Archive for May, 2006
Wednesday, May 31st, 2006
AP:
U.S. forces killed two Iraqi women — one of them about to give birth — when the troops shot at a car that failed to stop at an observation post in a city north of Baghdad, Iraqi officials and relatives said Wednesday.
Nabiha Nisaif Jassim, 35, was being raced to the maternity hospital in Samarra by her brother when the shooting occurred Tuesday.
…
“I was driving my car at full speed because I did not see any sign or warning from the Americans. It was not until they shot the two bullets that killed my sister and cousin that I stopped,” he said. “God take revenge on the Americans and those who brought them here. They have no regard for our lives.”
Posted by smithersmpls at 7:44 pm in Uncategorized | Permalink | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 31st, 2006
OK! This is going to be great! It’s the Smithers MINNEAPOLIS 2006 Tour de France Pool!
Now it your chance to impress the internet cycling community with your knowledge of professional cycling. It’s also your chance to prove what a 3rd rate hack you are in predicting the outcome of a grand tour.
Here are the rules:
• Entry in the pool opens today, May 31st 2006
• Entry in the pool closes on Wednesday, June 28th 2006 at 4pm
• All entries must be placed by e-mail to smithersmpls@gmail.com
• Entries can be modified in any way up until the deadline of Wednesday, June 28th 2006 at 4pm
• Entries can be accompanied by a nickname that will be used to publicly identify the entrant if the entrant does not want their name revealed
• Entries must include and will be scored as follows:
1st Place Final GC, 100 points
2nd Place Final GC, 50 points
3rd Place Final GC, 25 points
Green Points Jersey Final, 30 points
Mountains Jersey Final, 30 points
Team Final, 10 points
Prologue Stage Winner, 10 points
L’Alpe-d’Huez Stage 15 Winner, 15 points
Champs-Elysées Stage 20 Winner, 20 points
Yellow Jersey on Rest Day July 10th, 5 points
Yellow Jersey on Rest Day July 17th, 5 points
• Total number of points available: 300
• Entrant with the highest number of points at the finish of the Tour de France will win the pool! In the event of a tie the above listed order will determine the tie breaker. For example, if one entrant picked the 1st place correctly and the other picked the 2nd placed correctly but points are tied, the winner of the pool will be the one who picked 1st place correctly.
Prizes will be awarded to the entrants with the top three points at the end of the Tour. Prizes will also be awarded to the entrant who picks the Prologue Stage winner, the Yellow Jersey on the July 10th rest day and the Yellow Jersey on the July 17th rest day. In the case of a tie for these prizes the winner will be determined by lottery among those tied entrants. Prizes will be announced in the next few weeks.
Study up, get those entries in and finalized by June 28th and good luck to all!
UPDATE 5/31/06 2:16pm – Stage 15 L’Alpe-d’Huez added! Thanks JB!
Posted by smithersmpls at 6:04 pm in Uncategorized | Permalink | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 31st, 2006
Details later today!
Posted by smithersmpls at 6:00 pm in Uncategorized | Permalink | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 31st, 2006
From Think Progress, FOX News’ John Gibson takes a strong stand:
Next up Gibson will take a position against child prostitution and dropping bombs on the poor.
Posted by smithersmpls at 5:10 pm in Uncategorized | Permalink | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 31st, 2006
Did you know that more journalists have been killed in Iraq since the invasion of 2003 than were killed in Vietnam or World War II?
I didn’t.
Proponents of the war here in the US complain that journalists in Iraq are not reporting the positive stories and events that are taking place. I ask you, if you get killed on the way to report a positive story, how positive can things really be over there?
Posted by smithersmpls at 5:06 pm in Uncategorized | Permalink | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 31st, 2006
As predicted here last week, officials from the Tour de France are seeking to exclude the former Liberty Seguros team, now the Würth team, from the 2006 edition of the race. In addition, it’s being reported that the Comunidad Valenciana team, formerly known as Kelme, could lose it’s wild-card invitation to the Tour.
This situation is going to get worse, a lot worse, really soon. Inside scoop is that the doping scandal involving Spanish Doctor Eufemiano Fuentes will affect every Spanish rider and every Spanish team. How big the scandal is and how many riders it ultimately affects remains to be seen.
Posted by smithersmpls at 3:16 pm in Uncategorized | Permalink | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 30th, 2006
If you are still all pissed off about my previous post, then read this post from Kung Fu Monkey and everything will be cleared up for you.
There is a goddam world of difference between asking a man to risk his life to defend the nation and waste his life proving a point.
That these unquestioning war devotees will not sacrifice their lives, their comfort, their safety: that’s hardly a sin in modern society. But they are not even willing to risk emotional discomfort by admitting their faith has been misplaced. That they will not even risk this, this tiny, tiny thing … that is the sin. It is not that that you’re not risking your life. It’s that you are risking nothing.
The problem is, there is no single word in English for a man risking absolutely nothing, who demands someone else risk absolutely everything. I’m sure there’s a word in German — they are a whizzer with those kicky compound nouns — but none in English for that precise combination.
Posted by smithersmpls at 7:35 pm in Uncategorized | Permalink | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 30th, 2006
In reaction to CBS correspondent Kimberly Dozier being severely injured in Iraq, a caller to AM 1500 KSTP just asked why we have journalists in Iraq at all instead of relying on the military to tell us what we need to know about what is happening over there?
It would probably make it easier for the Bush Administration to keep the public in line on the war if we only got our news from the military…that’s what all the great dictatorships do isn’t it?
People can be so stupid sometimes…
Posted by smithersmpls at 6:28 pm in Uncategorized | Permalink | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 30th, 2006
Science Magazine:
Some corporations whose revenues might be adversely affected by controls on carbon dioxide emissions have also alleged major uncertainties in the science. Such statements suggest that there might be substantive disagreement in the scientific community about the reality of anthropogenic climate change. This is not the case.
…
The scientific consensus might, of course, be wrong. If the history of science teaches anything, it is humility, and no one can be faulted for failing to act on what is not known. But our grandchildren will surely blame us if they find that we understood the reality of anthropogenic climate change and failed to do anything about it.
Many details about climate interactions are not well understood, and there are ample grounds for continued research to provide a better basis for understanding climate dynamics. The question of what to do about climate change is also still open. But there is a scientific consensus on the reality of anthropogenic climate change. Climate scientists have repeatedly tried to make this clear. It is time for the rest of us to listen.
Pretty much the only scientists who think man-made global climate change is bunk are those employed by the industries who have something to lose in this debate. The question is not whether man-made global climate change is occurring, the question is what do we do about it.
It’s not realistic to expect people to give up their cars and have everyone convert their homes to solar energy. This problem is a world wide issue and solutions need to be practical for parts of the world where industrial development is still taking place. But to ignore the problem or dismiss the problem as a myth is unconscionable.
Posted by smithersmpls at 4:58 pm in Uncategorized | Permalink | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 30th, 2006
This final week to sponsor me in the Tour de Cure ride to fight diabetes. Did you sponsor me yet?
I am making a major push this final week. I have a friend of mine who is suffering from diabetes. I also have members of my extended family that is dealing with the effects of this disease. Plus I generally have a bad attitude towards diseases so this one is in for punishment from me this year.
Think about all the things that you spend money on during the course of a week. Can you spare a few bucks to fight this disease?
Maybe your charitable donation dollars are already committed or you are saving them for another purpose, in that case don’t worry about it. But if you have not contributed to another cause please consider this one. Diabetes sucks, help me fight it.
Your generosity in the fight against diabetes is greatly appreciated!
Posted by smithersmpls at 3:07 am in Uncategorized | Permalink | No Comments »
