It's Time To Drop The Checkered Flag!

Logo Credit: indyracing.com

Today is the day the first American series open wheel race of the 2006 season will held. The flag drops in Homestead, Florida on the first of fourteen races, eleven of which are staged on oval tracks. This racing series was spawned by Tony George, the owner of the Indiapolis 500 (to be raced later this year).

This from the Indy Car Website -

Sunday, March 26, 2006
Who will win? It's anyone's guess, and everyone has one
By Dave Lewandowskiindycar.com

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Three points to consider when watching or listening to the season-opening Toyota Indy 300 at 3:30 p.m. (EST) on ABC, IMS Radio Network affiliates, and also simulcast on XM Satellite Radio IndyCar channel 145 and indycar.com:

Parity: Sure, with each of the 20 cars having the same Honda HI6R Indy V-8 engine, there will be a more level playing field. But that only goes so far; more will be in the hands of the drivers and their pit crews. “Eighty percent driver and 20 percent pit stops,” said Helio Castroneves, who will start on the front row alongside Marlboro Team Penske teammate and pole winner Sam Hornish Jr. “Because the equipment seems to be similar, small differences in a setup will make a big difference on the racetrack. The team and driver that find that better is definitely going to be in good shape.”

Old guard: Don’t discount Eddie Cheever Jr. and Buddy Lazier. Sure their programs are new and they’ll be starting from the rear of the field, but experience goes a long way. Both will make a statement.

Next generation: Marco Andretti has the pedigree and P.J. Chesson the Car Melo. The first is a household name at age 19 because of his grandfather and father. The latter will be a household name before the season is half over.
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One thing is for sure, the season will kick off today with high energy (and we’re not only talking about the ethanol/methanol blended fuel).
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Now, if only we all drove those cars, we wouldn't be addicted to oil anymore ... hummmm?!

The first race of the primarily road course, open wheel racing series, "Champ Car World Series" comes in a couple of weeks in Long Beach (April 9th) ... Now That Is Racing!!

These cars run on streets, airports, dedicated road courses and one fabled oval known as the "Milwaukee Mile". It is an American series that is contested internationally (similar to Formula One) and features racing venues in the US, Canada, Mexico, South Korea and Australia. By the way, these cars run on Ethanol/Methanol blended fuel as well.

It is time for the 2006 season to begin!

Protest, What Protest?

Demonstrators gather to protest federal legislation that would build more walls along the U.S. - Mexico border and make helping illegal immigrants a crime, in front of City Hall in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 25, 2006. ( AP Photo:Ann Johansson)

To be honest, I was driving through downtown today and it looked the same (have you ever been in Downtown LA on a weekend day?). Nobody ever goes to downtown LA on the weekends except shoppers … Latin culture shoppers with Banda music blaring into the streets from about every fifth store front. It looked like a brisk business day.

Excerpts from AP via Yahoo News -

Thousands March in L.A. Over Immigration
By PETER PRENGAMAN, Associated Press Writer (Associated Press writer Bob Jablon contributed to this report)

LOS ANGELES - Tens of thousands of immigrant rights advocates from across Southern California marched Saturday in protest of federal legislation that would build more walls along the U.S.-Mexico border and make helping illegal immigrants a crime.

The march followed rallies on Friday that drew throngs of protesters to major cities around the nation.

On Saturday, demonstrators streamed into downtown Los Angeles for what was expected to be one of the city's largest pro-immigrant rallies. The crowd was estimated at more than 100,000, said police Sgt. Lee Sands.
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Elger Aloy, 26, of Riverside, a premed student, pushed a stroller with his 8-month-old son at Saturday's Los Angeles march.

"I think it's just inhumane. ... Everybody deserves the right to a better life," Aloy said of the legislation.
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"They say we are criminals. We are not criminals," said Salvador Hernandez, 43, of Los Angeles, a resident alien who came to the United States illegally from El Salvador 14 years ago and worked as truck driver, painter and day laborer.

Francisco Flores, 27, a wood flooring installer from Santa Clarita who is a former illegal immigrant, said, "We want to work legally, so we can pay our taxes and support the country, our country."
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Well Mr. Flores was the only person interviewed for the article that has it right ... on several counts:

He is a former illegal immigrant (former lawbreaker), operative word - former.

He wants to work legally.

He wants to pay taxes.

He wants to support the country ... His country (I think he means the USA?)!

Why is he protesting, he wants what every American wants ... legal immigration and respect for our laws ... eventually.

UPDATE: 6:35 PM, PST
From AP - Immigration March Draws 500,000 in L.A. ... Must have been a sale!

The Face Of Taliban Fear

A TV frame grab, aired on March 22, 2006, shows Abdur Rahman holding a translated version of the Bible at a Kabul court.
(Reuters TV/Reuters)

What will happen when Abdur Rahman, 40, goes to trial in Afghanistan for believing that Jesus Christ died for his sins and, by believing this is so, he will have everlasting life?

This simple belief, shared by billions of humans throughout the world, is against the constitutional law in Afghanistan ... save for one small caveat. The Afghan constitution says it will abide by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which enshrines freedom of religion.

News item from Reuters -

Afghans grapple for solution to convert crisis
By Robert Birsel – Reuters

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan officials, trying to resolve a crisis over an Afghan who may face the death penalty for converting to Christianity, struggled on Saturday to satisfy conflicting international and domestic demands.

The controversy over the man who abandoned Islam, Abdur Rahman, 40, threatens to drive a wedge between Afghanistan and the Western backers who ensure its security and finance its development. Rahman's trial is due to start in a few days.

International pressure on Afghanistan to respect Rahman's religious freedom and release him from jail has been met in Afghanistan by calls for him to be tried under Islamic law and executed, and a threat of rebellion if the government frees him.
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UPDATE - AP, 5:26 AM, PST

Case Dropped Against Afghan Christian

POLICHARKI, Afghanistan - An Afghan court has dismissed the case against a man who converted from Islam to Christianity for lack of evidence, an official said Sunday.
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On Sunday, he was moved to a notorious maximum-security prison outside Kabul that is also home to hundreds of Taliban and al-Qaida militants. The move to Policharki Prison came after detainees threatened his life at an overcrowded police holding facility in central Kabul, a court official said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Gen. Shahmir Amirpur, who is in charge of Policharki, confirmed the move and said Rahman had also been begging his guards to provide him with a Bible.
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This is very good news but the question has to be asked.

Is not a dismissal due to a lack of evidence a whitewash of the issue before the court, shouldn't there have been a ruling that - in fact - religious freedom is legally enforced in Afghanistan? And on that basis, Abdur Rahman was wrongfully charged in the first place?

Give the man a Bible! The fear is still here.

More About The New York Times & Scamming

This from the Washington Post -

Of Media Mistakes and Explanations
By Howard KurtzWashington Post Staff WriterFriday, March 24, 2006; 8:51 AM

Stop the presses: The New York Times has been scammed again :

"An article in The Metro Section on March 8 profiled Donna Fenton, identifying her as a 37-year-old victim of Hurricane Katrina who had fled Biloxi, Miss., and who was frustrated in efforts to get federal aid as she and her children remained as emergency residents of a hotel in Queens.

"Yesterday, the New York police arrested Ms. Fenton, charging her with several counts of welfare fraud and grand larceny. Prosecutors in Brooklyn say she was not a Katrina victim, never lived in Biloxi and had improperly received thousands of dollars in government aid. Ms. Fenton has pleaded not guilty.

"For its profile, The Times did not conduct adequate interviews or public record checks to verify Ms. Fenton's account, including her claim that she had lived in Biloxi."

As Reagan said, trust but verify. This is particularly unfortunate since the Times admitted six days ago buying a bill of goods from a former Abu Ghraib prisoner who claimed to have been the hooded guy photographed on that box.

I mention this as a backhanded way of getting into a discussion about media transparency. The Times, in my view, has made great strides on that front since Bill Keller took over in the wake of the Jayson Blair debacle. I've generally found Keller candid and accessible (except when he made a decision that he could not detail why the paper held the domestic eavesdropping story for a year without compromising confidential sources).
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If you read on you will see the word overstretched again, however, it is used to speculate about a military draft. MSM News people interviewed for this article diffuse their own lazy, scamming ways by trying to work/massage in a "hot point" political discussion - This Is Rich!

Let us just say, in a paraphrase, that "the truth does not justify the means" at The New York Times.

Reporting Bad News In Iraq is ALL About Budgeting!

Yep! That is what the big media person said here in this USA TODAY article.

Excerpts -

Reporters in Iraq under fire there, and from critics
By Mark Memmott, USA TODAY

As they begin a fourth year covering the war in Iraq, journalists there face increasing threats to their safety and increasing criticism of their work.

It started as arguably the best-covered war in history: Hundreds of reporters traveled with the military as it invaded Iraq, and then hundreds more moved freely around the country as troops secured Baghdad. Today, it has become for some journalists the least-covered war.

Newspapers and other media have cut the number of reporters in the war zone. The reporters who remain in Iraq find leaving their hotels or rental houses difficult for fear of being killed or kidnapped.
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"Have we undercovered the good news?" asks John Burns, Baghdad bureau chief for The New York Times. "We probably have. But there's nothing willful about it. I would enter a plea of mitigation that we are overstretched."
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So, the reason this MSM card carrying New York Times bureau chief in Baghdad has to offer up is that they are "OVERSTRETCHED".

Okay, so it has absolutely nothing to do with the ease of paying Iraqi stringers and/or gleening digital content from enemy websites for explosive footage and photos, or agenda focus because we (the MSM) hate Bush, love Democrats, and Socialism. Yea, right!

Good Story From Iraq ... Largely Ignored!

Story NOT picked-up by the mainstream media. MAXINE waited nearly 20 hours to post this account just to see if it might catch on anywhere. Few outlets joined in.

This from AP via Yahoo News -

Iraqi Insurgents' Raid on Jail Thwarted
By VANESSA ARRINGTON, Associated Press Writer 3-22-2006 8:23 PM, PST

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Emboldened a day after a successful jailbreak, insurgents laid siege to another prison Wednesday. This time, U.S. troops and a special Iraqi unit thwarted the pre-dawn attack south of Baghdad, overwhelming the gunmen and capturing 50 of them, police said.

Although the raid failed, the insurgents' ability to put together such large and well-armed bands of fighters underlined concerns about the ability of Iraqi police and military to take over the fight from U.S. troops. Sixty militants participated in the assault, which attempted to free more jailed Sunni insurgents, police said.

The attack on the prison in Madain, 15 miles southeast of Baghdad, began with insurgents firing 10 mortar rounds. They then stormed the facility, which is run by the Interior Ministry, a predominantly Shiite organization and heavily infiltrated by members of various Shiite militias.

Four police officers — including the commander of the special unit — died in a two-hour gunbattle, which was subdued only after American forces arrived. Among the 50 captured, police said, was one Syrian.

The U.S. military did not respond to a request for comment about its role in the counterattack. The raid came a day after 100 Sunni gunmen freed 33 prisoners and wrecked a jail, police station and courthouse in Muqdadiyah, a town northeast of Baghdad near the Iranian border.
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Iraqi special unit - ALLRIGHT. It seems that some of the problem of the lack of broad based reporting comes from editors based here and not in Iraq. If this story caught my eye, why didn't catch the eye of any other outlet than YAHOO?

UPDATE: Fox News and Washington Post weigh in.

Go Ahead, Go On Strike, Then Go Home - REALLY!

Leonardo Salazar, left, and Eaulojea Martinez, center, join a "A Day Without an Immigrant" rally in Philadelphia. (Photo Credit: By Bradley C. Bower -- Bloomberg News)

Excerpts from the Washington Post -

Immigration Debate Heats Up
Undocumented Workers Rally as Tough Measures Are Considered
By Darryl Fears
Washington Post Staff WriterWednesday, March 22, 2006; Page A03

PHILADELPHIA -- The phones started jumping off their hooks early on that "Scary Tuesday," so named because callers were spreading panic in this city's Spanish-speaking community. They said federal agents were hauling illegal immigrants from their jobs and deporting them.

Osmin Amilca of Guatemala ran home and locked the door. Daniel Tetl of Mexico shut off the lights at work and cleaned in the dark. "It was the craziest day of my life," said activist Peter Bloom, who fielded dozens of calls, including one from a man who said that agents were right outside his front door. "People were literally hallucinating."

Activists say the debate in Washington over the toughest proposals against illegal immigration in recent times was the reason behind the panic. The fear and paranoia were so strong on that Tuesday, Jan. 31, that the Italian Market at Ninth Street and Washington Avenue virtually shut down because illegal immigrants refused to come to work at meatpacking plants, vegetable stands, fish markets and restaurants.
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Pro-immigrant activists are planning an April 10 protest in 10 cities that could pull tens of thousands of immigrant workers from their jobs.
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Such a day was carried out with mixed results on Feb. 14 in Philadelphia, when about 5,000 immigrants rallied on Independence Mall, according to the activists who organized it. But downtown civic groups said the economic impact was so small that they barely felt it.
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Opponents of illegal immigration were unsympathetic. Chris Simcox, president of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, said Diaz and others are not "representing the immigrant community" but rather "representing the illegal immigrant community."

"I'm sorry that they're fearful that we're going to enforce the law," Simcox said. "Maybe that's a sign that they should return home and reenter this country by our rules. Then they would have nothing to worry about. They could hold their heads high."
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On Martes de Miedo -- Tuesday of Fear -- men carried half their family savings with them in case they were picked up, Diaz said. Mothers did not go to work for fear their children would return from school and discover that their parents had been deported.

"It was really, really bad," said Raul Castro, who closed his Mexican restaurant for lack of business that day.
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On the following Thursday, Romero said, he sold 12 airline tickets to people who have since returned to Mexico, an assertion that could not be confirmed. "I've never sold that many tickets," he said. "They said they would have to go back anyway."
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Please quit whining if you are here illegally. Gaining respect is a two way street.

Is it to much to ask that our laws are to be respected and enforced? Please show up at these rallies and work boycotts, maybe then our laws will be enforced.

Freedom is not free, but it can be relatively easy to obtain. Petition the world to change the country you are born into (the UN?) or move to the United States legally … please have a working knowledge of English; it will help ease the transition.

MSM Giant Has A Big Problem

This from the New York Post -

BOSTON AD SKID CHILLS TIMES
By KEITH J. KELLY

March 23, 2006 -- The New York Times Company yesterday warned of a first-quarter slump, pinning the blame squarely on weak advertising business at the Boston Globe and other Times-owned papers in the region.

The warning came as company chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. planned a trip to Boston next week, creating anxiety in the newsrooms of the Globe and other New England Newspaper Group papers.

Times officials insist, however, that the Sulzberger visit is "routine" and that no more cutbacks are planned.
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The warning was a "disaster," according to Ed Atorino, an analyst at Benchmark Inc. "The Boston Globe seems to be having some major problems in help wanted, retail, across the board."

Atorino said the group's 12 percent decline in February ad revenue was "probably the worst of any major newspaper group."
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So let us get this straight, ad revenues are down due to weak advertising business – yea - right!

People do not trust the mainstream press to deliver a clean, clear balanced message so they do not buy as many papers.

Advertisers, facing an economy that’s clicking along (yesterday, the DOW closed up 81 to 11,317 and change) have to advertise, so they place their message where it is expected to be delivered to people who believe in capitalism and buy products.

MSM, facing a business model in decline, refuses to look at the obvious for answers. “Nope, it’s the WEAK Advertising business”. It is a little like Hollywood complaining that nobody goes out to see all of their “Award Nominated/Award Winning” movies.

Grinding Meathead - Changing Sausage To Schnitzel

Rob Reiner must be living a blessed life. The minute his head is put into the meat grinder, Governor Arnold decides to step in and make this whole mess his own. That is how one makes schnitzel out of sausage. Californians are goin'a eat this up.

Excerpts from Bill Bradley's New West Notes at LA Weekley -

Arnold Makes The Reiner Mess His Own

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has made the Rob Reiner mess his own. After weeks of avoiding questions on the matter, Schwarzenegger told the Fresno Bee editorial board yesterday afternoon he will not replace the controversial chairman of the California Children and Families Commission, who he described as “a friend.”

It was previously revealed here that Reiner, although a very liberal Democrat who considered running for governor this year, was a special guest at private parties during the Arnold Inaugural festivities in November 2003. He was on the “Friends and Family” list for inaugural gala activities.
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** Under Reiner’s leadership during the Schwarzenegger Administration, the commission undertook highly questionable activities, using taxpayer money to promote Reiner’s political agenda of stimulating demand for more state spending on preschool. This includes a state contract for $67.5 million in advertising signed on June 28, 2004. Which Reiner told me last week during his disastrous appearance at the Sacramento Press Club that he didn’t know about. That was only one of a number of telling points he said he didn't know about.

** Top officials in the Schwarzenegger Cabinet were involved with the Reiner Commission but raised no alarms about practices that even the governor has said, long after the fact, look bad.

** The governor rejected the recommendation of his highly touted California Performance Review that the commission -- which currently exists as an independent agency sorely in need of oversight -- be brought under the department of health and human services.
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2 PM UPDATE: Sac Bee columnist Dan Weintraub speculates that Schwarzenegger and Reiner cut a deal.
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Remember, the results of the audit that is underway are not known. The handle still turns and it is beginning to look like "schnitsage" or "sautzel"!

MSNBC Question Of The Day ...

MSNBC QUESTION OF THE DAY

Is the media providing an accurate picture of the situation in Iraq?

Yes

No - X

Comment:

Richard Engle, in his package this morning on MSNBC, said it best when asked how Iraqi's view their future ... (paraphrase) ... "Iraqi's have a hopeful, positive view of their future in the long term."

And that is just the point; the MSM is focusing on the immediate sucesses of the terrorist war of the insurgents and not the long term political war FOR the balance of representation of all Iraqi's.

The MSM has no interest in the success of the long term goal - a FREE Iraq.

Last year, it was all about the strife in Kurdish Mosul. There, the insurgents have LOST their war. Why not do a follow up in-depth report on that success??

Or is it is just easier and cheaper to "show the BOOM".

Ed Jenks
Toluca Lake
maxine-log@blogspot.com

Mainstream Cable News Outlet Ship Sinks A Little Lower

When a business model begins to degrade from within ... it is time to change the model.

Excerpts from a posting at Captain's Quarters -

March 22, 2006
Gallup Dumps CNN

In a move that shows the decline of a once-dominant media empire, CNN has lost Gallup as a partner as the pollster notes the sharp drop in viewership for the cable news service. In a memo to staff, Gallup's CEO explains that they intend on launching their own "e-broadcasts" and will operate independent of any news network:

"We have had a great partnership with CNN but it is not the right alignment for our future. The longtime partnership has been very helpful to The Gallup Poll as it put us "back big" fifteen years ago when our famous Gallup Poll had lost most of its national coverage. Our CNN partnership helped us make a great comeback. We had a great run as we just cut our 4000th segment this week. ...

WHY.

1) CNN has far fewer viewers than it did in the past and we feel that our brand was getting lost and diluted combined with the CNN brand. We have only about 200 thousand viewers during our CNN segments.

2) We are creating our own e-broadcasting programs and we don't want to be married to one broadcast network. We don't want to move to another network like CBS or Fox but rather become our own network. We cannot do this while married to CNN.

3) By dissolving our partnership with CNN we believe that Frank and other Gallup analysts will be seen as more independent so they will be more likely to be invited on a wide variety of television shows rather than primarily linked to CNN. We believe with this new found independence, we will get covered by more broadcast media because we are not the poll of their competitor."

CNN's Reaction?
(Media Bistro)

"We want to make it clear that the decision to not renew our polling arrangement had to do with Gallup's desire to produce their own broadcasts and not about CNN viewership figures. In fact, Gallup had negotiated with us for four months in an effort to extend the partnership. "

CNN then went on to describe their "monthly reach" as the largest in cable news -- but they combine the viewership of all their ancillary channels to reach that conclusion. Gallup has little interest in CNN Headline News or CNNi or CNN-SI, their sports channel. They want news viewers at the flagship channel, and those numbers have dropped precipitously in the years since Fox News launched its service.

Captain's Quarters concludes,

This argument is self-defeating. CNN has partnered with Gallup for fourteen years -- and now they want us to believe that Gallup can't count?
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Again, when a business model begins to degrade from within ... it is time to change the business model. Gallup has recognized this and has made changes for a new course. Maybe it is due time for CNN to see the handwriting on the wall.