Frog In North Georgia

UK courts convicted one terrorist and refused to release another today.

Belfast militant convicted of N.Ireland attack | ajc.com

A Belfast judge convicted a notorious Protestant militant Friday of trying to kill Catholic politicians during his bizarre — and internationally broadcast — attempt to attack the Northern Ireland Assembly two years ago.

UK court: No bail for cancer-hit Lockerbie bomber | ajc.com

A court refused Friday to release from prison a cancer-stricken Libyan man convicted of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie.

The Court of Criminal Appeal in Scotland acknowledged that Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi’s cancer was incurable, but it said he could not be freed on bail pending an appeal of his life sentence for the bombing that killed 270 people, most of them American.

Tags: belfast militant convicted, lockerbie bomber, UK court.

While cruising along reading about the usual social issues, matches and political nonsense I run into the quote of the day:

La Marseillaise - Accueil

Allez au diable, yankees de merde.

What?  Have my linguistic abilities failed me?  Does that actually say, “Go home Yankee devil and eat shit?” 

Not understanding how this could have escaped newsworthiness in American newspapers, I ran it through a translator program, then googled the news (in English and Spanish).  Yep, that’s what it says.  Here is APs very polite translation.

The Associated Press: Analysis: US relations with leftists leaders sour

Simmering ideological tensions between President Bush and the populist presidents of Bolivia and Venezuela boiled over this week in twin diplomatic spats that threaten U.S. counternarcotics operations in the region and possibly American energy supplies.

The administration says it wants to get along with the growing number of leftist leaders in the Western Hemisphere, but Bolivian President Evo Morales and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez are having none of it, essentially responding with the time-honored insult: “Yankee, go home.”

I do know that the United States offends other nations with policy regularly. But why doesn’t Yankee go home with an expletive make the news here?  Seriously, my living under a rock persona only exists for celebrity gossip and doesn’t extend to international news.

As a side under a rock note, I have opened myself to ridicule this week with my inability to pronounce “Ellen” a very common name, and “scuppanong.”

Tags: news, politics, World.

Not long after speaking to a friend who is afraid to fly, I read this. BBC NEWS | Europe | Channel Tunnel shut after blaze

I am not afraid to fly. But this thing, which she prefers, really frightens me. (I am so glad she was not en route to France for a holiday.)

Tags: news, transportation, World.

I am very pleased with the VP selections of both Obama and McCain. I think they each took calculated risks and made thoughtful decisions.

Wouldn’t Hilary have been the “safe” choice for Obama?

As a one-time resident of Arizona, I have come to like McCain.

This can only get more interesting.

McCain picks Alaska Gov. Palin as running mate | ajc.com

“Governor Palin is a proven reformer who is a wise steward of taxpayer dollars and champion for accountability in government,” a presidential statement said. “By selecting a working mother with a track record of getting things done, Senator McCain has once again demonstrated his commitment to reforming Washington.”

“It’s an absolutely brilliant choice,” said Mathew Staver, dean of Liberty University School of Law. “This will absolutely energize McCain’s campaign and energize conservatives,” he predicted.

Tags: news, politics, World.

I was struck last night, by how many (former) Russians, or people from former Soviet states are competing for other countries in the Olympics. One gymnast, Oksana Chusovitina, moved to Germany to find medical care for her son.

This, and the sheer number of Russian names I saw coming across the screen, competing for what seemed to me like every country on the globe, has me asking, just how bad are things in Russia?

33-year-old gymnast wins silver on vault — chicagotribune.com

She is the mother of a 9-year-old son who is in recovery from leukemia. It is that illness that brought Chusovitina to Germany six years ago. It is because of that illness that Chusovitina competes for Germany instead of her native Uzbekistan. And gymnastics helped save her son Alisher’s life.

Tags: news, Sports, World.

When I was 14, I lay awake at night convinced that Red Dawn was going to happen. Are we going there again?

Russia: Poland risks attack because of US missiles | ajc.com

Poland and the United States on Thursday signed a deal for Poland to accept a missile interceptor base as part of a system the United States says is aimed at blocking attacks by rogue nations. Moscow, however, feels it is aimed at Russia’s missile force.

Tags: news, World.

I’m sorry for the children of politicians who lie and cheat. I think it stinks for them more than it does for other children because they can’t pretend it isn’t happening when it is on the front page of the local paper. I don’t suggest that ignoring a family problem is a good idea, only that it is difficult to set your own timeline for healing when the news media is involved.

Life must stink for the spouses as well. But I feel less sorry for them. This is due to personal experience. I have met very few people with lying cheating spouses who didn’t know about it, which means staying in the relationship was a choice already made. No, I don’t think that means you deserve it, only that you chose to put up with it for whatever reason. The kids don’t get a choice.

ELIZABETH EDWARDS’ STATEMENT: ‘I am proud of the courage John showed by his honesty in the face of shame’ | ajc.com

But he did tell me. And we began a long and painful process in 2006, a process oddly made somewhat easier with my diagnosis in March of 2007. This was our private matter, and I frankly wanted it to be private because as painful as it was I did not want to have to play it out on a public stage as well.

Tags: politics, society, World.

This is my little fantasy. Why am I not allowed to go to other countries to get a job? I am not a drain on society. I work. My family pays taxes.

It is long past graduation; and I still read the work abroad advertisements directed toward students.

Tags: Travel, World.

Since I have a French grandmother, people frequently ask me questions about the French. While I am no sociologist, I maintain the following opinions:

Q: Why do the French hate us? (Us meaning Americans.) People were so rude in Paris.
A: The Parisians are equal opportunity in dislike. They dislike everyone who is not from Paris, or at least mock them liberally. In America we call that place New York. Next time, don’t go to Paris.

Q: Why are the French afraid to fight?
A: They aren’t afraid. They don’t care about fighting. They care about food.

I’m sure more will come to me later.

Tags: society, World.

The insult is a very serious thing, n’est pas?

French face prosecution for ‘insulting’ civil servants - Times Online

First, Mr Reboux called the police officer a canard (a duck). Then he lost his cool and called him a connard, which translates roughly as stupid bastard.

The term landed the Parisian publisher in court and he was fined €150 (£118) this month for the peculiarly Gallic crime of outrage, or insulting a public official.

Tags: news, society, World.