Ghost free-ride program- Ghost Vote Program - that's the Chicago way

Fraud found in senior free-ride program - chicagotribune.com

Some using transit ID cards issued to people who have died

By Richard Wronski, Tribune reporter, November 29, 2010Thousands of fraudulent free rides have been taken onChicago's mass-transit system by people using passes issued to now-deceased senior citizens, officials said Monday.

The Regional Transportation Authority found that at least 164 senior free-ride cards remained in use after the person to whom the card was issued had died. One card alone racked up as many as 1,400 free trips, officials said.

An RTA audit turned up about 25,000 fraudulent free rides in 2009, costing the transit agencies about $50,000, said Grace Gallucci, RTA deputy executive director.

Although this is a relatively small amount of revenue and ridership, RTA officials fear more widespread abuse of the free-rides program is taking place.Besides people using a dead person's card, RTA officials believe the program is also being abused by people improperly using cards issued to other seniors or to low-income disabled individuals who are eligible for free rides under the state's Circuit Breaker qualification.

"There's a greater risk of abuse" under the entire free-ride program, Gallucci said.

More than 426,600 senior citizens and more than 43,250 people with disabilities are currently enrolled in the free-rides program, according to the RTA. The number of participants is increasing each month.

The RTA has deactivated about 3,142 free-ride cards issued to people who have died. The agency cross-checked its cardholders against death records, spokeswoman Diane Palmer said.

Although the free-ride IDs contain the user's photo and are embedded with smart-card technology that flashes a signal on a turnstile or fare box, abusers are able to take advantage of a bus operators' inability to check each passenger's identity.

Bus operators and customer assistants "can't monitor every individual," said Noelle Gaffney, spokeswoman for the Chicago Transit Authority.

When CTA personnel believe a person is fraudulently using a pass, they can confiscate the pass. So far this year, the CTA has confiscated more than 500 cards, Gaffney said.

The free-rides program was initiated and hastily sent through the legislature by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The program costs the CTA,Metra and Pace between $38 million and $116 million last year, according to a report by the University of Illinois at Chicago.

On Monday, a House committee approved legislation that would scale back the free-rides program by setting income limits for seniors to qualify.

"There is no such thing as a free lunch or a free ride," Rep.Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, said.

Gov. Pat Quinn has previously said he would veto legislation limiting free rides, but Currie said she is confident the proposal will have enough support for lawmakers to override a veto.

Tribune reporter Monique Garcia contributed to this report.

Old song about riding the T

Charlie on the MTA is a song from the 1940's about a man trapped on Boston's subway system unable to afford the 5 cents exit fare.
If I were Charlie, I'd be very upset when my wife handed me a sandwich every day at Scollay Square station. I'd be like, "Hey, how about a NICKEL Biatch!!"

Charlie on the MTA

Let me tell you the story
Of a man named Charlie
On a tragic and fateful day
He put ten cents in his pocket,
Kissed his wife and family
Went to ride on the MTA.

Charlie handed in his dime
At the Kendall Square Station
And he changed for Jamaica Plain
When he got there the conductor told him,
"One more nickel."
Charlie could not get off that train.

Did he ever return,
No he never returned
And his fate is still unlearned
He may ride forever
'neath the streets of Boston
He's the man who never returned.

Now all night long
Charlie rides through the tunnels
Saying, "What will become of me?
How can I afford to see
My sister in Chelsea
Or my cousin in Roxbury?"

Charlie's wife goes down
To the Scollay Square station
Every day at quarter past two
And through the open window
She hands Charlie a sandwich
As the train comes rumblin' through.

Did he ever return,
No he never returned
And his fate is still unlearned
He may ride forever
'neath the streets of Boston
He's the man who never returned.

As his train rolled on
Through Greater Boston
Charlie looked around and sighed,
"Well, I'm sore and disgusted
And I'm absolutely busted;
I guess this is my last long ride."

Now you citizens of Boston,
Don't you think it's a scandal
That the people have to pay and pay
Vote for Walter A. O'Brien
And fight the fare increase
Get poor Charlie off the MTA.

Or else he'll never return,
No he'll never return
And his fate will be unlearned
He may ride forever
'neath the streets of Boston
He's the man (Who's the man)
He's the man (Oh, the man)
He's the man who never returned.

Megyn Kelly Spars With Prominent Atheist Over Anti-Christmas Billboard - War On Christmas

Megyn Kelly Spars With Prominent Atheist Over Anti-Christmas Billboard - War On Christmas - Fox Nation

Your Local Government At Work - Cranston finds R.I. DOT installed some unapproved stop signs

Cranston finds R.I. DOT installed some unapproved stop signs | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal

November 30, 2010

CRANSTON — A preliminary investigation into how nearly 700 stop signs not approved by the city were installed has found that all the stop signs on city roads intersecting state roads were placed by the state Department of Transportation, Mayor Allan W. Fung said Monday.

The investigation is continuing.

It is unclear how many of the 692 signs in question were installed by state workers.

City officials revealed the questionable signs last week after a months-long investigation that had three city employees driving around the city armed with color-coded maps that indicated the location of the 1,903 stop signs approved by the city.

The employees logged 692 stop signs on city streets that were not approved by the city for posting.

That figure did not include signs that were installed on state roads.

Fung said the preliminary investigation found that state transportation officials had posted stop signs on city roads at the intersection with state roads, following a state statute that requires a motorist to stop before entering a state road.

State workers also painted the “stop bars” on city roads at those intersections, Fung said.

Fung said the city’s legal staff was researching the legality and enforceability of those signs installed by the state without city approval.

Journal Staff

September 2, 2009, 11:52 AM

London Seeks to Reduce Congestion by Eliminating Traffic Lights

By RICHARD S. CHANG

London is getting naked — well, getting naked streets. Naked streets are those without traffic lights and stop signs.

I wrote about naked streets a couple of years ago, when a village in Germany suddenly decided to rid itself of traffic lights and all other road accoutrements. The idea wasn’t even new back then. Towns in Holland, Denmark and Belgium have had naked streets for years.

But London would be the first major city to attempt order through apparent disorder, if an experiment proves successful. Boris Johnson, the city’s mayor, is behind an effort to switch off traffic lights in the city’s center, according to the Telegraph.

“We will be creating a bit of indecision in all road users’ minds to create a safe environment,” said Martin Low, Westminster City Council’s head of transportation, which is conducting the experiment with Transport for London. “When lights are out we have noticed that drivers are far more considerate and show more care and attention than they are when they have the reassurance of traffic lights.”

The experiment is slated for around Westminster Abbey (at the intersection of Victoria Street and Strutton Ground) and will last six weeks. For the first two weeks, the lights will operate as normal. The lights will be shut off the following two weeks, and then turned back on for the final two weeks. Closed-circuit cameras and license-plate recognition cameras will monitor driver and pedestrian response.

Should the experiment be successful, London could switch off as many as 20 percent of the city’s 400-some traffic lights. Mr. Johnson said earlier this year that he envisioned “a future where pavements would blend seamlessly with roads.”

Like New York, London is in the midst of transforming its roadways. While the city’s congestion charge has received the most publicity, Mr. Johnson is also trying to promote cycling in the city. Part of that push is to institute a cycle sharing program similar to the Velib service in Paris, and to make cycling much safer. Last month, London began Cycle Friday, a two-month program in which cyclists are led into the city center by volunteer marshals, who dispense advice on safety. Naked streets are also meant to make the streets safer for cyclists.

Reports often cite the town of Drachten, Holland, as an example. Accidents at one major intersection fell from 36 in four years to two in the two years after traffic lights were removed. The flow of traffic also improved despite a rise in traffic volume.

'The Euro Game Is Up! Just who the hell do you think you are?' - Nigel Farage MEP

The EU has a become the new Communist Block. Look to the 1930's and the Post WWII Soviet Block. Europe has be overlaid with a bureaucratic nightmare. These are just talking thieves that just abrogate all rights of individuals and nationalities for their own self-serving collectivist control and personal aggregation. This is a super-highway to serfdom!

Farage: No Taxation Without Representation

Farage exposes euro-nationalist, communist government of Europe

Crazy Outrageous Judge Makes his own Laws - New Jersey man serving 7 years for guns he owned legally

Family: New Jersey man serving 7 years for guns he owned legally | Philadelphia Daily News | 11/30/2010

Family: New Jersey man serving 7 years for guns he owned legally By JASON NARK Philadelphia Daily News narkj@phillynews.com 856-779-3231 EVERYTHING Brian Aitken was or had worked for was wiped away one winter afternoon after his mother called the police on him. Separated from his wife, the entrepreneur and media consultant, now 27, had moved back home to New Jersey from Colorado toward the end of 2008 to be closer to their young son. In between jobs, his well-oiled life was running ragged, and on Jan. 2, 2009, when his ex canceled his visit with their son, he became distraught, muttered something to his mother, and left his parents' home in Mount Laurel, N.J. "He said something that scared her, things that a guy will only say to his mom, like . . . 'Life's not worth living anymore,' " said Larry Aitken, Brian's father. Sue Aitken, a trained social worker, decided to play it safe and called police, but she hung up before the 9-1-1 dispatcher could answer. Police traced the call and showed up anyway, and found two handguns in the trunk of Brian's car. And now Brian, her middle child, a graduate student with no prior criminal record, is serving a seven-year prison sentence for weapons charges. No one blames Sue Aitken for Brian's arrest, except herself maybe, but his father and attorney claim that the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office and the former Superior Court judge who tried the case ignored evidence that proved Brian had the guns legally. The family has asked New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for clemency and has garnered a great deal of support on a "Free Brian Aitken" Facebook page and among gun-rights advocates. Aitken and his supporters believe that he had a legal exemption to have the handguns in his car because he was moving from his parents' home to a residence in Hoboken. "This case is the perfect storm of injustice," said Aitken's attorney, Evan Nappen, of Eatontown, Monmouth County, who specializes in gun laws. The Burlington County Prosecutor's Office and former Superior Court Judge James Morley said Aitken and his legal team tried during closing arguments to raise an issue related to Aitken's moving that wasn't presented during the trial, but Morley wouldn't consider it. Aitken remains in prison pending his appeal. A few weeks after Aitken's trial over the summer, Morley learned that Christie was not going to reappoint him, due in part to a 2009 case in which he dismissed animal-cruelty charges against a Moorestown cop accused of sticking his penis into the mouths of five calves. Morley said there was no way of knowing whether the calves had been "puzzled" or "tormented" by the officer's actions. Nappen thinks the animal-cruelty case exemplifies poor decision-making by Morley. "Brian didn't receive oral sex from calves; he only lawfully possessed firearms," Nappen said. A spokesman for Christie acknowledged that his office had received clemency requests for Aitken, but declined to comment further. Handguns in a duffel bag When Mount Laurel police arrived at the Aitkens' home on Jan. 2, 2009, they called Brian - who was driving to Hoboken - and asked him to return to his parents' home because they were worried. When he arrived, the cops checked his Honda Civic and, inside the trunk, in a box stuffed into a duffel bag with clothes, they found two handguns, both locked and unloaded as New Jersey law requires. Aitken had passed an FBI background check to buy them in Colorado when he lived there, his father said, and had contacted New Jersey State Police and discussed the proper way to transport them. "He bought them at Bass Pro Shops, for God's sake, not some guy named Tony on the street corner," his father said. New Jersey and Colorado are on opposite ends of the gun-control spectrum. In Colorado, all he needed was the background check to own the guns. In the Garden State, Aitken was required to have a purchaser's permit from New Jersey to own the guns and a carry permit to have them in his car. He also was charged with having "large capacity" magazines and hollow-point bullets, which one state gun-control advocate found troubling. "What little I can glean about the transportation issue leaves me puzzled, but a person with common sense would not be moving illegal products from one place to another by car," said Bryan Miller, executive director of CeaseFire NJ, an organization devoted to reducing gun violence. "If Mr. Aitken did the research he said he did, he would not have hollow-point bullets and large-capacity magazines in the vehicle," Miller said. "They are illegal, period." New Jersey allows exemptions for gun owners to transport weapons for hunting or if they are moving from one residence to another. During the trial, Aitken's mother testified that her son was moving things out, and his friend in Hoboken testified he was moving things in. A Mount Laurel officer, according to Larry Aitken, testified that he saw boxes of dishes and clothes in the Honda Civic on the day of the arrest. The exemption statute, according to the prosecutor's office, specifies that legal guns can be transported "while moving." Despite testimony about his moving to Hoboken, a spokesman for the prosecutor said the evidence suggested that Aitken had moved months earlier, from Colorado to Mount Laurel. "Again, there was no evidence that he was then presently moving," spokesman Joel Bewley said. After Nappen raised the moving-exemption issue, he said, the jury asked Judge Morley for the exemption statute several times and he refused to hand it over to them. Morley, in a phone interview, echoed the sentiments of the prosecutor's office. "My recollection of the case is that I ruled he had not presented evidence sufficient to justify giving the jury the charge on the affirmative offense that he was in the process of moving," Morley said. Morley declined to comment further. Aitken, who did not testify, was convicted and in August sentenced to prison. His father said that his son was involved in an "incident" after arriving in prison but that he doesn't discuss it. "This is the most normal, everyday, All-American regular kid, and for this to happen to him is a disgrace," Larry Aitken said. "It's a disgrace of society."

A nut in the fruitcake - Bradley Manning may have leaked info out of anger at US military’s gay policy

Bradley Manning may have leaked info out of anger at US military’s gay policy - Vancouver American Politics | Examiner.com

by Marc Schenker Nov. 30, 2010

Bradley Manning may have leaked classified info out of anger at US military’s gay policy. What many media outlets—especially the broadcasters and even cable news (shame on you, Fox News)—are hiding is the fact that the traitorous soldier at the heart of the Wikileaks scandal is a homosexual. It’s not like people won’t be able to find the information about Manning—all it takes is a few, quick Internet searches, but the fact that many are trying hard not to mention his sexual orientation speaks volumes about the political correctness disease in society. Even if news organizations are scared that his treasonous disclosure may lead to anger at that demographic, it is the duty of news outlets to report on his sexuality if it appears that there is a legitimate connection between his "alleged" crime and it. That certainly appears to be the case.

Reports for the last few months only solidify the impression that Manning was an unhappy and vindictive homosexual who tried to get back at the US military by leaking the tons of classified, US info to Wikileaks. Whilethe news outlets are full of nothing but anger directed at the Australian villain, Julian Assange, who clearly hates the US and its military and should therefore be looked at as an enemy by the US, they suspiciously gloss over Manning being a homosexual. It appears the majority of news organizations want to give him a pass because of his sexual orientation, but when so many signs point to it being a primary—if not THE primary—motive for his leaking, then that’s just the height of irresponsibility and PC. To that I say, "Bull!’

Reports even in left-wing outlets like the New York Times have exposed Manning as someone who could be a bitter homosexual man. After all, the article detailed his high-school years where he was made fun of for, in part, being gay. Then, after he joined the US military, he found the atmosphere in the military not to be accepting of his homosexual lifestyle and his liberal opinions, among other things. Consequently, he confided to supposed confidants like the notorious hacker, Adrian Lamo, that he was feeling isolated.

According to more reports in liberal papers like the UK’s Daily Telegraph, before he downloaded all the classified information that he ended up leaking to Wikileaks, Manning would publicly vent on his Facebook page (tough guy, isn’t he?) that he was frustrated, and he also demeaned the US military by making veiled references to them in posts that alleged the term "military intelligence" to be an oxymoron.

As a further, interesting sign, Manning—who is openly homosexual, by the way—was also known to have marched in a gay (homosexual) pride march/parade. If you search the Internet for pictures of him, you can even see ones of him holding up signs demanding "equality" on "the battlefield," battlefield being a likely reference to the US military. To me, and I suspect to many who are not slaves to the dishonesty that is inherent in PC, which gives a pass to gays just because they’re gays, this looks increasingly like a case of a homosexual who was getting more and more bitter at the US military for its "Don’t ask, don’t tell" policy. Then he finally decided to do something about it: treason.

At this point in his selfish and sordid saga of treason, some people are actually lauding this traitor—excuse me, this "alleged" traitor—for being a gay hero. Curiously, despite the fact that Manning was actually an openly homosexual man serving in the military (since he was in a relationship with a male drag queen before being deployed to Iraq!), he was never punished for violating "Don’t ask, don’t tell." The scourge of PC rears its ugly head again, for sure.

Copyright © 2010 by Marc Schenker
Like Marc’s analysis? To subscribe to Marc's articles: Click on the "Subscribe" button above the headline.
To send Marc questions, praise or criticism, you can email him at marc_schenker@telus.net

John Kerry continues to run from the enemy and said Israel should give up Golan Heights and East Jerusalem

A big fool and liar just became a bigger fool. He has to give himself a big tribute in Boston, no else will!

WikiLeaked: John Kerry calls for Israel to cede Golan Heights and East Jerusalem - By Josh Rogin | The Cable

By Josh Rogin Monday, November 29, 2010

On a February trip to the Middle East, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry(D-MA) told Qatari leaders that the Golan Heights should be returned to Syria, that a Palestinian capital should be established in East Jerusalem as part of the Arab-Israeli peace process, and that he was "shocked" by what he saw on a visit to Gaza. [This fool couldn't figure out that the Palestinian Authority and Hamas are the cause of the misery in Gaza?]

Kerry discussed the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in a visit to Qatar during separate meetings with Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani and the Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa, as revealed by the disclosure of diplomatic cables by the website WikiLeaks.

The emir told Kerry to focus on Syria as the path toward resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Kerry agreed with the emir that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is a man who wants change but pointed out that his arming of Hezbollah and interference in Lebanese politics were unhelpful. Kerry said that Assad "needs to make a bolder move and take risks" for peace, and that he should be "more statesman-like." Kerry also agreed with the emir that the Golan Heights should be given back to Syria at some point.

"The Chairman added that Netanyahu also needs to compromise and work the return of the Golan Heights into a formula for peace," the diplomatic cable reported.

As for the peace process, Kerry defended the Obama administration's drive to use indirect proximity talks (which were only being discussed at that time) as a stepping stone to direct talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians. He said the two sides should first agree on the amount of land to be swapped and then work on borders, followed by settlements.

Kerry also said that final agreement would have to include a Palestinian state with a capital in East Jerusalem.

"Any negotiation has its limits, added Senator Kerry, and we know for the Palestinians that control of Al-Aqsa mosque and the establishment of some kind of capital for the Palestinians in East Jerusalem are not negotiable," the cable stated, summarizing the meeting with the emir. "For the Israelis, the Senator continued, Israel's character as a Jewish state is not open for negotiation. The non-militarization of an eventual Palestinian state and its borders can nonetheless be resolved through negotiation."

In a separate meeting the day before with the prime minister, Kerry resisted the Qatari leader's assertion that Hamas was ready to accept the existence of the State of Israel, but he agreed that urgent action was needed to rebuild Gaza.

According to the leaked diplomatic cable, the prime minister told Kerry, "We need to broker a quick reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah and move forward quickly on rebuilding Gaza… Senator Kerry asserted that HBJ [Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani] was preaching to the converted and told the PM he was ‘shocked by what I saw in Gaza.'"

In a telling exchange at the end of his meeting with the emir, the Qatari ruler gave Kerry some advice for dealing with the Iranian government.

"The Amir closed the meeting by offering that based on 30 years of experience with the Iranians, they will give you 100 words. Trust only one of the 100," the cable said.

US Diplomatic Leaks: A Superpower's political meltdown of US foreign policy

SPIEGEL ONLINE - Druckversion - The US Diplomatic Leaks: A Superpower's View of the World - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

Iran 'smuggled arms' to Hezbollah on ambulances

AFP: Iran 'smuggled arms' to Hezbollah on ambulances

Iran 'smuggled arms' to Hezbollah on ambulances

(AFP) – BEIRUT — Iran used Red Crescent ambulances to smuggle weapons and agents into Lebanon during Hezbollah's 2006 war with Israel, a leaked US diplomatic cable showed on Monday.

The 2008 classified cable which originated in Dubai quotes an Iranian source as saying the Iranian Red Crescent was used as a cover by members of the elite Revolutionary Guard to enter Lebanon during the conflict.

"IRC shipments of medical supplies served also to facilitate weapons shipments," said the cable that appeared on the whistleblower website WikiLeaks.

It added Red Crescent staff had seen "missiles in the planes destined for Lebanon when delivering medical supplies to the plane.

"The plane was allegedly half full prior to the arrival of any medical supplies," the cable said.

The Iranian source also said an IRC hospital in Lebanon was handed over to the control of Hezbollah at the request of Hassan Nasrallah, secretary general of the Shiite party.

Israel and the United States have long accused Iran of supplying military and financial backing to Hezbollah.

A party official reached by AFP had no immediate comment on the leaked US cable, which was among more than 250,000 documents that WikiLeaks released on Sunday.

The 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel killed 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

Copyright © 2010 AFP.

Dick Lugar … Looking for Buffalo Bob, It's Howdy Doofus Time

Dick Lugar … The Untouchable? « Hot Air

POSTED AT 9:35 AM ON NOVEMBER 29, 2010 BY ED MORRISSEY

The New York Times seems to have found itself a new favorite Republican. Yesterday the newspaper profiled Senator Dick Lugar, whose seat comes up for voter review in 2012, by noting that Lugar has been a “reliable conservative for decades” and that “mavericks are not in vogue these days on Capitol Hill,” two contradictory statements separated by — I kid you not — one single sentence in Jennifer Steinhauer’s profile of Lugar. As Glenn Reynolds notes, it’s not the only point that screams out for a copy editor, but that’s not the biggest problem in this profile by far:

Now, in the heat of the post-primary lame-duck Congressional session, he is defying his party on an earmark ban, a bill that would create a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants, a military spending authorization bill and an arms control treaty with Russia.

He even declined to sign a brief supporting state lawsuits against President Obama’s health care law because he saw it as political posturing.

Now Mr. Lugar’s willingness to buck his party is leading to talk that he will face a primary challenge from a Tea Party candidate when he runs for re-election in 2012. It is a possibility that Mr. Lugar, who said the current environment in Washington was “disappointing” and “without a doubt” the most polarized he had seen since joining the Senate in 1977, understands clearly even as he declines to modify his positions. …

Even after the midterm rout that will remove many long-serving members from Congress, the idea that Mr. Lugar would be vulnerable to a primary challenge is a chilling notion to many Republicans, a symbol of symbolism gone too far.

“If Dick Lugar,” said John C. Danforth, a former Republican senator from Missouri, “having served five terms in the U.S. Senate and being the most respected person in the Senate and the leading authority on foreign policy, is seriously challenged by anybody in the Republican Party, we have gone so far overboard that we are beyond redemption.”

Let’s move past the “symbol of symbolism” and the urge to start sentences with “Now,” for a moment. Since when is Dick Lugar the canary in the coal mine for Republicanism? I’m not a Lugar hater by any stretch; he’s a six-term Senator and has done some good work on Capitol Hill for the GOP. However, Republicans around the country have made clear that they want ObamaCare challenged by every legal means at hand — and a large number of independents feel the same way. If Lugar doesn’t represent the will of the electorate, then he doesn’t belong in office.

And that is exactly what primaries and elections tell us. When did it suddenly become unacceptable to test that in a primary? Do elections put us “beyond redemption,” or does Danforth really want to suggest that Lugar and others similarly ensconced in power should be placed beyond accountability? Danforth and the Times seem to forget that we have a representative government, not a ruling class, and that voters get to decide who those representatives will be.

This republic managed to stand before Dick Lugar came along. If Lugar loses an election, it will manage to stand as the sun rises in the east. Also, one personal word of advice for Senator Lugar: beware of being the NYT’s favorite Republican “maverick.” That was John McCain’s position until early 2008, when the Times began a months-long smear campaign against him. Being the NYT’s favorite Republican is somewhat akin to being a snake’s favorite mouse.

Bullying dispute erupts at Wayne school over ‘Taliban’ comment - NorthJersey.com

Bullying dispute erupts at Wayne school over ‘Taliban’ comment - NorthJersey.com

NJ: Muslim girl gets non-Muslim boy suspended for saying ‘Taliban’

Posted on November 28, 2010 by creeping

Sharia and dhimmitude run amok. This Muslim girl is probably considered to be a peaceful, moderate Muslim. Yet like many other supposedly peaceful and “moderate” Muslims, the goal is to silence non-Muslims.

Note how the school and the media have reported this as a “bullying” incident. It is bullying – Islamic bullying, aka sharia. via Bullying dispute erupts at Wayne school over ‘Taliban’ comment – NorthJersey.com.

WAYNE — On one side, a Wayne Valley High school student claims that his use of the word “Taliban” was innocent, mentioned in a conversation about a video game, according to his mother.

But to a Muslim student who overheard it at school on Thursday, it was upsetting. And she had perceived that he had looked at her when he said it, Principal Robert Reis said.

Now the boy is facing a one-day suspension on Monday, because, Reis said, he continued to talk about the incident and it got back to the girl and upset her. Reis said she felt the boy was boasting that he’d gotten away with something.

“This has nothing to do with the fact that the boy used a word,” Reis said. “This has everything to do with the boy hurt a girl’s feelings.” And after the boy was told by administrators not to discuss what happened, Reis said, “He went back and hurt her feelings a second time.”

But the boy’s mother, Rosa Giordano, said the incident “is totally being blown out of proportion” and she plans to fight the disciplinary action.

h/t to ELL who rightly titles the post “More Knee-Jerk Submission to Sharia” as Atlas opined.

Al Gore Claims He owns Earth's Carbon and Can Sell Its Credits, Spanish Woman Claims She Now Owns Sun

Spanish Woman Claims She Now Owns Sun

pdated: Friday, 26 Nov 2010, 2:16 PM EST
Published : Friday, 26 Nov 2010, 2:16 PM EST

(AFP) - After billions of years the Sun finally has an owner -- a woman from Spain's soggy region of Galicia said Friday she had registered the star at a local notary public as being her property.

Angeles Duran, 49, told the online edition of daily El Mundo she took the step in September after reading about an American man who had registered himself as the owner of the moon and most planets in our solar system.

There is an international agreement which states that no country may claim ownership of a planet or star, but it says nothing about individuals, she added.

"There was no snag, I backed my claim legally, I am not stupid, I know the law. I did it but anyone else could have done it, it simply occurred to me first."

The document issued by the notary public declares Duran to be the "owner of the Sun, a star of spectral type G2, located in the centre of the solar system, located at an average distance from Earth of about 149,600,000 kilometers."

Duran, who lives in the town of Salvaterra do Mino, said she now wants to slap a fee on everyone who uses the sun and give half of the proceeds to the Spanish government and 20 percent to the nation's pension fund.

She would dedicate another 10 percent to research, another 10 percent to ending world hunger -- and would keep the remaining 10 percent herself.

"It is time to start doing things the right way, if there is an idea for how to generate income and improve the economy and people's wellbeing, why not do it?" she asked.

Copyright 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.