Source: Fox News
Boyfriend in China Watches Murder of Girlfriend in Toronto Online
Qian "Necole" Liu, a 23-year-old York University student from Beijing, was found dead just before noon Friday in her apartment. Toronto police are still looking for a man reportedly seen struggling with her earlier that morning.
Police say Liu was chatting with her boyfriend by webcam at about 1 a.m. when an unknown man knocked on the door.
"She opened the door to a male. She could have known the male but he was unknown to the online witness," Toronto Police Det. Frank Skubic told the Daily Mail.
It took police more than 10 hours to arrive at the scene after Liu's boyfriend contacted her friends living in Toronto.
Toronto Police Constable Tony Vella explained to the Daily Mail that they were not notified until Friday morning.
"Someone had gone to (her) address because they were concerned for her well-being and they went into the apartment and they found her there and they were concerned so they contacted police," he told the paper.
Liu was found naked from the waist down, but that there were no obvious signs of sexual assault or trauma that would have led to her death, police say.
"She was unclothed from the waist down and had been dead for a period of time. There was no trauma to the body which could readily identify the manner of her death and no obvious signs of sexual abuse," Skubic told the paper.
Police say the laptop is also missing.
A York University spokeswoman says they are concerned for students who live off-campus.
"We're doing everything possible to make this a safe environment. It can be a challenge when we don't have any authority off campus," spokeswoman Susan Webb told the Daily Mail.
There are currently no suspects in custody.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Is your city in debt? Sandy Springs, Georgia is not! ...see how its done!
If all you do is watch the video...that should cover it! Perhaps its time your mayor took a look at Sandy Springs, Georgia. ~ Norm
How To Run A City, Cheaply
Source: Politics Alabama
comments:
How To Run A City, Cheaply
Source: Politics Alabama
Have you ever heard of Sandy Springs, a city on the outskirts of Atlanta? With most cities across this nation cutting services, laying off employees, and raising taxes, they are doing none of this. They also have no debt at all.
I only bring this up because Montgomery, Prattville, and Wetumpka are all talking about tax increases of one kind or another. Maybe we could learn a little from Sandy Springs.
How are they doing it, you ask? Simple... they have outsourced virtually every aspect of their city government to private companies, who manage to provide the same services city government would have, but for half the cost. Here's a video documenting this impressive city and their model of governing.
If the player doesn't work, try this link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8qFvo2qJOU
Maybe this should be a case study for all elected officials.
I only bring this up because Montgomery, Prattville, and Wetumpka are all talking about tax increases of one kind or another. Maybe we could learn a little from Sandy Springs.
How are they doing it, you ask? Simple... they have outsourced virtually every aspect of their city government to private companies, who manage to provide the same services city government would have, but for half the cost. Here's a video documenting this impressive city and their model of governing.
If the player doesn't work, try this link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8qFvo2qJOU
Maybe this should be a case study for all elected officials.
- Letters from Ripley said...
- In a town of 5,000 residents....other than the town clerk, the mayor, the council, and your law enforcement....that ought to be it for direct-hire, and everyone else...even the fire department...ought to be contracted out. The problem is convincing people that this would work. Everyone wants to be convinced that it won't be some El Salvadoran illegal alien doing official town business like mowing grass, replacing city light bulbs, or running the recreation center.
- April 19, 2011 3:34 AM
- Politics Alabama said...
- Convincing people it will work is why I am posting this video. It does work, and it works better than the "normal" cities that are run directly by the city government. Keep in mind that Sandy Springs isn't a town of 5,000 people, either, it's population is in the 100,000 range. The private sector is much more efficient, generally speaking, than is the government. Why? Private businesses get rewards for efficiency, while governments get rewards of NOT being efficient. Don't believe me? Listen to almost any city or county wailing that they need more money to improve the quality of a failing school system. When they do a good job, there is no incentive to give them more money. Governments justify increased revenue by some kind of failure... and that's a perverse incentive system.
Hawaii Taxpayers About To Be Slaughtered
In the May 21st 2009 edition of the Wall Street Journal, John Steele Gordon writes an op-ed, “Why Government Can’t Run A Business” where he describes a few examples of the blundering business errors of bureaucratic run enterprises. Gordon goes on to list some of the reasons why government should stay out of the free market system. And although he does not quite come up with the words that I think should have been included and that is, businesses tend to run much better when they are under the control of Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand for once the government’s hand steps in disaster is sure to follow…it always does! With that said, perhaps the politicians in the Hawaii State House should consider reading Gordon’s editorial and stay out of the private sector. The only assurances that the taxpayers can be assured of if the state takes control of the slaughter house is that the taxpayers will be the ones slaughtered…leave the pork alone! (literally! ...see article below). ~ Norman E. Hooben
Source: Star Advertiser
State eyes meat facility
Senate Bill 249 gives the government rights to purchase Oahu's only slaughterhouse
By Chris Mikesell
Hawaii would be the first state to own a slaughterhouse, under a bill moving in the Legislature. The state House on Tuesday passed Senate Bill 249, which would allow the state to appropriate money to purchase, upgrade and outfit Oahu's only certified slaughterhouse facility.
Source: Star Advertiser
State eyes meat facility
Senate Bill 249 gives the government rights to purchase Oahu's only slaughterhouse
By Chris Mikesell
The plant is on state-owned land in Campbell Industrial Park. Lawmakers estimate that the bill, sponsored by Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz (D, Kaena-Wahiawa-Pupukea), could cost Hawaii taxpayers between $1 million and $1.6 million.
The facility has had a history of financial insolvency. The Hawaii Livestock Cooperative, current owner of the plant, bought the slaughterhouse from the Palama Meat Co. when Palama filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004.
The plant slaughters about 850 hogs a month, with each animal yielding an average of 200 pounds of meat, said Leonard Oshiro, general manager of Hawaii Livestock Cooperative. He estimated that the plant accounts for about 10 percent of the pork consumed in Hawaii, with most of the rest being imported frozen pork.
HLC primarily does pork, but it is processing local grass-fed beef on a trial basis from places like the North Shore, Oshiro said.
There are also slaughterhouses on the Big Island, Maui and Kauai.
State officials expressed concern about the economic viability of the Kalaeloa facility in 2007 when the Department of Agriculture reported to the Legislature that rising feed costs were stifling Hawaii's pork and dairy markets.
Animal rights groups, including PETA, the Humane Society and the Vegetarian Society of Hawaii, opposed the bill, saying that the state should not be in the business of supporting meat-based diets. Some animal rights advocates, borrowing a tea party argument, also opposed the bill on the grounds that the deal amounted to a taxpayer bailout for a failing business.
"Why don't we just give plant farmers a break by simply putting animal agriculture on the free market where it belongs?" said William Harris, an animal rights supporter. "If people want to eat meat, let them pay the open market price."
The bailout argument resonated even among lawmakers who supported the measure.
"They're right. This is a bailout," said House Minority Leader Kymberly Pine (R, Ewa Beach-Iroquois Point). "But there is no other slaughterhouse on Oahu."
Pine said that though she initially disliked the idea of a bailout, she was persuaded to support the deal because losing the facility would be a "huge risk to Hawaii's food security."
Myrone Murakami, president of the Hawaii Farm Bureau, acknowledged that when Hawaii's local dairy industry collapsed, it took the state's beef industry with it.
"Where do you think most of our hamburger comes from?" said Murakami. "When the dairy industry was still moving here on Oahu, they culled their milking cows (to be slaughtered for beef)."
Murakami said losing the slaughterhouse would mean more than just the loss of local beef. It would also affect the availability of "hot" pork, a product that needs to be delivered to markets within hours of slaughter to maintain its quality.
Bailout or no, Murakami said the alternative would be much worse.
"They've been put in a pretty desperate situation given what has happened to the livestock industry," Murakami said. "But if it fails, the availability of the local stuff will disappear. That's a given."
Oshiro said the Hawaii Livestock Cooperative spent $3.3 million to finish the Kalaeloa facility in 2000. Building a new facility would cost $8 million to $9 million, he said.
Oshiro said the facility is needed and should be retained.
"We're saving it for the industry," he said. "That's my goal. Whether we run it or not, it would be stupid to let it go."
FEMA Shakeout...What will you do?
Source: FEMA
April 18, 2011
Less than 2 Weeks to Go to Central U.S. Shakeout – What Will You Do?
By Craig Fugate, FEMA Administrator
For months, FEMA has been working closely with 11 of our state partners and many other members of the team to get the word out about the Great Central U.S. Shakeout – the first-ever multi-state public earthquake drill taking place next Thursday, April 28 at 10:15 am central time.
And as of today, we’re less than two weeks away – which means it’s time for all of us, across the entire team, to get involved and do our part to get the word out. Why?
The recent – and tragic - earthquakes we’ve seen from Japan, the fifth largest earthquake in recorded history, to the earthquakes that struck New Zealand, Chile, Haiti and our own U.S. territory of American Samoa, that destructive disasters can hit us anytime, anywhere, and often without any warning.
And none of us – no matter where we live – are immune. In fact, earthquake activity has been felt in all fifty states. Like it or not, we simply don’t have the luxury of thinking “this couldn’t happen here.”
While we can’t prevent earthquakes or other disasters, we can take important steps to prepare for them. One way you can prepare is to join more than two million people who are participating in The Great Central U.S. ShakeOut, the largest earthquake preparedness event in central U.S. history. Eleven states are participating in the ShakeOut, including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee; and so far, over 2.2 million people have signed up.
It’s a great start, but with 40 million people living in the central U.S. region, we know we can do even better.
Drills like the Shakeout are among the easiest and most cost-effective ways individuals and communities can learn how to protect themselves if an earthquake strikes. It’s easy to sign up; it’s free; and anyone can participate from anywhere – whether you are at school, at the office, at home, on the soccer field, or even visiting the doctor. All you have to do is sign-up here http://www.shakeout.org/centralus/ to get simple instructions on how to participate.
So we’re challenging all of you, our partners on the team, to join us in The Great American ShakeOut. Get involved; and be prepared!
If you’re a Member of Congress in one of the 11 central U.S. states participating in the ShakeOut, help us get the word out to your constituents. Make plans to participate in an event or do a drill with your congressional office. Post ShakeOut information, including widgets, on your website.
If you’re a school, college or university, plan a "shakeout" drill on your campus. Already, over 1,526 schools and 62 colleges and universities are participating.
If you own, manage or work at a business, get your staff and coworkers involved. Already, over 200 businesses and 290 non-profits have signed up, and that doesn’t include the many state and local government agencies that are planning to do drills.
At FEMA – we’ll be doing our part, in partnership with our regional offices in the central U.S., to participate in drills on April 28. We’ll be sharing more about our plans on the FEMA blog, so stay tuned.
Learn more about how to participate here: http://www.shakeout.org/centralus.
And if you’re already participating, let us know what you’re planning. Leave a comment below or tweet me @craigatfema.
For months, FEMA has been working closely with 11 of our state partners and many other members of the team to get the word out about the Great Central U.S. Shakeout – the first-ever multi-state public earthquake drill taking place next Thursday, April 28 at 10:15 am central time.
And as of today, we’re less than two weeks away – which means it’s time for all of us, across the entire team, to get involved and do our part to get the word out. Why?
The recent – and tragic - earthquakes we’ve seen from Japan, the fifth largest earthquake in recorded history, to the earthquakes that struck New Zealand, Chile, Haiti and our own U.S. territory of American Samoa, that destructive disasters can hit us anytime, anywhere, and often without any warning.
And none of us – no matter where we live – are immune. In fact, earthquake activity has been felt in all fifty states. Like it or not, we simply don’t have the luxury of thinking “this couldn’t happen here.”
While we can’t prevent earthquakes or other disasters, we can take important steps to prepare for them. One way you can prepare is to join more than two million people who are participating in The Great Central U.S. ShakeOut, the largest earthquake preparedness event in central U.S. history. Eleven states are participating in the ShakeOut, including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee; and so far, over 2.2 million people have signed up.
It’s a great start, but with 40 million people living in the central U.S. region, we know we can do even better.
Drills like the Shakeout are among the easiest and most cost-effective ways individuals and communities can learn how to protect themselves if an earthquake strikes. It’s easy to sign up; it’s free; and anyone can participate from anywhere – whether you are at school, at the office, at home, on the soccer field, or even visiting the doctor. All you have to do is sign-up here http://www.shakeout.org/centralus/ to get simple instructions on how to participate.
So we’re challenging all of you, our partners on the team, to join us in The Great American ShakeOut. Get involved; and be prepared!
If you’re a Member of Congress in one of the 11 central U.S. states participating in the ShakeOut, help us get the word out to your constituents. Make plans to participate in an event or do a drill with your congressional office. Post ShakeOut information, including widgets, on your website.
If you’re a school, college or university, plan a "shakeout" drill on your campus. Already, over 1,526 schools and 62 colleges and universities are participating.
If you own, manage or work at a business, get your staff and coworkers involved. Already, over 200 businesses and 290 non-profits have signed up, and that doesn’t include the many state and local government agencies that are planning to do drills.
At FEMA – we’ll be doing our part, in partnership with our regional offices in the central U.S., to participate in drills on April 28. We’ll be sharing more about our plans on the FEMA blog, so stay tuned.
Learn more about how to participate here: http://www.shakeout.org/centralus.
And if you’re already participating, let us know what you’re planning. Leave a comment below or tweet me @craigatfema.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Trump, Obama, O'Reilly, and Oh what a mess!
This is an excellent commentary regarding Obama's birth certificate and leans very heavily against his legitimacy to be President of the United States something I've always been concerned about since the usurper's rise to power. I also strongly believe that most, if not all, of his cronies know of his illigitimate status thus making them participants in the crime...just this thought alone wants me to cheer in advance of Rahm Emanuel or Elena Kagen arrest and incarceration (yeah, I only named two but everybody from Schumer, Reid, Pelosi, Clinton, and the whole bunch, including Robert F. Bauer, should go to jail for life). Also, Bill O'Reilly displays far too much respect for Obama and apparently has not studied the Obama-Alinsky connection as one in his position should...he (O'Reilly) has a Phd. in history but looks like a dunce when it comes to Obama.
Meanwhile I've posted the the two known birth certificates at the bottom of this page and one of them appears very authentic...you be the judge. ~ Norman E. Hooben
Source for the following: American Thinker
Trump Needs to Shift to Second Gear on Birth Certificate Challenge
By Carol A. Taber
According to the typical liberal media narrative, those of us who have questioned President Obama's life documents are kooks. Nuts. Creeps. "Birthers." When Donald Trump raises issues with the birth certificate, members of the left, right, and center assume that he's doing so for political reasons and that there's no real story. They use the Old Jedi Mind Trick: "nothing to see here ... move along."
This is something that Mr. Trump seems to know instinctively. He has been unafraid in his pursuit of Obama's birth certificate. He has suggested an investigation of Hawaiian Governor Neil Abercrombie, who brashly promised that he would release Obama's birth certificate when he took office, only to say -- after having dug into the birth records -- that he didn't know he wasn't allowed to release such a thing. After Mr. Trump's perfectly reasonable suggestion, Abercrombie has been quiet.
Trump has stated that he has investigators on the ground in Hawaii checking on the birth certificate firsthand, and has stated that they "can't believe" what they are finding. Trump may understand that deception has already occurred here -- when Obama released his "Certification of Live Birth" in 2007 as if it were a valid birth certificate, it appears he meant to deceive the public. Trump's refusal to back off the birth certificate issue has the elites frowning, the base in an uproar, and Obama on his heels.
Meanwhile I've posted the the two known birth certificates at the bottom of this page and one of them appears very authentic...you be the judge. ~ Norman E. Hooben
Source for the following: American Thinker
Trump Needs to Shift to Second Gear on Birth Certificate Challenge
By Carol A. Taber
According to the typical liberal media narrative, those of us who have questioned President Obama's life documents are kooks. Nuts. Creeps. "Birthers." When Donald Trump raises issues with the birth certificate, members of the left, right, and center assume that he's doing so for political reasons and that there's no real story. They use the Old Jedi Mind Trick: "nothing to see here ... move along."
There's only one problem. There's something to see here.
There has been an enormous amount of misinformation with regard to Obama's life documents from well-meaning grassroots activists (some of whom are too trusting or inexperienced to know how to vet information properly) to media personalities (who are often sloppy and/or ignorant of the facts involved) to agenda-driven snake oil salesmen (who are using grassroots ire to fundraise or sell their books) to outright disinformation supplied by the Obama Administration itself. But just because there are many people who confuse the life documents issue doesn't mean there isn't one.
In fact, there are two.
For over two years, I have been privy to private investigators' files, have seen private investigations of other private investigations, have done my own research -- and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there are two crucial problems with President Obama's life documents. First, the registration number on Obama's "Certification of Live Birth" (which, as Trump recently explained to an incredulous Meredith Vieira, is not a long form birth certificate) is out of sequence to other birth certificates issued on the very next day in Hawaii to a pair of twins named Nordyke (certifications of live birth and birth certificates carry the same registration number).
Second, according to a private investigator, Susan Daniels, whose work was validated by at least two other investigators I'm aware of, the Social Security number that Obama used for approximately 25 years was issued with a Connecticut-based number, though neither Obama nor anyone in his family lived in that state at any point during their lifetimes. Bill O'Reilly claimed on his April 14, 2011, show that Obama's father, Barack Obama Sr., lived in Connecticut "for several years", but when I called O'Reilly for verification of his source(s), I was put into a voicemail and received no return call. As of this writing, it appears that O'Reilly's Mailbag Segment on Obama's Social Security number has been scrubbed by Fox News from the podcast of the show, along with some viewer mail on the subject.
Contrary to Mr. O'Reilly's claim and according to private investigations, after Obama Sr. left Hawaii, he lived in Cambridge, Mass, which he left for Africa in 1965. Obama Sr. never worked or took classes in Connecticut, and no one has ever proven or even given a reason for his living in that state. We know that 1977-79 was the period when Obama's Connecticut-based Social Security number was issued because private investigators have tracked down the dates when the Social Security numbers directly above and below Obama's number were issued. Both of these numbers were issued to Connecticut residents. But from 1972 until his death in a car crash in 1982, Barack Obama Sr. was in Kenya. During this period he was never in America. We reach this conclusion because Obama Sr.'s addresses have been tracked and can be seen in several private investigator data bases.
So it appears Obama Sr. had nothing to do with the application for Obama's Social Security number, as Mr. O'Reilly suggested. But then again, this is the same O'Reilly who also announced on his April 14th show that, although Obama's birth certificate has not been made public, Hawaii officials have it on file. This about-face conflicts with his 2008 statement that he'd actually seen the birth certificate and that's how he knows Obama is legitimate. "We have a copy of it," he said at the time. (NB: such a possession would have been illegal.)
Not only have these issues been ignored or derided by the press, any attempt to answer these questions has been stymied at the state level. Obscured by countless charges and counter-charges, and under the cover of stealth legislation, Hawaii has changed the law and the language with regard to the release of birth certificates, making it very difficult if not impossible to establish the veracity of any charges with regard to Obama's. One can only surmise that if fraud has indeed occurred, a cover-up of that fraud was the goal -- and accomplishment -- here.
But we need not allow state governments, or anyone, to cover up the Obama birth certificate conundrum. There is something we can do. We can ask states to adopt legislation that requires candidates to make public their long form birth certificates in order to be placed on the presidential ballot, and in accordance with Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution. Arizona has already attempted something along these lines, but Arizona's law doesn't go far enough: it permits forensics testing only on secondary documents -- which is to say, if a long form birth certificate is not submitted, there will be no forensics testing on it. Instead, states must pass bills requiring forensics testing of any and all life documents submitted to them, if questions arise about them.
In order to push for such legislation, we all must shift into second gear. Instead of asking "where is the birth certificate?," we must now demand that whatever documents are released on a candidate's life, such documents must be subjected to forensic testing. Anyone who's concealed his documents (and hired lawyers to fight efforts in court to reveal his place of birth), as Mr. Obama has, appears not trustworthy; his actions alone demand forensics testing for any document he produces as proof of his "natural born" status. As Ronald Reagan famously put it, "Trust, but verify."
To date, no such total verification has taken place and thus secrets remain hidden. Instead, sloppy reporting and careless statements, including one made by the Republican National Committee (whom I also called to verify their sources and have received no return call), have been based on second-hand reporting rather than on investigative fact checking. And Obama has something to hide. If he didn't, Obama's attorney, Bob Bauer, would not be sending bullying letters to other attorneys promising sanctions, court costs, etc., if the birth certificate case were pursued against them (see threatening letter here). Obama wouldn't be spending money to defend against these lawsuits if there were no problems -- he'd be releasing his documentation pronto. For his trouble, Bob Bauer has been promoted to White House Counsel. Clearly, Obama's life documents -- which remain sealed from public view -- pose a problem for him, and the behavior of his inner circle proves it.
This is something that Mr. Trump seems to know instinctively. He has been unafraid in his pursuit of Obama's birth certificate. He has suggested an investigation of Hawaiian Governor Neil Abercrombie, who brashly promised that he would release Obama's birth certificate when he took office, only to say -- after having dug into the birth records -- that he didn't know he wasn't allowed to release such a thing. After Mr. Trump's perfectly reasonable suggestion, Abercrombie has been quiet.
Trump has stated that he has investigators on the ground in Hawaii checking on the birth certificate firsthand, and has stated that they "can't believe" what they are finding. Trump may understand that deception has already occurred here -- when Obama released his "Certification of Live Birth" in 2007 as if it were a valid birth certificate, it appears he meant to deceive the public. Trump's refusal to back off the birth certificate issue has the elites frowning, the base in an uproar, and Obama on his heels.
Meanwhile, the Republican establishment continues to shrink from the once-in-a-lifetime political opportunity Obama has handed them by his concealments. Frightened to attack Obama's "character," they instead insist on attacking his policies -- the same failed strategy that McCain (and they) have already tried. The Obama campaign and presidency, day after day, assassinated Bush's character (and now others) and lied continually, full of guile, about Obama's policies and political beliefs at the same time, and they continue this practice even today.
Why? Because it's effective. The vast majority of Americans already agree with Republicans on the major issues -- health care, "don't ask, don't tell," the stimulus package, the deficit -- policy arguments which Republicans have lost to Obama because they refuse to pull out the big guns. Were the Democrats thinking about beating Nixon on policy when they went after him on Watergate? The Republicans seem willing to allow Obama to waltz to a second term, unchallenged in this terribly important Constitutional issue, and Americans care deeply about their Constitution, simply out of spinelessness.
Trump has a spine, which is why he is gaining momentum and has pulled way ahead of the pack. Now we must convert that momentum into action. Instead of passing judgment about who is crazy or sane on the issues of the birth certificate and the Social Security number, we must ask Obama to show his hand, and we then must forensically test whatever he has, or he must fold. Forensics testing is not an outlandish idea; as distasteful as this analogy might be -- a sordid affair vs. a serious Constitutional issue -- forensics testing of a blue dress a few years ago revealed another set of lies of a young U.S. president, also attempting to defraud the public.
Because of the irregularities and unanswered questions outlined above, certainly the American people have a right to know whether the birth record that supposedly establishes the eligibility of their president is un-tampered with. And they also have a right to know whether the social security number that he has been using is genuinely his or stolen. Use of another person's social security number is a felony.
In the interests of full transparency and disclosure, in the interests of protecting the Constitution and the integrity of our elections, we need to force Obama and all other presidential candidates to show us their birth certificates before they join any presidential campaign and demonstrate they are eligible to serve us. Anything less is a deep betrayal of our most basic democratic ideals.
In the interests of full transparency and disclosure, in the interests of protecting the Constitution and the integrity of our elections, we need to force Obama and all other presidential candidates to show us their birth certificates before they join any presidential campaign and demonstrate they are eligible to serve us. Anything less is a deep betrayal of our most basic democratic ideals.
Carol A. Taber is president of FamilySecurityMatters.org
Obama's Two Birth Cerificates....Which one looks authentic?
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