ACLU's hypocrisy. Why, you ask. Because the ACLU has long fought for the right to die, and they've used constitutional arguments to support their efforts.

"Each of us should have the right to die in a humane and dignified manner. The exercise of this right is as central to personal autonomy and bodily integrity as rights safeguarded by this Court's decisions relating to marriage, family relationships, procreation, contraception, child rearing and the refusal or termination of life-saving medical treatment," said Steven R. Shapiro, the ACLU's National Legal Director.

That was in 1997.

• In 2001 the ACLU supported the right of Robert Wendland's wife to take him off of life support.
• 2005 showed another case when the ACLU supported the right to die for Harold Folley in New Mexico.

You get the point ... I don't need to go on.

So why is it that the ACLU supports the right to die for some, but not those who were sentenced to death? The answer ... their political agenda. The ACLU has an agenda to get rid of the death penalty, and in their list of priorities that agenda is more important than the right to die or state's rights.

Thus, the American Civil Liberties Union violated the civil liberties of one William Castillo even though they swear they exist only to uphold such civil liberties.

Plasma TV's To Be Banned

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Edwards Actually Has A Good Idea

I've been saying this since I was in the military in the 90's. There is already some cooperation between some nations, and it is very effective. The organization should be volunteer as far as combat personnel are concerned, and only allow intelligence sharing that is strictly terrorist related. As long as there are protections from sharing info vital to national security, and the independence of those nations is respected ... it's a damn fine idea.

AP:

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards is proposing an international organization to fight terrorism through shared intelligence.

This is far better than his previous plan to combat terrorism.

He then attacked Bush as being the only guy in the history of the world to make mistakes with terrorism, and he said some other stupid, untrue things ... like:

"Today, terrorism is worse in Iraq, and it's worse around the world," Edwards said in excerpts provided by his campaign. "It means the results are in on George Bush's so-called global war on terror and it's not just a failure, it's a double-edged failure."

Notice he failed to address Clinton's policies, and he did not give a reason why global terrorism shot through the roof in 1998. You and I know it was the fatwas, but he doesn't.

The interesting part of his comments that terrorism is worse around the world is technically false, and at best a spin.

As you can see from the graph below from the Terrorism Knowledge Base ... global terrorism is WAY DOWN this year from last.


If you look at this graph, you will see that terrorism in Iraq is also far less this year than last.


He also failed to note that outside of Iraq and the war in Israel last year ... global terror was significantly reduced. You can't count Iraq and Israel in the terror count because they were battlefields, and the argument has always been that the rest of the world was/was not safer since Iraq. Well, it is, and there is no way to deny it.

Now that those corrections have been made in what Edwards had to say ... his plan is still good.

"Those nations who join will, by working together, show the world the power of cooperation," Edwards said. "Those nations who join will also be required to commit to tough criteria about the steps they will take to root out extremists, particularly those who cross borders. Those nations who refuse to join will be called out before the world."

I really don't know what he means by "called out." This seems to be Edwards' version of Obama trying to act tough because they have a reputation for being weak. We all know Edwards won't do anything but talk about countries who refuse. He won't take any real action against those nations that don't support anti-terrorist activities, and he's been critical of others who do want action against those countries.

He did make a very laughable statement in his speech regarding the Cold War.

Edwards accused Bush of focusing on Cold War institutions designed to win traditional wars instead of cooperation with allies to take out small hostile groups. He also accused him of "an exclusively short-term focus on the enemy we know" and "a foreign policy of convenience that readily does business with whoever is available and regularly turns a blind eye when our allies behave wrongly or fail to cooperate."

Once again another Democrat completely ignores the coalition of allies assisting us in this conflict. Even though there are more of them than the first time around.

The rest of his statement was hypocrisy at its best. He is willing to turn a blind eye to our allies doing bad things, and the Dems are notorious for continuing to focus on Cold War institutions that are now obsolete. That is the focus of appeasement.

Bush, S. Korean President Clash Over Ending Korean War

Many of you out there are no doubt confused. The Korean War ended decades ago, right? Wrong! The war has never ended ... kind of like our war with Iraq never ended in the 90's.

You still get combat pay when you are deployed to Korea because it is a war zone.

The S. Korean president wanted Bush to formally end the war with N. Korea, but Bush refused.

Breitbart:

Bush said that during his talks with Roh, he reaffirmed the U.S. position that Washington will consider the war formally over only when North Korean leader Kim Jong Il actually dismantles his nuclear program.

Whatever Roh heard Bush say through his translator, it wasn't good enough.

"I think I did not hear President Bush mention the—a declaration to end the Korean War just now," Roh said as cameras clicked and television cameras rolled.

Bush said he thought he was being clear, but obliged Roh and restated the U.S. position.

That wasn't good enough either. "If you could be a little bit clearer in your message," Roh said.

Bush, now looking irritated, replied: "I can't make it any more clear, Mr. President. We look forward to the day when we can end the Korean War. That will end—will happen when Kim verifiably gets rid of his weapons programs and his weapons."

The White House immediately downplayed the testy exchange and said the meeting went smoothly.

"There was clearly something lost in translation," National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in a rushed e-mail to reporters.

"I really think the interpreter must not have conveyed the president's comments entirely clearly," Johndroe said. "The president made clear in his opening remarks that he told Roh that the U.S. is committed to a peace agreement once North Korea complies."

One of the more interesting aspects of this whole exchange is that the US can't end the war. We didn't declare war against the North, and the US was not the only combatant.

And despite Roh's challenge for Bush to make a declaration to end the war, the war was not between the United States and the North but between the North and the United Nations, and Bush alone could not end the war with a simple declaration. "As we say, `all parties involved,' " Johndroe said, when asked about the mechanics of achieving a peace treaty.

In June 1950, the U.N. Security Council, acting on a resolution advanced by the United States, adopted a resolution calling on its member states to help South Korea repel an invasion by the North.

So, even if the US 'considers' the war over ... it will not be over until the UN acts.

Nevertheless, I smell a poll coming on. You can take it on the top right of this website.

Should the UN declare the Korean War over?

12 Freed, 7 To Go

Twelve of the nineteen S. Korean hostages being held in Afghanistan have been freed this morning. We aren't home free just yet, and don't forget that the terrorists have already executed some of the hostages.

Newsday:

Taliban militants on Wednesday released 12 of 19 South Korean captives they promised to free under a deal struck with the South Korean government to resolve a nearly six-week hostage crisis.

The deal, reached in direct talks Tuesday between South Korean diplomats and the Taliban, was criticized by one Afghan government minister amid concerns it could embolden the insurgents at a time of rising violence in the country.

If you are curious as to why there are concerns of emboldening the enemy ... just look at the deal S. Korea struck with the Taliban.

To secure the release of the church workers, South Korea reaffirmed a pledge it made before the hostage crisis began to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year. Seoul also said it would prevent South Korean Christian missionaries from working in the country, something it had already promised to do.

Needless to say, US and Afghan forces are pissed that S. Korea has now given the Taliban legitimacy, and they rightfully claim that this will make the conflict more difficult and deadly.

An Afghan government minister criticized Seoul for the deal, saying it could embolden the Taliban.

"One has to say that this release under these conditions will make our difficulties in Afghanistan even bigger," Commerce Minister Amin Farhang told Germany's Bayerischer Rundfunk radio. "We fear that this decision could become a precedent. The Taliban will continue trying to take hostages to attain their aims in Afghanistan."

Kidnapping has become a standard tactic of gaining leverage against the enemy, and this time it worked.

While it is sad that they were taken hostage, and some lost their lives, they knew what the risks were before they chose to go to Afghanistan. No one is eluding to that fact.

Elian Gonzalez Two?

Everyone is comparing the case of a little Cuban girl to the Elian fiasco. There is little similar besides the involvement of Cuba. The case is more like other cases in the US where a parent abandons their children only to want them back later after the child has already been adopted by a loving family.

Basically, before the family left Cuba, the father would visit the children about twice a month while failing to notice any abuse by the mother. After she took the kids to the US there was no visitation, but the abuse continued. Eventually the abuse was noticed when the boy convinced his mom to call the police before she attempted suicide.

An American family has adopted the boy, and the girl in question has lived with them for 18 months. She calls them Mami and Papi, but there is a question on whether she should be returned to her biological father or remain with the family that has adopted her half brother. The family also wants to adopt her.

For me the answer is simple. He wasn't a huge part of her life before they left Cuba, or after. Let her stay with the family that loves her, and has cared for her the past 18 months. She will then be in an intact home with her brother.

Castro On His Way Out?

Castro crackin his cranium.
Of course, Cuba is denying the rumors.

Rumors have been surfacing for a while now that Castro is on his last leg, and we all know he has been ill for some time. Hopefully, he'll die soon so I can get my genuine Cuban cigars, and take a nice vacation in the gorgeous Cuban countryside.

So The Chinese Want Us To Believe That This Toy Boss Committed Suicide

Yeah right. I suppose it is possible, but it is also possible in the land of executions that he was ... well ... executed.

BBC:

Zhang Shuhong, who co-owned the Lee Der Toy Company, was reportedly found dead at his factory in southern China.

About 1.5 million toys made for Fisher Price, a subsidiary of US giant Mattel, were withdrawn from sale earlier this month. Many were made by Lee Der.

He reportedly hung himself on Saturday, but I'm thinking he had a little help.

The news report did not give a reason for Zhang's apparent suicide, but Lee Der was known to be under pressure after the huge product recall.

Fisher Price announced on 2 August that it was recalling some of Lee Der's Chinese-made toys, in a move affecting 83 product-types sold around the world, including the US and the UK.

An internal investigation found the toys had been made using a non-approved paint pigment which contained excessive amounts of lead, violating safety standards.

A manager at Lee Der blamed its paint supplier for the incident, according to the Southern Metropolitan Daily.

Something smells fishy in the Fisher Price scandal to me.

If the company was blaming the paint supplier officially then why not wait for the investigation? This doesn't seem like a legitimate situation for someone to be committing suicide either.

I could be completely wrong on this, but China initially took an aggressive stand against the US's accusation of unsafe products after several safety issues. They have since been very passive, and trying to reassure the US that Chinese exports are safe.

Then comes this latest fiasco which served to embarrass the Chinese government, and harm the nation financially. We all know people disappear when you embarrass the Chinese government. Maybe, just maybe China sent a quiet message to business execs in China to not embarrass the country anymore.

Sheep Raped By Man Doesn't Testify ... Man Goes Free

Photo Courtesy Of AJayswebcams.com
I think the Netherlands needs to rethink their place in the world. If it isn't sex with children ... it's sex with sheep.

Source:

A MAN who was accused of having sex with a sheep has walked free because the animal was unable to testify.

The man, from Haaksbergen, near Utrecht in the Netherlands, was reported to police after a farmer caught him having sex with a sheep.

But the case was thrown out of court as the sheep couldn't take to the stand to testify that it didn't want to have sex and had suffered emotional stress.

Under Dutch law, bestiality is not a crime unless it can be proved the animal didn't want to have sex.

That's right ... bestiality is a-o-k in the Netherlands.

So, how exactly is an animal able to prove that it wanted to have some nasty boom boom with a human?

Justice: Duane 'Dog' Chapman Will Not Be Sent To Mexico

I appears that the long legal fight to prevent Chapman from being sent to a Mexican prison for capturing rapist Andrew Luster may be over ... with the Dog getting his man.

Fox News:

All criminal charges may have been dropped in Mexico against TV bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman, his son and another member of his crew for capturing a convicted American rapist on the lam four years ago, TMZ reported Thursday.

A Mexican federal court had charged Chapman, 53, and the others with deprivation of liberty for seizing Andrew Luster, an heir to the Max Factor cosmetics fortune, in June 2003 in Puerto Vallarta.

Chapman was awaiting a possible extradition to Mexico and a criminal trial there. He faced four years in a Mexican jail if convicted.

The capture of Luster is what made Dog famous, and helped launch his TV show. Bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico, but the Mexican authorities were not taking Luster into custody. Since virtually everyone knew where Luster was in Mexico (he didn't hide) many believe he paid off the Mexican authorities to leave him alone. That is, until Dog dragged his ass across the border after issuing a public promise to do so.

British Army Ready To Leave N. Ireland

While some have tried to compare Iraq with Vietnam, I have always maintained that Iraq was much more like Britain and Ireland. I, of course, am right. I won't go into great detail about the history of this conflict/occupation, but I encourage you to look into it. The parallels with Ireland and Iraq are numerous, and can provide great insight into what to expect in Iraq.

It's been 4 decades, but it looks like the pullout of British forces is becoming a reality, and Ireland can move forward to reunification.

Source:

THE British army prepared today to end its nearly four-decade mission in Northern Ireland in low-key fashion, the latest symbolic step towards normalisation in the long-troubled province.

The military milestone, from midnight today (09:00 AEST), comes two months after self-rule was restored in Belfast following a historic power-sharing deal between Protestant and Catholic former foes.

In London, British Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth called it the “beginning of a new era”.

“This is a further significant step towards the realisation of a normal, peaceful, and prosperous society in Northern Ireland,” Dermot Ahern, the foreign minister of the Republic of Ireland, said.

Operation Banner, after 38 years the army's longest-ever continuous campaign, saw more than 300,000 personnel in service, over 6000 injured and 763 killed by paramilitaries during the bleak years of terrorism and sectarian bloodshed.

I'm off to down a Guiness, and celebrate!

Your Breasts Keep Me From Being A Safe Driver

That's what a bus driver said in Germany. He was so smitten on a young hottie that he ordered her to move seats or get off the bus because she was distracting him.

Fox News:

The 20-year-old passenger said the man claimed her busty cleavage was distracting him when he looked in the mirror.

He reportedly stopped the bus in the southern town of Lindau and said he could no longer concentrate.

The driver then told her to sit somewhere else — otherwise he would throw her off the vehicle.

The sales clerk, named Debora D., said she moved to another seat but felt humiliated by the driver.

Recalling the incident, the woman told reporters: "Suddenly he stopped the bus.

"He opened the door and shouted at me 'Your cleavage is distracting me every time I look into my mirror and I can't concentrate on the traffic.

"If you don't sit somewhere else, I'm going to have to throw you off the bus.'"
The best part is that the company is defending this guy.

A spokesman for the bus company has defended the man behind the wheel.

He said: "The bus driver is allowed to do that and he did the right thing.

"A bus driver cannot be distracted because it's a danger to the safety of all the passengers."