Human

Pardon my ignorance, but since this is only the preseason then isn't it that this is the time when the Redskins just shake out the cob webs in their offence, and defensive lines? Oh! and their special teams. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.harolddoan.com/index.php?name=N...rticle&sid=1825 CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM AS TALKS ON UN DISABILITY TREATY NEAR END Press Release - U.N. News Center Aug 25 2006 The chair of the negotiations on a new United Nations convention to protect the rights of persons with disabilities said he was confident that a deal could be reached, despite several key differences between Member States as the talks entered their final day. Ambassador Don MacKay of New Zealand said many of the participants as UN Headquarters in New York remained confident that an agreed text could be achieved by tonight. "We are definitely within striking distance," he said. "I think it will be finalized." The Coordinator of the International Disability Caucus, Maria Veronica Reina, said she was also cautiously optimistic. "Even though the last mile is the most difficult mile, we are almost there," she said. If the negotiations succeed, the convention - which could be adopted by the General Assembly during its upcoming session - would mark a turning point in ending official discrimination against persons with disabilities. Mr. MacKay said about half of the convention has already been agreed upon and he expected agreement today on some of the more difficult issues, such as an international monitoring mechanism, education, and the clauses which would spell out how the convention would take effect. "All of us know that agreement is within reach at the end of this week," Mr. MacKay said. But delegations, he added, had to ask themselves whether sticking to a position would prevent their government from becoming a party to the convention. "If the answer is no, please do not insist on a position," he implored.

Was this the Washington Redskins first game?

The democrats want to leave Iraq "not much more to say, but of course this type of view point will NEVER AFFECT Women in the United States". Just like when the Democrats supported Chavez "naw!! it wont effect us either". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.sulekha.com/groups/postdisplay....&forumid=756919 August 25, 2006 Mullahs tell aid groups in Pakistan to fire women or "face violent protests" Sharia Alert from AFP: "Mullahs tell aid groups to fire women" ISLAMABAD: Muslim clerics in earthquake-hit Azad Kashmir have told aid agencies to fire all local women employees or face violent protests, officials and religious leaders said on Thursday. The threat, given to district officials and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Bagh on Tuesday, will dent hopes that the October 8 quake could have a positive effect on women’s rights in the conservative region. "We have told the administration that we will not allow NGOs to exploit our women and asked them to give a date suitable to them for removal of all female workers," Syed Atta Ullah Shah, prayer leader of the Bagh central mosque, told Agence France Presse. And if "we" don't get our way: "If our demand is not met then we will take direct action and extreme steps. There will be demonstrations and damage may be caused to public property and a law and order situation would be created in the area," he added. The religious leader said locals were angered by "obscene" activities at NGOs. "They hire beautiful girls and take them to Islamabad for enjoyment. They keep women in offices as decoration pieces because we know that women have no work and there is no such work that men cannot do," Shah said. Aid groups say female workers are vital to ensure that religious and social conventions are respected when dealing with women in the devastated region, especially for health matters. The United Nations, which has coordinated aid efforts after the quake, said it was aware of the issue. "Discussions are going on with the government and clergy. Things are not finalised yet," Raabya Amjad, public information officer for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told AFP.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://news.bostonherald.com/international...rticleid=154585 By Associated Press Saturday, August 26, 2006 - Updated: 12:54 PM EST KISUMU, Kenya - Sen. Barack Obama and his wife took HIV tests before a crowd of thousands Saturday at a clinic in Kenya in an effort to battle the fear and social stigmas that have slowed progress in fighting the spread of AIDS. Thousands of people gathered around the tiny mobile clinic in Kisumu, western Kenya, to see Barack and Michelle Obama tested for the virus that causes AIDS. “If you know your status, you can prevent illness,” Obama, the only African-American in the Senate, told the crowd. “You can avoid passing it to your children and your wives.” Some 1.2 million of Kenya’s 32 million people were infected with HIV in 2004. Obama and his wife did not make public the results of their instant tests, but the senator said “we probably wouldn’t be smiling” if the results were positive. Some 700 people die each day from AIDS-related illnesses in Kenya, most in the west of the country, though the numbers of infected patients have declined recently. In the Kisumu area, almost one in five is infected. Obama said the country’s government has done a better job than many others in Africa of acknowledging the problem and discussing solutions. But people’s reluctance to be tested has slowed progress. Thousands of well-wishers lined pot-holed roads to greet Obama as he began a journey to his ancestral home, Nyangoma-Kogelo, a tiny village in the rural west where his father grew up herding goats and attending tin-roofed schools. Police held back the crowds and local politicians called for calm as Obama visited the AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis clinic run by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. “I just want to say very quickly that I am so proud to come back home,” Obama told the cheering crowds. “It means a lot to me that the people of my father, my grandfather, are here in such huge crowds.” His father, also named Barack Obama, won a scholarship to a university in Hawaii, where he met and married Obama’s mother. The two separated and Obama’s father returned to Kenya, where he worked as a government economist. He died in a car crash in 1982. This was Obama’s third visit, but his first since being elected a Democratic senator from Illinois in January 2005. His last visit to Kenya was in 1995. Obama said he was looking forward to seeing his grandmother and uncle, who still live in the village, but that the trip was more than just a family reunion. He said his relatives “understand that some of this is going to be dominated by spectacle, and they’ll roll with it as I will roll with it.” He also planned to visit a project he helps fund, which helps grandmothers find money to take care of children orphaned by AIDS.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060824/ap_on_...uclear_energy_1 By BILL CORMIER, Associated Press Writer Wed Aug 23, 10:39 PM ET BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Argentina announced an ambitious plan Wednesday to expand its nuclear program to meet rising energy demands, including extending the life of existing plants and possibly resuming uranium mining. At a Government House news conference, Planning Minister Julio de Vido said the plan calls for increasing the life span of the aging Atucha I and Embalse nuclear power plants and completing construction by 2010 on the long-stalled Atucha II plant. Two decades of delays have hampered completion of the Atucha II project, located some 75 miles northwest of the capital of Buenos Aires. The nearby Atucha I facility has been operating since the mid-1970s, in conjunction with the Embalse plant in central Argentina. The planning minister was flanked by President Nestor Kirchner, who did not comment on the plan nor on a report by the leading newspaper Clarin saying the nuclear program could cost the government $3.5 billion over eight years. "When this government took office in 2003, the nuclear energy sector was reactivating," De Vido said. "Today we come to establish a strategic plan for the Argentine nuclear energy sector for the coming years." The program calls for large-scale power generation to meet fast-growing energy demands, amid careful regulation by national authorities. Among other steps, De Vido announced plans for "concrete steps" toward resumption of uranium mining. De Vido did not comment on a Clarin report that Argentina might revive a uranium enrichment program shut down in 1983 due to budget constraints. Enrichment provides the fuel needed to operate such nuclear plants, but can also be a central to building nuclear weapons. Argentina, one of the leading Latin American nations in nuclear power generation, has had to stave off potential energy shortfalls in recent years. The move comes as Argentina and Brazil are seeking new energy sources to counter crude oil prices that have passed $70 a barrel, along with soaring prices in natural gas and other fuels. Last May, Brazil inaugurated a uranium enrichment center capable of producing nuclear fuel. The center is expected to save South America's largest economy millions of dollars that the country now spends to enrich fuel at Urenco, the European enrichment consortium. Both nations have stressed the strictly peaceful nature of their nuclear programs, given a backdrop of international pressure against Iran to halt expansion of its nuclear program. Washington has cautioned Iran that it will seek sanctions in the U.N. Security Council if Tehran does not step enriching uranium.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1869246.cms WASHINGTON: India and Pakistan are among top ten borrowers of the World Bank as its lending commitments to South Asia reached USD 3.8 billion for the financial year that ended this June. India received USD 1.416 million or 6 per cent of the share of total commitments made by bank's two entities -- International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA) -- while Pakistan got USD 1,498 million or 6.3 per cent share of total commitments. Mexico and Brazil were the largest borrowers, followed by Turkey, Pakistan, China, India and Argentina, the statistics released by the Bank said. The highest percentage of IBRD/IDA lending went to Latin America and the Caribbean region. It received USD 5.9 billion or 26 per cent of the total lending. The Bank's commitments to South Asia accounted for 16 per cent of all loans, grants and credits by IBRD IDA committed in 2006 fiscal. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) operations in South Asia came to USD six millions for fiscal 2006. Lending commitments to Africa rose 23 percent in the past financial year or showing a 20 per cent of total lending commitments with USD 4.8 billion. Europe and Central Asia had 17 per cent with USD four billion; South Asia 16 per cent with USD 3.8 billion; East Asia and the Pacific had 14 per cent with USD 3.4 billion, while the Middle East and North Africa region had seven per cent with USD 1.7 billion.

Nelson; I AGREE WITH YOU 100%. As a Matter of fact, I am sure that ONE of the Rising Stars with in the DEMOCRAT PARTY “Gov. Mark R. Warner DEMOCRAT of VIRGINIA” would NOT agree with you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ As you posted Nelson; "Virginia spending <li>Over the last 20 years, there has been no significant increase in Virginia SAT scores. (Graph) <li>Over the last 20 years, Virginia inflation-adjusted spending per resident for Individual and Family Services increased 66 percent. (Graph) <li>Since 1975, Virginia inflation-adjusted spending per resident for Administration of Justice (includes prisons) increased 150 percent. (Graph) <li>Since 1975, Virginia inflation-adjusted spending per resident for transportation has not increased. (Graph) <li>Virginia does not spend income taxes, the state's major source of revenue, on transportation. <li>Due to excessive bond sales, Virgnia's borrowing leverage is eroding. (Graph) DC has: <li>An A- Plus Bond Rating <li>The hottest commerical market in the US <li>The hottest residential market on the East Coast <li>According to Linda Cropp a bright, bright future So with all that money your bragging about which if am am correct is a mere 3.5 times the District's annual budget LOL Plus if that is the best roads and transportation plan that the State can come up with I don't know what to say. I can tell ya this I bet straight and gay alike to be road cursing and see someone in a car with tags with the common wealth we know your better off heading west along with any relationship potential. While I am on it! Until you pay a computer tax since there sure are a whole gaggle of ya eroding our roads talking our you cell phone without a headset or blue anything. It cost money to maintain what your driving on, cop to ticket, I mean protect you there is no free rides in VA or DC grow up and pay your taxes. Lastly I think a dump driver tax is in order, because man ya'll can't drive worth a lick. All of the these are my personal opinions, execpt for the facts about the state of VA's economy which were provided by http://www.fcta.org/FACTS/graphs/graphs.htm#state This post has been edited by NelsonJacobsen: Aug 23 2006, 09:18 PM"

PSSSSST!!!!!!!!! TAKE PICTURES, and Post them online. ]:) Just Joking ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, this is too far, and you have lost my support. To Bfrank, and your friends? "I will no longer try to get both of you to act civil with each other". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well!!! here it is E-Passports. Even though the reading of this maybe be boring? it really isn't. It's kicking into high gear right NOW. Other than the on going political as well as security concerns, the companies that produce rfid tags are really rolling in the money now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/20...20040827-8.html This is Presidential Directive 12 Subject: Policy for a Common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors (1) Wide variations in the quality and security of forms of identification used to gain access to secure Federal and other facilities where there is potential for terrorist attacks need to be eliminated. Therefore, it is the policy of the United States to enhance security, increase Government efficiency, reduce identity fraud, and protect personal privacy by establishing a mandatory, Government-wide standard for secure and reliable forms of identification issued by the Federal Government to its employees and contractors (including contractor employees). (2) To implement the policy set forth in paragraph (1), the Secretary of Commerce shall promulgate in accordance with applicable law a Federal standard for secure and reliable forms of identification (the "Standard") not later than 6 months after the date of this directive in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. The Secretary of Commerce shall periodically review the Standard and update the Standard as appropriate in consultation with the affected agencies. (3) "Secure and reliable forms of identification" for purposes of this directive means identification that (a) is issued based on sound criteria for verifying an individual employee's identity; ( is strongly resistant to identity fraud, tampering, counterfeiting, and terrorist exploitation; © can be rapidly authenticated electronically; and (d) is issued only by providers whose reliability has been established by an official accreditation process. The Standard will include graduated criteria, from least secure to most secure, to ensure flexibility in selecting the appropriate level of security for each application. The Standard shall not apply to identification associated with national security systems as defined by 44 U.S.C. 3542((2). (4) Not later than 4 months following promulgation of the Standard, the heads of executive departments and agencies shall have a program in place to ensure that identification issued by their departments and agencies to Federal employees and contractors meets the Standard. As promptly as possible, but in no case later than 8 months after the date of promulgation of the Standard, the heads of executive departments and agencies shall, to the maximum extent practicable, require the use of identification by Federal employees and contractors that meets the Standard in gaining physical access to Federally controlled facilities and logical access to Federally controlled information systems. Departments and agencies shall implement this directive in a manner consistent with ongoing Government-wide activities, policies and guidance issued by OMB, which shall ensure compliance. (5) Not later than 6 months following promulgation of the Standard, the heads of executive departments and agencies shall identify to the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and the Director of OMB those Federally controlled facilities, Federally controlled information systems, and other Federal applications that are important for security and for which use of the Standard in circumstances not covered by this directive should be considered. Not later than 7 months following the promulgation of the Standard, the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and the Director of OMB shall make recommendations to the President concerning possible use of the Standard for such additional Federal applications. (6) This directive shall be implemented in a manner consistent with the Constitution and applicable laws, including the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) and other statutes protecting the rights of Americans. (7) Nothing in this directive alters, or impedes the ability to carry out, the authorities of the Federal departments and agencies to perform their responsibilities under law and consistent with applicable legal authorities and presidential guidance. This directive is intended only to improve the internal management of the executive branch of the Federal Government, and it is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, entities, officers, employees or agents, or any other person. (8) The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security shall report to me not later than 7 months after the promulgation of the Standard on progress made to implement this directive, and shall thereafter report to me on such progress or any recommended changes from time to time as appropriate. GEORGE W. BUSH

Bfrank, I know more of the internet then you will EVER know of. I didn't stumble unto this web site by accident, just like some of the private networks that I am on "I didn't get there by accident either". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I already figured that one out. When I told them to let it rest, they really should have taken my words to heart. After all, this IS WASHINGTON D.C. "you never know with whom you could be typing with online, and to me as well as others this is THE MAIN WEB SITE FOR D.C.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Actually I haven't made any mistakes. In an earlier post, I said that the behavior of both the Hetero sexual community and gay community has to change. Business as usual with in D.C. government has to change. The results of that type of behavior, really has been catastrophic,and not just for the people infected, but also their families. If it takes some one like rees to shake up the council, then so be it. To be perfectly honest, I am about a hairs breath away in calling or e-mailing him, and give him the information that he would need to play "not just politics" but power politics. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Under section 230 of the Internet decency act, the owner of said message board, or chartroom cannot be held liable for any statements made on it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bfrank, you don't have to insult. "A white Castle” oh comes on; it's a dark gloomy castle with its own personality. No ghosts though, The internet is scary enough. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comparing D.C. to Virginia is like comparing apples to oranges. Just on the financial side of it it's huge "Virginia’s budget as compared to D.C.'s?” As for the aids rate, it's not even close to D.C. Basically what you are pushing for in dc is the status quote "see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil". Bfrank, Virginia is also not perfect, and I never implied it was, but 1 in 20, add to that "as one of the members stated on this board that younger guys selling themselves to older men in d.c. is considered an established form of behavior with in the gay community??" Washington D.C. is unique in that it's OUR Nation's Capitol, as well as having Many federal institutions with in D.C., BUT unlike other governments, dc has the cream of the crop in accessing experts from all around the country "since most come here to lobby congress, and other branches of government as well as many think tanks". All that I am saying is that D.C. could do alot better with the resources it has at hand "way better, and it's not", and that is a failure of the political leadership with in D.C. [As for Rees disliking the gay community, he has stated that he does not dislike the gay community; he "Rees" just dislikes you, as well as a few others in here, and he HAS said so openly.] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Effective??? 1 in 20 people in dc has aids. 1 in 50 has hiv. If the democrats were any more EFFECTIVE? D.C. would become a ghost town. You know that I am not against the gay community, but at this rate maybe the council needs a little bit of a shake up. This type of behavior where people stand a better of contracting aids is NOT what ANYONE would call effective leadership. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's a pity that the main stream media does not pick up on the actual financial mechanisms used by terrorist groups. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.cnsnews.com/news/viewstory.asp?...T20060804c.html Illicit Diamond Trade Used by Hizballah and Others By Stephen Mbogo CNSNews.com Correspondent August 04, 2006 Nairobi, Kenya (CNSNews.com) - The international community should speed up efforts to prevent terrorist groups from using the proceeds from illicit diamond trade to finance their activities and launder their funds, campaigners say. A Nairobi-based African affairs analyst, Adan Mohamed, said it was "very likely" that groups like Hizballah still use the trade to raise additional revenue. "Nothing much has happened in putting mechanisms in place to prevent diamond trade from being used to clean dirty cash or finance conflicts," he said. Investigations by researchers, human rights groups, the United Nations and media organizations have revealed how Hizballah exploited weakness in the international diamond trade monitoring systems to hide their assets and raise funds. The illicit trade was mainly carried out in the West African nations of Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Ivory Coast, and further south in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The trade was allegedly facilitated in part by former Liberian President Charles Taylor, now facing war crimes charges in The Hague. Taylor was the main sponsor of the notorious Sierra Leone rebel group the Revolutionary United Font (RUF), which controlled a significant segment of the country's rich alluvial diamond mines. The RUF waged a brutal five-year war against the Sierra Leone government in which it targeted non cooperative civilians and punished them by amputating their arms. Some RUF leaders are in the custody of the International Criminal Court. The gems mined by RUF were shipped to Taylor's Liberia for onward transmission to Hizballah, al-Qaeda and other illicit international buyers, according to published accounts. The small but influential Lebanese community in West Africa, comprising mostly Shiites, was also found to be instrumental in facilitating the transfer of illicit diamonds to Hizballah. A 2004 report in the Middle East Intelligence Bulletin, a publication of the Middle East Forum and the U.S. Committee for a Free Lebanon, said that although the U.S. authorities had been able to reduce the flow of Hizballah financing from networks in the U.S., "it appears that one lucrative source of Hizballah financing is still growing: the diamond trade in West Africa." Security information consultant group Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor) said last month that Hizballah could finance new attacks on Israeli targets abroad using funds from a profitable "blood diamond" network in West Africa. Another group that has in the past documented how Hizballah and al-Qaeda have used diamonds from West Africa to finance their terrorist activities is the international NGO, Global Witness. In a new report, the group says efforts to monitor the international movement of diamonds have not been successful and more needs to be done. Global Witness estimates that four percent of illegal diamonds get into the international market every year. The overall global diamond trade is worth over $60 billion and most of the retail sales are in the United States. A project known as the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was started in 2003 to monitor international diamond movement, in a bid to prevent the gems from being used to fund conflicts and fuel human rights abuses. Seventy countries have agreed to implement the plan so far. Pamela Wexler, an attorney who authored the new report, said that although there was much to praise about the KPCS inaugural phase, it had not yet evolved into a fully credible check on the international movement of diamonds. "Foremost are gaps in oversight, specifically of internal control systems in individual countries and of the peer review monitoring system overall." Another key weakness was inadequate checks on private industry by individual governments. The KPCS requires governments to implement import/export control regimes and to adopt systems to oversee their private sectors, and so keep a documentary record of rough diamonds as they travel from the mine to their polished state. Diamonds must be shipped in sealed containers and export agencies must certify that parcels are free from "conflict diamonds." Members also agree to prohibit entry of uncut stones arriving unsealed or without proper certification.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2006/70433.htm To enhance border security and to facilitate travel, the Department of State began issuing Electronic Passports (e-passports) to the public today. Production has started at the Colorado Passport Agency and will be expanded to other production facilities over the next few months. Consistent with globally interoperable specifications adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), this next generation of the U.S. passport includes biometric technology. A contactless chip in the rear cover of the passport will contain the same data as that found on the biographic data page of the passport (name, date of birth, gender, place of birth, dates of passport issuance and expiration, passport number), and will also include a digital image of the bearer’s photograph. The Department of State has employed a multi-layered approach to protect the privacy of the information and to mitigate the chances of the electronic data being skimmed (unauthorized reading) or eavesdropped (intercepting communication of the transmission of data between the chip and the reader by unintended recipients). Metallic anti-skimming material incorporated into the front cover and spine of the e-passport book prevents the chip from being skimmed, or read, when the book is fully closed; Basic Access Control (BAC) technology, which requires that the data page be read electronically to generate a key that unlocks the chip, will prevent skimming and eavesdropping; and a randomized unique identification (RUID) feature will mitigate the risk that an e-passport holder could be tracked. To prevent alteration or modification of the data on the chip, and to allow authorities to validate and authenticate the data, the information on the chip will include an electronic signature (PKI). The Department of State is confident that the new e-passport, including biometrics and other improvements, will take security and travel facilitation to a new level.

hey gap!! You really left me speechless. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.greatapeproject.org/news.php FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 3, 2006 There have been recent discussions about the important efforts in Spain to establish legal rights for great apes. There also appears to be some confusion about exactly what the Great Ape Project is seeking to obtain. We are not asking that great apes be granted each and every legal right available to humans, such as the right to vote or drive. Rather, the Great Ape Project seeks recognition of basic legal protections and rights that will guarantee each bonobo, chimpanzee, orangutan, and gorilla the opportunity to live out his or her life according to what is in his or her best interests. These rights would be similar to those currently provided under legal systems around the world for humans of limited capacity, such as children or those who are mentally incompetent and are afforded guardians or caretakers to represent their interests. Some might question why it's important to grant great apes legal "rights" as "persons" instead of "protections" as "animals". It is helpful to understand the legal status of nonhuman great apes, and how that status allows for their mistreatment. Currently, nonhuman great apes are considered mere property, much as a chair or car or computer. Owners of "property" can do virtually anything they wish to their property without repercussion. Similarly, those who damage such "property" are often only required to pay its fair market value as the penalty for their mistreatment. Only "persons", and not "property", are entitled to "rights" such as the right to freedom from torture. Therefore, it's important to include the great apes within the legal definition of "persons" in order for them to have rights that are necessary for their protection. Some people have difficulty agreeing that nonhuman great apes should fall under the legal definition of "persons". It's important to remember that legal terms often have a different meaning than what is used in everyday language. Recognizing nonhuman great apes as a "legal persons" is not the equivalent of defining them as "humans" - it merely recognizes that they share a sentience that renders it morally important to ensure their protection through legal rights. (It may help to remember that corporations are also considered "legal persons" for the purpose of determining their rights). By granting nonhuman great apes the fundamental rights we seek, their "owners" will become their guardians or caretakers with a legal responsibility to consider each great ape's best interests at all times. For humans who already conduct themselves in this manner, it is easy to understand why this should be a requirement and not an option. In sum, granting these animals the status of legal persons at law will ensure their entitlement to necessary legal protections, though only with those specific rights described above that are appropriate for them. We need your help to educate others on the importance of these efforts and to show your support to the Spanish government. One way to show support is to go to: http://www.20minutos.es/encuesta/504/ Look for the following question: El Grupo Socialista pide derechos básicos para los grandes simios por su parecido con loshumanos. ¿Los grandes simios deben tener derechos fundamentales? (translation: The Socialistic Group is asking for basic rights to be granted to the great apes similar to those for humans. Should the great apes have fundamental rights?) Answer "Si" (yes) If anyone is interested in learning more about the mission of the Great Ape Project, please visit our website at: www.greatapeproject.org.

I honestly think that the LEFT WING RULING PARTY of Spain has gone permanently bye bye. Well!!! It looks like the animal rights groups here in the States may have new friends in Spain. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml.../10/wapes10.xml Drive to give 'human' rights to apes leaves Spanish divided By David Rennie (Filed: 10/06/2006) Spain could soon become the first country in the world to give chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and other great apes some of the fundamental rights granted to human beings under a law being proposed by members of the ruling Socialist coalition. The law would eliminate the concept of "ownership" for great apes, instead placing them under the "moral guardianship" of the state, much as is the case for children in care, the severely handicapped and those in comas, said the MP behind the project, Francisco Garrido. Great apes held in Spanish zoos would be moved to state-built sanctuaries, unless there was a risk that moving them would harm their emotional welfare, he said. The law would also make it a criminal offence to mistreat or kill a great ape, except in cases of self-defence or medical euthanasia. As a first step, Mr Garrido, a Green MP for Seville who sits with the Socialists, will propose a resolution on the rights of great apes before the parliament's environment committee at the end of this month. He said he expects the committee to approve the resolution which already has received the public support of ministers. Mr Garrido said he was confident that either the government, or the ruling Socialist majority, would introduce a Great Apes Law after the summer recess. The Roman Catholic Church has expressed concerns about his resolution. The Archbishop of Pamplona and Tudela, Fernando Sebastian, has said that only a "ridiculous or distorted society" could propose such a law. "We don't give rights to some people - such as unborn children, human embryos, and we are going to give them to apes," the archbishop said. Amnesty International's Spanish branch has also expressed concerns, saying that humans have yet to see their rights fully guaranteed. A senior member of the Spanish opposition Partido Popular, Arturo Esteban, called the proposal an "act of moral poverty". The proposal has been front page news since parliament heard testimony from members of the Great Ape Project (GAP), a Seattle-based pressure group which campaigns for the creation of a "community of equals" in which humans, chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans would all enjoy three fundamental rights: the right to life, to freedom, and to protection from torture. Their "declaration" calls for great apes to be kept locked up only when they are a threat to the community, and then only with a right of appeal to the courts, with representation by a lawyer. Mr Garrido's parliamentary resolution would explicitly endorse the approach of the Great Apes Project, and would call on the state to use its voting membership of international forums and organisations to protect great apes from "mistreatment, slavery, death and extinction". Pedro Pozas, the secretary general of the Spanish branch of the GAP, said that animals reared in captivity might remain in zoos, even after the law's passage, "provided that they are kept in good conditions, with a habitat adapted to their conditions and needs." Mr Pozas criticised the trade and exchange of apes between zoos and breeding centres. "To move a baby ape is to split up a family. They have feelings, they can feel sad, and they have the capacity for love. If a zoo has no room for new births, it would be better to sterilise the females." In 1999, New Zealand passed an animal welfare act stating that research, testing or teaching involving the use of a great ape requires government approval, and a finding that "any likely benefits are not outweighed by harm to the great ape". Britain has also banned medical experimentation on great apes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.c...jectID=10395987 Mars mission seeks volunteers for two-year trial 1.00pm Sunday August 13, 2006 By Andrew Osborn MOSCOW: Wanted: six volunteers to spend up to two years pretending to be cosmonauts in a dimly lit, confined space without alcohol, cigarettes and, possibly, sex. It may not be everyone's idea of fun but that is what Russian scientists are offering anyone interested in a gruelling experiment billed as a precursor for a manned mission to Mars. The unusual trial, codenamed Mars-500, will be Russia's longest and most arduous isolation experiment. It will be conducted by the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems in northern Moscow. "Blast-off" in a mock-up of a Russian spaceship is scheduled for autumn 2007, and applications are already open. A cross between a tiny Big Brother house and the set for Blake's 7, the "spacecraft" was built in the 1970s as part of the Soviet space programme. The six volunteers will spend a minimum of 520 days in a sealed five-capsule unit that measures 550 cubic metres. Once the doors are closed there will be no reopening them. The "flight" will seek to replicate a journey from Earth to Mars, a distance of at least at least 56 million kilometers. The crew will be expected to cope with various simulated emergencies along the way. The first 250-day phase of the experiment will represent the trip from Earth to the Red Planet. The second will simulate a 30-day stay on Mars' surface. The third 240-day phase will cover the journey home. The project's scientists have said they reserve the right to add another 180 days, meaning that the experiment may last just under two years. Volunteers must be aged between 25 and 50, have a decent command of Russian and English, and preferably be doctors, engineers, biologists or IT specialists. They will first have to undergo medical tests and will be screened for habits that risk irritating their fellow volunteers. The successful candidates will receive a salary, as yet unspecified. Fifty people from 12 countries have already applied, including some from the UK. The crew will be able to communicate with the outside world only through email and a two-way radio. Response to both channels of communication will be deliberately delayed to simulate the time lag in deep space. The volunteers will subsist on the same rations as bona fide cosmonauts working on the international space station. The weightlessness of space will not be recreated but the volunteers will carry out experiments designed to assess the effects of zero gravity on the human body, Russian scientists want a multinational crew because an attempt to fly to Mars will be so costly it will require participation from Russia, Europe, the US and possibly other parts of the world.

Ah!! But all bombs can be tracked. Each bomb has a unique color code to it, even separated chemicals. The machines that can detect it are EXPENSIVE. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Much more diverse group in New York, The far left wont be able to touch her. In any case what the Left Wing of the democrat party probably didn't figure on is that what ever committees that Lieberman is on, he will be knocked off of them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------