Court: Quit saying 'illegal aliens'
But critics say, 'Let's call drug dealers undocumented pharmacists'
Posted: November 08, 2008
12:40 am Eastern
WorldNetDaily Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor stirred up a hornet's nest by endorsing a demand from the Hispanic Bar Association to censor words and phrases such as "illegal aliens" and "illegal immigrants" and substitute "foreign nationals" in court documents.Then, when a blog at Judicial Watch reported on the instructions, court officials threatened to sue the government-watchdog organization, prompting its release of a statement defending the story. The original report said the chief justice had agreed to forward to judges the Hispanic Bar's demands to alter the language in court opinions and documents.Judicial Watch said, "In a strongly worded letter to the chief justice, Los Abogados' [Hispanic Bar Association] president says attaching an illegal status to a person establishes a brand of contemptibility, creates the appearance of anti-immigrant prejudice and tarnishes the image of courts as a place where disputes may be fairly resolved."The letter, according to Judicial Watch, criticized the state's high court for using the term "illegals" in at least two opinions and the term "illegal aliens" in dozens of others.Judicial Watch said the letter concludes with a list of acceptable and unacceptable terms relating to illegal immigration. Among the terms the group wants banned are "immigration crisis,' "immigration epidemic,' "open borders advocates", "anchor babies" and "invaders."Acceptable terms are "foreign nationals," "unauthorized workers" and "human rights advocates," Judicial Watch said.The report almost immediately was followed with a response from the court, Judicial Watch reported."The Arizona Supreme Court
has threatened to sue Judicial Watch for revealing that its chief justice agreed to enforce a Hispanic Bar Association demand to ban the terms 'illegal' and 'aliens' in all of the state’s courtrooms," the organization said in a statement late today. "In a threatening phone call to Judicial Watch today, a spokesperson for Arizona's Supreme Court denied that Chief Justice McGregor had banned anything and accused Judicial Watch of 'slander.' Judicial Watch, however, stands by its story," the organization said.The letter, to which Judicial Watch provided a link, said McGregor took several steps to notify judges of the concerns raised by the bar association.She confirmed she had provided copies of the demands to judges and concluded, "If Judge Song Ong has not already done so, I request that the Commissionon on Minorities in the Judiciary consider whether any further distribution of your request would be helpful."The request from the Hispanic Bar Association, signed by Los Abogados President Lizzette Alameda Zubey and president-elect Salvador Ongaro, said it wanted McGregor to communicate "these points to all judges and court employees in Arizona so that none of these hurtful terms are used in Arizona court documents or proceedings again."Putting this in greater perspective, even a convicted murderer is never referred to as an 'illegal' because of that conviction," the bar association letter said."Those that use the terms as an instrument of hate know that it insults and incenses those that oppose their views," said the letter, which cited several court document uses of the terms."We believe it essential to ongoing public dialogue to eliminate hate speech in all forms and to strip away all vestiges of perceived bias," the group said.It said acceptable terms are "undocumented immigrants," "foreign nationals," "persons without legal immigration status," "unauthorized workers" and "alleged or suspected undocumented immigrants."However, the association said "illegals," "illegal aliens," "aliens," "resident or non-resident aliens," "illegal immigrants," "scratchbacks or wetbacks," "armies of immigrants," "invaders," "reconquistadores" and "anchor babies" should be banned.On the Judicial Watch forums page the arguments included the technical."Yes, the concept of citizen implies that it can be legal or illegal, based upon the laws that confer citizenship in any particular jurisdiction. If members of a Supreme Court do not understand this, we are in a lot of trouble as a nation. God help us," wrote Gianni.Others exhibited less patience with the request."If the Hispanic Bar likes that, then let's call drug dealers undocumented pharmacists, and home robbery suspects physical property adjusters," said the commenter. "I know a moron when I hear one."They also got personal, "She must have gotten her law degree out of a box of Cracker Jacks," said another. "Calling an ILLEGAL ALIEN an 'undocumented immigrant,' 'unauthorized worker,' 'or 'human rights advocate' not only is nondescriptive of the individual, it is the same as calling a burglar an 'unwanted house guest.' Get real!""How about felonious foreigner," suggested another.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=80436
Just another backdoor way to cause the cost of hunting and shooting to go up. They are using (and have in the past used) this to shut down ranges and shooting activities.
Lead bullets under fire
By CHRIS MERRILLStar-Tribune environment reporterwith wire reports
Friday, November 7, 2008 9:57 PM MST
People in Wyoming and North Dakota received mixed messages this week about eating animals killed with lead bullets.North Dakota health officials recommended on Thursday that pregnant women and young children avoid eating meat from wild game that was shot with lead ammunition.But an official with the Wyoming Department of Health said the Cowboy State will not be issuing the same warning to its residents, because state epidemiologists believe the effects are "very unlikely to be clinically significant."The same afternoon, an advocacy group for the firearms industry called the North Dakota alert "scientifically unfounded rhetoric."The North Dakota recommendation is based on a federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, released Wednesday, that examined the blood lead levels in more than 700 state residents.Those who ate wild game killed with lead bullets seemed statistically to have higher lead levels than those who ate little or no wild game.
The elevated levels were not considered dangerous, but North Dakota says pregnant women and children younger than 6 should avoid eating venison harvested with lead bullets.Lead poisoning can cause learning problems and convulsions, and in severe cases can lead to brain damage and death.The CDC study is the first to connect lead traces in game with higher lead levels in the blood of game eaters, said Dr. Stephen Pickard, a CDC epidemiologist who works with the state health department.A separate study by Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources previously found that fragments from lead bullets spread as far as 18 inches from the wound."Nobody was in trouble from the lead levels," Pickard said. However, "the effect was small but large enough to be a concern," he said.Pickard said the study found "the more recent the consumption of wild game harvested with lead bullets, the higher the level of lead in the blood."The vast majority hunters in the United States use lead ammo.But Dr. Tracy Murphy, the state epidemiologist with the Wyoming Department of Health, said he's reviewed the study, and Wyoming will not be issuing a similar warning about lead ammo to Cowboy State residents."From looking at the study, the increase that they showed is very small and very unlikely to be clinically significant," Murphy said. "Now that doesn't mean that somebody's eating habits couldn't make it clinically significant, but in this study it doesn't appear to be."Pregnant women and parents with small children should be aware of the possibility that eating hunter-killed meat could cause a small increase in blood lead levels, he said. So, if other factors in their lives are elevating lead levels as well, it might then be "cause for concern," Murphy said.For people seeking guidance on this issue, Murphy said: "I don't see anything in this study that would lead us to make any concrete recommendations against eating it."The Wyoming Department of Health had several epidemiologists examine the CDC report, and so far they all concur on this, he said."It's possible more information may come out that will show a more significant problem; that certainly is a possibility, and we'll keep monitoring it," Murphy said.A scare tactic?The National Shooting Sports Foundation, which advocates for the firearms and ammunition industries, issued a statement Thursday in response to the North Dakota announcement.The statement argued that the CDC study shows "no evidence that lead or 'traditional' ammunition pose any health risk to those who consume game-harvested meat."The statement continued: "The CDC report on human lead levels of hunters in North Dakota has confirmed what hunters throughout the world have known for hundreds of years, that traditional ammunition poses no health risk to people, and that the call to ban lead ammunition was nothing more than a scare tactic being pushed by anti-hunting groups."The Foundation noted the average lead level of the hunters tested in the study was lower than that of the average American.When asked if that claim is true, Dr. Murphy said it was the case.The lead levels of children under 6 in the study were an average of just 0.88, the Foundation added, which is less than half the national average: "Children over 6 had even lower lead levels. The CDC's level of concern for lead in children is 10."Murphy said these claims are also true, for the most part."There was good evidence that the pediatric levels were not particularly alarming," Murphy said. "As for that last part, there's kind of a gray area about lead levels in children. The so-called action level is officially 10, but there is plenty of evidence that children can have some impaired neurological development at levels less than 10, so you kind of have to look at the individual. You don't want to say that everything is fine unless it's 10."The Peregrine Fund, a conservation organization that advocates for birds of prey, touted the results of this CDC study as further proof hunters should switch to copper bullets.The Peregrine Fund has worked to convince hunters to stop using lead bullets since it was discovered that endangered California Condors have died from lead poisoning after ingesting carcasses and "gut piles" from hunter-killed game animals.Rick Watson, vice president of the Peregrine Fund, said in a media release on Wednesday: "When the extent of the lead problem for condors became clear, we began to wonder if people who eat venison shot with lead bullets might also be exposed to the toxic heavy metal. We are not anti-hunting. Our agenda is solely to restore California Condors to the wild where they may be enjoyed by future generations."In North Dakota, the health department ordered food pantries to throw out donated venison this week. Some groups that organize venison donations have called such actions premature and unsupported by science.For his part, Murphy said the Wyoming Department of Health would like people to be aware that handling lead and being exposed to lead can cause elevated levels. Hunters and shooters should be careful when reloading lead bullets, he said, and they should try to avoid ingesting any lead."Probably the biggest risk would be from reloading," he said. "You can get lead residue on your hands, so don't eat or smoke until you wash the residue off."And when handling lead ammo, people should try not to create dust that they inhale, he said.Contact environment reporter Chris Merrill at (307) 267-6722 or chris.merrill@trib.com
http://www.trib.com/articles/2008/11/07/homepage_lead/ff2ca8758908efd5872574fa00090976.txt
This is just a sign of the time in which we live. Thieves will never realise that it takes more effort to steal something and organize this type of thing then it would to get a real job.
Warning over illegal meat as sheep rustling soars
A sharp rise in the theft of sheep is being reported by farmers across Britain, prompting fears that organised gangs are selling illicitly slaughtered meat into the food chain.
Consumers and food traders are being urged to watch out for meat being offered for sale cheaply that could be a risk to health.
The Food Standards Agency said in a statement: “All meat should be fully traceable to the abattoir and people should not buy meat unless they can see on the label that it has been produced lawfully.”
Some farmers believe that some shepherds anxious to make extra cash during this difficult economic period are involved in the operation. Opportunist thieves would not have the skill to round up sheep with dogs, keep them in pens or lift the animals into vehicles, they say.
Reports of sheep rustling have been received in Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Dorset, Co Durham and Shropshire. John Bishop, who has a 400-acre farm at Colwall, Herefordshire, has lost 200 lambs and sheep since the end of the summer.
In Dorset two rams worth £400 each were stolen from Rob Hole, right, who farms at Holwell. The thieves used a vehicle to corner the prime Poll Dorset breeding rams before stealing them.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article5110396.ece
They will give you a 70% discount after they mark the product up about 150%. Merry Christmas
Credit crunch Christmas: Bargain bonanza for shoppers as prices are slashed up
to 70%
Prices are being cut by up to 70 per cent this weekend as retailers prepare for a 'bargain basement' Christmas.
Around half of families are tipped to spend less this year on food and presents than they did last time.
Part of this will be due to the discounts on their regular purchases - but customers are also expected to go without many favourites in the credit crunch.
The Mintel research came ahead of the traditional start to the festive shopping season.
Sales and vouchers offering huge savings are available from today, with retailers promising the best bargains in 30 years.
Some of the major names promising deals are Debenhams, with savings of up to 50 per cent on items for the home and partywear, House of Fraser, M&S, furniture and electrical chains.
Laura Ashley and Bhs are also offering big savings on lighting and other items.
M&S has its three-for-two festive deal on gifts. Stores are distributing hundreds of thousands of discount vouchers to try to kick-start shopping.
Figures from the British Retail Consortium show that electrical goods and fashions are cheaper than they were a year ago, with further falls in the pipeline.
Wish Congress would come in and bail me out (i guess they will) everytime i foul up. What ever happened to being responsible for your own actions and mistakes. Maybe next time they will be more careful and pick better people to run the business. If they never have to pay for their mistakes they will never learn from them. The only thing people will learn is that Uncle Sam will bail them out, again and again.
Automakers struggle to survive past mistakes
DETROIT – At Ford Motor Co. they called it "Blue," a team set up around the year 2000 to design an array of small, fuel-efficient cars to compete with the Japanese. It didn't get far because no one could figure out how to make money on low-priced compacts with Ford's high labor costs.
Besides, the automaker was racking up billions in profits by selling pickups and sport utility vehicles. Times were good and gas was cheap.
"Blue" is only a small blip in automotive history, but it tells a big part of the story about why Detroit automakers are in a mess so critical they could be only months away from bankruptcy.
Democratic leaders in Congress asked the Bush administration on Saturday to provide more aid to the struggling auto industry, which is bleeding cash and jobs as sales have dropped to their lowest level in a quarter-century.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that the administration should consider expanding the $700 billion bailout to include car companies.
Critics say leaders over the years at Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and what is now Chrysler LLC were slow to take on unions, failed to invest enough in new products, ceded the car market to the Japanese and were ill-prepared for the inevitable rise in gas prices that would make their trucks and SUVs obsolete.
"There's been 30 years of denial," said Noel Tichy, a University of Michigan business professor and author who ran General Electric Co.'s leadership program from 1985-87 and once worked as a consultant for Ford. "They did not make themselves competitive. They didn't deal with the union issues, the cost structures long ago, everything that makes a successful company."
Industry representatives, however, say their critics are simplistic, giving them no credit for huge progress this decade in cutting costs, raising productivity, and building competitive cars while handling multiple government regulations and a powerful labor union.
"In the last five years, there's been more restructuring done in the automotive business than any other business in the history of the United States," said Tony Cervone, a GM vice president of communications.
Whatever the reasons, the Detroit Three are closer to collapse than ever, and likely won't make it without billions in government loans.
On Friday, GM posted a $2.5 billion third-quarter loss and ominously said it could run out of money before the end of the year. The company spent $6.9 billion more than it took in for the quarter and reported that it had $16.2 billion in cash available at the end of September.
Ford reported a $129 million loss but said it burned up $7.7 billion in cash for the period. It had $18.9 billion on hand as of Sept. 30. Its chief financial officer says he's confident Ford will make it through 2009, but that's because the company took out a huge loan last year.
Industry analysts believe Chrysler, now a private company that does not have to open its books, is as bad off as GM as U.S. sales continue to plummet because of tight credit and lack of consumer confidence due to the economy.
To survive, automakers are pressing Washington for $50 billion in low-interest loans on top of $25 billion already approved to build more fuel-efficient vehicles. The $25 billion, though, is gummed up in Energy Department regulations and may not be available until next year.
The industry's path to cliff's edge is a complex one that even critics say is intertwined with government fuel economy and safety regulations and the United Auto Workers union.
The demise started in the 80s when Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. mastered building reliable and efficient cars while the Detroit Three lagged behind.
As GM, Ford and Chrysler saw their market share start to slip, the 90s arrived and high profits returned as Americans snapped up pickup trucks and SUVs.
As Honda and Toyota took over the small and mid-size car markets, Ford, GM and Chrysler put most of their resources into trucks and SUVs, which brought in billions in profits that covered growing health care, pension and labor costs.
"In a market-based economy when you have to try to be profitable, you go where the money is," said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor.
When times were good, the automakers did not take on the UAW, which the companies say drove up their labor costs to $30 per hour more than Japanese companies paid their workers. The figure includes pension and health care costs for hundreds of thousands of retirees.
When GM pushed for changes in 1998, the union went on strike at two key Flint, Mich., parts plants, shutting down the company and costing it about $2 billion in profits.
"They were making money and the union had a monopoly," Cole said. "They'd shut them down. That's why they had some very lengthy strikes that were very painful."
But when the SUV and truck market started to fade in the mid-2000s, executives realized their business model would no longer work and began globalizing their vehicles, streamlining manufacturing processes and developing new and better cars.
The UAW, realizing that the companies were in trouble, agreed to a landmark new contract last year that nearly eliminated the labor cost difference between the Detroit Three and the Japanese, shifting retiree health care costs to a union-administered trust fund.
But just as the cost cuts started to take hold and new products were rolling out, gas prices rose rapidly to around $4 per gallon and Wall Street collapsed, virtually eliminating credit which 60 percent of car buyers need.
"A lot of things sort of coalesced simultaneously," said Tom Libby, senior director of industry analysis for J.D. Power and Associates.
Automakers have all said bankruptcy is not an option because people would not buy cars from a company that might not exist in a few years. But if the car companies run out of money and can't pay the bills, bankruptcy could be forced on them, according to industry analysts.
GM's statements that it may run out of cash this year or next likely will have an effect on sales, Libby said.
"It doesn't help, and they know that," he said.
The current crisis, Cervone says, is not unique to the domestics. Honda and Toyota, he says, also have seen huge sales drops in the U.S. in recent months.
If Detroit gets federal help, the companies that do survive should become profitable next year, Cole said, if the credit market thaws out.
Cole says there's no way at this point the Detroit automakers can survive without federal aid. But if they get it, the ones that do survive should become profitable again next year if the credit markets thaw out.
"They'll get out of it," says Libby. "They've got to do what they've got to do. They're backed up against the wall."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081109/ap_on_bi_ge/autos_what_happened
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