Monthly archives: November, 2009

Dubai Should Have Figured Out How They Were Going To Pay For All That Stuff

We heard from early this morning that the markets were tanking today because Dubai.

I guess they’re not the only ones who borrowed too much to make neat toys, like the only indoor ski resort in the Middle East.

From the Washington Post:

Since the full-scale of Dubai’s huge debt mountain hit home late last year, many investors who have sunk billions of dollars into the emirate’s extravagant projects have been seeking reassurance from Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates.

For years, as Dubai built one grandiose scheme after another, there was the assumption — unwritten but widely believed — that Abu Dhabi would be on hand to pick up the pieces if the emirate’s bubble burst.

But with Dubai raising the possibility that one of its flagship investment vehicles may default, attention is now focusing on just how far Abu Dhabi is willing to go to bail out its smaller brother. Underlying the uncertainty is the widely held thought that Abu Dhabi officials were caught unaware by Dubai World’s dramatic statement, which came just hours after two Abu Dhabi-controlled banks had agreed to subscribe to a $5 billion Dubai bond issue.

Want to help them pay their debt and jump-start the world’s economy? Ski Dubai:

Ski Dubai is the first indoor ski resort in the Middle East and offers an amazing snow setting to enjoy skiing, snowboarding and tobogganing or just playing in the snow. The construction covers an amazing 22,500 square meters covered with real snow all year round. Ski Dubai is related to the Mall of the Emirates and is part of Majid Al Futtaim Group of Companies.

Ski Dubai has 5 runs that vary in difficulty, height and steepness. The longest run being 400 meters with a fall of over 60 meters, making it the world’s first indoor black run. Skiers and snowboarders of all skill levels will enjoy these various slopes and snowboarders can also practice their stunts on the 90-metre long quarter pipe. Kids and parents alike will have fun in the interactive Snow Park which is the largest indoor snow park in the world with 3000 square meters.

You don’t have to worry about ski clothing or equipment either. Ski Dubai has thought of it all and offers guests the use of winter clothing, ski and snowboard equipment. Your skis will carry you down the slope, and the quad-chairlift and tow lift will promptly carry you back to the top for another run.

The DOW Jones was down 154.48 today, closing at 10309.92. The S&P 500 was down 23.36, closing at 1087.27.

Just fly right over there and help us all out, will you? Dubai only owes $60 billion at this point.


FOX News Chicago Surveys 193% of Republicans for 2012 Presidential Race

FOX News Chicago recently released results showing who 193% of Republicans favor for a 2012 Presidential run.

Yes, that’s 193%.

From NBC Chicago:

When you give something your all, you give it 100 percent. Unless you work for My FOX Chicago – then you give it 193 percent.

During a Friday broadcast, Fox News’ local Chicago affiliate reported on the results of a recent Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll. Anchor Byron Harlan said that Sarah Palin currently has the most support for a 2012 presidential nomination among Republican candidates.

“When it comes to landing the nomination, Palin is at 70 percent, about a third higher than this past July,” said Harlan. “Mike Huckabee stands at 63 percent. Mitt Romney’s 60.”

But rather than use an appropriate bar chart, the accompanying graphic displayed a pie chart. Mathematically, pie charts have to total 100 percent.

FOX’s pie figures add up to 193 percent.

We know math is difficult, but come on.

To make matters worse, the opinion poll never actually asked respondents whom they supported as a presidential candidate.

According to their own published results (PDF link), telephone pollsters asked 900 registered voters if they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of a list of names. The numbers Harlan reported are the “favorable” ratings among voters who identified themselves as Republican (approximately 324 voters).

FOX News: Fair and only 93% Unbalanced.


Dick Cheney: The GOP’s Last Great White Hope

Dick Cheney

Christopher Barron, a Washington-based campaign consultant and lawyer, wants Dick Cheney to be your next President of the United States. He wants your help to convince the GOP’s last Great White Hope to run for president in 2012.

Yes, I know. At the mere mention of the word “draft,” Dick Cheney will be crying for a deferment.

From the Chicago Tibune’s Swamp:

An admirer of the former vice president filed papers today in Washington for a committee with a goal of getting Cheney to run for president in 2012.

“The 2012 race for the Republican nomination for president will be about much more then who will be the party’s standard bearer against Barack Obama,” says organizer Christopher Barron. “The race is about the heart and soul of the GOP.”

Barron calls Cheney, the former congressman and Defense Secretary in the first Bush administratiion who arguably was the most powerful vice president of all, who played a central role in the war strategies and national security initiatives of the second Bush admnistraton, who served two terms as vice president and served three other presidents in his time, the only member of the GOP “with the experience, political courage and unwavering commitment to the values that made our party strong.”

Barron served as the national political director for the Log Cabin Republicans, ” the nation’s only organization of Republicans who support fairness, freedom, and equality for gay and lesbian Americans.” The Log Cabin Rebublicans boast on their home page they are working to build an “inclusive GOP,” and they support “fair-minded Republican leaders.”

The Events Calendar on DraftCheney2012.com is full through August 2010:

  • Nov 26 Thanksgiving Day
  • Dec 25 Christmas Day
  • Jan 1 New Years Day
  • Jan 20 Dick Cheney’s Birthday
  • Aug 14 Lynne Cheney’s Birthday

Good luck to Mr. Barron. With Dick Cheney joining Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck as the prime contenders for their party’s 2012 presidential nomination, the GOP primary season should be one for the record books.


Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Takes Executive Mansion ‘On the Road’

I’ve decided to pay more attention to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia. I am just finishing This Child Will Be Great: Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa’s First Woman President. Johnson Sirleaf’s story is amazing, and her memoir offers an incredible history of Liberia.

It is not my intention now to write a review of the book. Yes, I recommend it. Johnson Sirleaf is brilliant, with a strong background in economics and finance. She appears to be keenly aware of the needs, potential and promise of Liberia, and the African continent as a whole. At this point, I want to keep up with President Johnson Sirleaf’s current work, so I’m introducing a new category on Turning Left: Liberia. Expect to read more in the days and weeks ahead.

Let me begin here: Johnson Sirleaf writes stirring and frightening accounts of the bloodbaths of former Liberian presidents Samuel K. Doe and Charles G. Taylor. Charles Taylor is currently on trial in the Hague. President Doe was captured in Monrovia, the Liberian capital, by faction leader Prince Y. Johnson on September 9, 1990. He was tortured and killed. According to Johnson Sirleaf’s memoir, Doe’s ears were sawed off before he died. No one deserves to die that way, Johnson Sirleaf comments, no matter what they’ve done.

So I’m going to start following Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. I believe she is worth of attention. For all I know, she could secretly be a scoundrel — but I don’t think so. My gut tells me she’s for real.

The latest I was able to find is a piece dated today regarding President Johnson Sirleaf taking her Executive Mansion "on the road," visiting the people where they live.

From AllAfrica.com:

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has virtually taken the Executive Mansion "on the road," as the implementation of development projects becomes more compelling, with the arrival of the dry season.

The President was, a little over a week ago, in Falie, Grand Cape Mount County, discussing with her direct representatives-the Superintendents-in the political sub-divisions of the country, their programs and challenges. A number of issues emerged at the forum which not surprisingly, included the administration of the County Development Funds (CDF).

The exercise has, understandably, come under serious criticism, owing to what critics see as a lack of transparency in its administration. The President acknowledged that some of the accusations may not be true. "Some may be rumors; some may be misunderstanding, but in several cases, funds have been misused or misallocated. Your responsibility is to take charge of the CDF in such a way that the mandates given by our Constitution to the three branches of Government are fully respected.

"We are not going to do anything in a confrontational way; we are going to do it through consultations, through dialogue, through working with colleagues with one common objective in mind, an objective that is common to all the branches and to all the leaders and to all the citizens of the County, and that objective is: to bring development to the people. I am sure that in that spirit, we will be able to find a solution, to come up with new procedures that will enable us to get more results and have more effectiveness and efficiency in the implementation of our County Development Projects," the Liberian leader reminded her officials, urging them to start a process of consultation to achieve the objective.

Too many times, she observed, leaders are removed from the people they serve. "Many times the People do not know; this is why sometimes the lack of information gives way to rumors and to wrong information. You are responsible to hold consultations with your citizens. You need to go into the districts, the communities, in the villages. Tell them what you are doing. Show them that the CDA comes out of a process in which they contributed. It’s their project. This is what has been done; these are the problems; this is our progress-so they can know. Because they are the ones that will defend you," she urged the County Superintendents.

I am completely impressed. This sounds just like the woman I read about in This Child Will Be Great. And I look forward to reading more.


Thomas Mangiantini Killed His Sons, His Wife and Himself

The tragic news from the Chicago Tribune:

Police have recovered a note left behind by Thomas Mangiantini, who they say killed his two young sons, his wife and himself in their Addison home.

The note, one page long and handwritten, was discovered late Wednesday night, hours after the bodies of Mangiantini, his wife Elizabeth and their sons Tommy Jr., 8, and Angelo, 12, were found, according to Addison Police Chief Tim Hayden.

Hayden would not disclose the contents of the note, but said Mangiantini was distraught.

The police chief also said two guns were recovered from the scene and Mangiantini used both of them to shoot his family. The police have not yet determined to whom the guns were registered, Hayden said.

Thomas E. Mangiantini, 48, killed his wife and children before shooting himself in the mouth, Hayden said. He was found dead in his bedroom.

The DuPage County coroner ruled today that Elizabeth Mangiantini died of a single gunshot wound to the head. Tommy Jr. was also shot once in the head and Angelo suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head, the coroner said. Their deaths were classified as homicides.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the relatives of this family.

Read more here.


Virginia Couple Crashes Obama’s First State Dinner

White House party crashers

Somebody needs to answer for this. A couple from Virginia crashed a White House state dinner. Yes, that’s the couple above with Vice President Joe Biden.  The Secret Service first learned of the security breach when the couple posted pictures from the event on their Facebook page.

Apparently they just walked into the White House.

From the New York Times:

This much is known: About 7:15 Tuesday night, a glittering blonde, decked out in a red and gold sari, holding the hand of her black-tuxedoed escort, swept past the camera crews and reporters camped out to catch the red-carpet arrivals for the first state dinner given by President Obama.

“Hey, that’s a Desperate Housewife!” one reporter yelled out, alluding to the TV series named for a collection of them.

In fact, the couple — Michaele Salahi and her husband, Tareq — are Virginians who have been auditioning for a possible role in a different housewives TV franchise: “The Real Housewives of Washington.”

They swept past the camera crews and followed the trail of other bigwigs attending the dinner.

But neither Mr. nor Mrs. Salahi, best known in the Washington area for promoting wine and polo in Virginia, were on the guest list for the event, a fact first reported Wednesday morning on the Washington Post Web site.

A White House official confirmed Wednesday that the Salahis had not been invited nor seated for dinner.

The couple “went through magnetometers and other levels of security,” according to a Secret Service spokesman. The fact remains, however, that these two enjoyed unprecedented access to the President of the United States, even if they did not meet him directly.

What an incredible and apparently unprecedented security lapse.

The investigation continues.

Read more here.


Irish Report Unambiguous: Catholic Church Covered Up Sexual Abuse of Children

The report concerning the alleged sexual abuse of children by clergy released today by the Department of Justice, Equality and Reform in Ireland is unequivocal in its conclusions: the Roman Catholic Church engaged in widespread cover-up.

From paragraph 1.10 of the report (emphasis added):

The Commission examined complaints in respect of over 320 children against the 46 priests in the representative sample. Substantially more of the complaints relate to boys – the ratio is 2.3 boys to 1 girl.

From paragraph 1.15 of the report:

The Dublin Archdiocese’s pre-occupations in dealing with cases of child sexual abuse, at least until the mid 1990s, were the maintenance of secrecy, the avoidance of scandal, the protection of the reputation of the Church, and the preservation of its assets. All other considerations, including the welfare of children and justice for victims, were subordinated to these priorities. The Archdiocese did not implement its own canon law rules and did its best to avoid any application of the law of the State.

Regarding the alleged ignorance of child sexual abuse, paragraph 1.17:

The authorities in the Archdiocese of Dublin and the religious orders who were dealing with complaints of child sexual abuse were all very well educated people. Many had qualifications in canon law and quite a few also had qualifications in civil law. This makes their claims of ignorance very difficult to accept. Child sexual abuse did not start in the 20th century. Since time immemorial it has been a “delict” under canon law, a sin in ordinary religious terms and a crime in the law of the State. Ignorance of the law is not a defence under the law of the State. It is difficult for the Commission to accept that ignorance of either the canon law or the civil law can be a defence for officials of the Church.

Regarding the alleged failure by the Church to implement its own rules:

The Church authorities failed to implement most of their own canon law rules on dealing with clerical child sexual abuse. This was in spite of the fact that a number of them were qualified canon and civil lawyers. As is shown in Chapter 4, canon law appears to have fallen into disuse and disrespect during the mid 20th century. In particular, there was little or no experience of operating the penal (that is, the criminal) provisions of that law. The collapse of respect for the canon law in Archdiocesan circles is covered in some detail in Chapter 4. For many years offenders were neither prosecuted nor made accountable within the Church. Archbishop McQuaid was well aware of the canon law requirements and even set the processes in motion but did not complete them. Archbishops Ryan and McNamara do not seem to have ever applied the canon law.

Catholic Church policy is ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’:

The American phrase, “don’t ask, don’t tell” is appropriate to describe the attitude of the Dublin Archdiocese to clerical sex abuse for most of the period covered by the report. The problem as a whole never seems to have been discussed openly by the Archbishop and his auxiliaries, at least until the 1990s. Complainants were told as little as possible. The note “Gain his knowledge, tell him nothing” for dealing with complainants and witnesses, discussed in Chapter 4, typifies the attitudes of the Archdiocese.

The existence of a cover-up is clear, according to the report:

As can be seen clearly from the case histories, there is no doubt that the reaction of Church authorities to reports of clerical child sexual abuse in the early years of the Commission’s remit was to ensure that as few people as possible knew of the individual priest’s problem. There was little or no concern for the welfare of the abused child or for the welfare of other children who might come into contact with the priest. Complainants were often met with denial, arrogance and cover-up and with incompetence and incomprehension in some cases. Suspicions were rarely acted on. Typically complainants were not told that other instances of child sexual abuse by their abuser had been proved or admitted. The attitude to individual complainants was overbearing and in some cases underhand (see Chapter 58).

The report, released to the government in July but publicly released today, covers each case in detal.

How many other countries are doing similar investigations right now? This behavior is beyond damnable.


Dublin Catholic Diocesan Report Shows ‘Number of Errors’

Following up on the breaking story of a panel report which alleges the Catholic Church in Ireland covered up reports of child abuse in Ireland by clergy, a RTÉ report alleges issues over reports on abusers by the Granada Institute.

From RTÉ:

In one case of a priest named as Fr Terentius there were a number of errors in the report forwarded by the Institute.

It states that in the Granada report that the priest had not admitted to any allegations when in fact he had admitted to several incidents involving six young boys.

The Commission states that the report from the Granada Institute was ‘seriously deficient’.

The Granada report also states that two boys were 17 years of age at the time of abuse when according to the Commission they were 13 or 14 years of age.

Another claim in the report from Granada about Fr Terentius states that he is undergoing therapy on an individual basis

The Commission questions this as well as a number of other claims in the report.

Read more.


Roman Catholic Church Covered Up Child Abuse in Ireland, Panel Finds

From the New York Times:

An expert commission says the Roman Catholic Church in Dublin covered up decades of priests’ sexual abuse of children because its bishops were determined to protect the church’s reputation at the expense of victims.

Abuse victims have welcomed Thursday’s publication of a government-ordered investigation into how scores of priests were permitted to molest and rape boys and girls with impunity for decades.

The 720-page report analyzes the cases of 46 priests from 1975 to 2004 against whom 320 complaints were filed. The report names 11 priests who were convicted of child abuse but the others, either dead or yet to face trial, have their names omitted or replaced with aliases.

Investigators spent three years poring over 60,000 previously secret Dublin church files.

The NYTimes indicates that the text above is a breaking news update. A more complete story will follow.

Update: The NYTimes published a longer, updated story filed at 10:52 a.m. ET.  Read the entire article here.

Turning Left will follow this story as it make its way through the Irish legal system. No further comment right now.


Classic Craig Ferguson Video: Larry King vs Levi Johnston

Classic Criag Ferguson from earlier this year. Enjoy Larry King vs. Levi Johnston.

Gotta love Craig.