The rich splurge on bargains

The rich splurge on bargains
As rates fall, time is right for deals
By Sarah Schweitzer
Globe Staff / May 19, 2008
The recession gripping the country has left a broad swath of Americans agonizing over $60 gas fill-ups, ballooning grocery bills, and homes lost to foreclosure. But for the region's class of superrich, downtimes have made for a bonanza of deals on luxurious pleasures, from sports cars and yachts to pieds-a-terre and airplanes.


At the Rolls-Royce dealership in Wayland, the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead is sold out into next year, and orders are still rolling in. Ferrari Maserati of New England in Foxborough notched more sales in April than in any of the previous 14 months. Boston Yacht Sales of Weymouth last week closed on three boats valued at a total of $1.6 million, helping to push business up by 9 percent over last year. Business has been so brisk at Shoreline Aviation in Marshfield that the wait time to purchase a sleek Cessna Citation jet is two years. Million-dollar condo sales, far from stalling like some other sectors of the real estate market, have continued at a pace about like last year's.

In all of those things, dealers say they see no signs of a slowdown in coming months.

"If I had five Rolls-Royce Phantoms, they'd be gone the next day," Paul Downey, sales manager of Herb Chambers Rolls-Royce Motorcars of New England and Bentley Boston, said of the convertible that retails for $440,000.

For the class of rich who make more than $1 million a year and have several times that in the bank, the time is right for indulgence. Falling interest rates have made luxury goods cheaper to buy, and the items, which tend to be considered investments because they retain their value, are proving attractive alternatives to the volatile stock market. There is also the foreclosure factor: A growing number of high-end boats, cars, and homes have been foreclosed upon by banks and can be had for cut-rate prices.

click post title for more if you really want to know what they are buying while you can't fill the tank and your stomach at the same time.

Police in Iraq prime targets today

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, May 19 19 May 2008 20:49:43 GMT
Source: Reuters
May 19 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 2000 GMT on Monday:

* denotes new or updated item

* BA'AJ - Gunmen killed 11 police recruits in an attack on a minibus near the northern Iraqi town of Ba'aj, the town's mayor said.


* BAGHDAD - Lieutenant-Colonel Ahmed al-Nori, head of police intelligence in the Rusafa area of northern Baghdad, was killed by gunmen who attacked his car on Sunday in Sadr City, in Baghdad, police said. His driver was wounded.

* BAGHDAD - The head of a police station in the Qouds area of Baghdad was wounded in a roadside bomb attack, police said.

* ZAAFARANIYA - A police captain based in the Ministry of Interior was wounded by gunmen in Zaafaraniya, south of Baghdad, police said.

* BAGHDAD - Three police officers were wounded in a gun attack on a car in Baghdad, police said.

SUQ AL-SHIYUKH - A local Iraqi police chief was killed when a bomb placed under his bed exploded while he slept, in Suq al-Shiyukh, 320 km (200 miles) southeast of Baghdad, police said.

BASRA - Gunmen killed two policemen in a drive-by shooting on a police patrol on Sunday in central Basra, 420 km (260 miles) southeast of Baghdad, police said.

NINEVEH PROVINCE - The Iraq army killed one militant and arrested 78 others in Nineveh Province, in northern Iraq, the Defence Ministry said.



* TIKRIT - Abdul Khaleq al-Sabawi, head of al Qaeda's military organisation in Mosul, was arrested near Tikrit, in Salahuddin province, a Defence Ministry spokesman said.

SUWAYRA - Iraqi police recovered two bodies with gunshot wounds and signs of torture from the Tigris river in Suwayra, 50 km (30 miles) southeast of Baghdad, police said. They said one of the bodies was beheaded.



BAGHDAD - U.S. soldiers killed an attacker placing a roadside bomb north of Baghdad and seized munitions in others districts on Sunday, the U.S. military said.

NEAR RUTBA - Two dead bodies were found with gunshot wounds and signs of torture in a deserted area near Rutba, 360 km (220 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.

SULAIMANIYA PROVINCE - Iranian artillery shells were fired at the border area of Iraq's Sulaimaniya province. There were no casualties, a local government official said.

BAGHDAD - One Katyusha rocket wounded five people near Hurriya district in northwestern Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb wounded three people in Doura district in southern Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - Iraqi army forces surrounded a Shi'ite mosque and arrested five men and confiscated weapons in Shaab district in northern Baghdad, the Iraqi military said.

TIKRIT - A car bomb killed one person and wounded six others in central Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - Three bodies were found in various districts of Baghdad on Sunday, police said.

SALAHUDDIN PROVINCE - One U.S. soldier was killed on Sunday when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in Salahuddin province, north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.

BAGHDAD - U.S. soldiers killed three militants after coming under attack on Sunday in Sadr City, in eastern Baghdad, the U.S. military said.

(Compiled by Aws Qusay, editing by Adrian Croft)
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L19570284.htm

Death penalty over Catholic Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho

Death penalty over Iraq killing
A leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq has been sentenced to death for the killing of the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho.

The archbishop of the northern city of Mosul was kidnapped in February by gunmen who attacked his car, killing his driver and two bodyguards.

His body was found in a shallow grave two weeks later.

The Iraqi government said the criminal court had imposed the death sentence on Ahmed Ali Ahmed, known as Abu Omar.

The US embassy in Baghdad welcomed the verdict.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7407489.stm

Worried about Price of Gas? End US Wars

Worried about Price of Gas? End US Wars Middle East Online
Despite all the recent talk of soaring prices at the pump, political and economic pundits rarely mention the impact of war and political instability in the Middle East on the skyrocketing price of oil. There is strong evidence, however, that the heightened price of energy is a direct consequence of the destabilizing wars and geopolitical insecurity in the region. These include not only the raging wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also the threat of a looming war against Iran.
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Bush got what he wanted. The Saudis got what they wanted. The oil investors got what they wanted but the rest of us have been the ones to pay for it all.

FOX TV GM arrested in adult video store. Guess why

Fox TV station's general manager arrested at adult video store
By Jessica Vander Velde, Times Staff Writer
In print: Sunday, May 18, 2008



TAMPA — The general manager of WTVT-Ch. 13 in Tampa was arrested Friday night at an adult video store on charges of exposure of a sexual organ and lewd and lascivious behavior.

Robert W. Linger, 49, was one of six men arrested by undercover officers inside the movie theater at Fantasy Land Adult Video Store, 4714 N Lois Ave., Tampa.

According to the arrest reports, the six men formed a circle around the undercover officers inside the theater and began masturbating.

Fox 13 News reported the arrest on its Web site, stating that it is "aware of the matter and is currently reviewing it."
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http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article512142.ece

Gunshot-riddled Quran is found, a tenuous partnership is threatened

Behind the Scenes: Apology for a desecration
Story Highlights
When a gunshot-riddled Quran is found, a tenuous partnership is threatened

U.S. military officers apologize to authorities, citizens in Iraqi village

The local sheikhs accept apology and their teamwork with U.S. continues

By Michael Ware
CNN

In our Behind the Scenes series, CNN correspondents share their experiences in covering news and analyze the stories behind the events. CNN's Michael Ware covers the Iraq war.


BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- What the Iraqi fighter found threatened America's vital alliance with Sunni militia.

A week ago in a police station shooting range on Baghdad's western outskirts, the American-allied Iraqi militiaman found what one or more GIs had been using for target practice -- a copy of the Quran, Islam's holy book.

Riddled with bullets, the rounds piercing deep into the thick volume, the pages were shredded. Turning the holy book in his hands, the man found two handwritten English words, scrawled in pen. "F*** yeah."

The discovery was incendiary. It was an affront to Islam and a serious challenge to the religious credentials of the U.S-allied militias, or Awakening Councils, who turned on al-Qaeda and are now on the U.S. government payroll. Watch villagers protest the incident »

Largely moderate Sunnis, the American-backed militias face constant accusations from Islamic groups that they have turned against Islam to support the cause of the infidels, or nonbelievers. If this indignity had gone unanswered, the Islamists' case would have been won.
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Linked from RawStory

Iraqi police arrested for attacking troops

Troops arrest eight Iraqi police officers
Officers suspected of taking active role in attacks on U.S forces
By Michael Gisick, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, May 17, 2008


BAGHDAD — U.S. troops detained eight Iraqi police officers in a Shiite section of eastern Baghdad Wednesday, saying the officers had taken an active role in attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces.

Wearing handcuffs, face masks and their distinctive, bright blue uniform tops, the policemen were led one by one from a station in the New Baghdad area and taken away in waiting American Humvees.

All eight were low-ranking officers, said Capt. Josh Campbell, commander of the 54th Military Police company, based at Fort Lewis, Wash. About 200 policemen work out of the New Baghdad station, a few miles from Sadr City in an area that has seen frequent clashes since late March.

The station itself has been attacked several times, according to U.S. troops who share the station with the Iraqi police.

Coming as the U.S. military continues to push Iraqi forces to take a leading role in combat operations, Wednesday’s arrests highlight continued concerns about the loyalty of some of those forces. A series of high-profile defections followed the Iraqi army’s March 25 assault on the southern port city of Basra and in the early days of subsequent fighting in Sadr City.
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http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=54857

Soldiers in Sadr City follow bad vibe instinct

Soldiers follow instincts as ‘weird vibe’ cuts short patrol near Sadr City area

The market in the New Baghdad area near Sadr City is one of the few places here where fighting has been sporadic enough in recent weeks for U.S. troops to embark on regular foot patrols, handing out leaflets and encouraging people to call in tips on militants. But on Tuesday night, a small patrol of American soldiers made it only a few blocks from their outpost before deciding to pack it in.

Woman died 35 years ago in apartment, no one noticed

Woman's dead body lies in flat for 35 years
Story Highlights
Body of Croatian woman Hedviga Golik found in flat in Zagreb

Police: No one reported Golik missing and no one has come to claim her body

Body only found after neighbours decided to claim her apartment

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) -- Governments have changed. War erupted and ended. Neighbors had children, and then grandchildren. But Hedviga Golik never left her tiny apartment in Croatia's capital -- until her mummified body was carried out this week, 35 years after she died.

Police said Friday that no one ever reported Golik missing and no one has come to claim her body.

Residents of her loft building in downtown Zagreb had broken into Golik's flat after deciding that the apartment should belong to them, and not to her. Startled by the remains in bed, they called police.

Forensics experts said Golik likely died in 1973, about the time a neighbor last saw her. Expert Davor Strinovic said she seemed to have died of natural causes, but "it's almost impossible to say for certain" after so much time.
go here for morehttp://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/05/16/croatia.body.ap/index.html

Honor killings in Iraq claiming more lives than under Saddam

How picture phones have fuelled frenzy of honour killing in Iraq

By Patrick Cockburn in Sulaymaniyah
Saturday, 17 May 2008



A dark pool of dried blood and a fallen red scarf mark the place where Ronak, who had fled to a woman's shelter in the Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah when she was accused of adultery by her husband, was shot three times by a man hiding on the roof of a nearby building.


Ronak was wounded by bullets in the neck, side and leg and only survived after a four-hour operation. She was the latest victim of a huge increase across Iraq in the number of "honour" killings of women for alleged immorality by their own families.

Many are burnt to death by having petrol or paraffin poured over them and set ablaze. Others are shot or strangled. The United Nations estimates that at least 255 women died in honour-related killings in Kurdistan, home to one fifth of Iraqis, in the first six months of 2007 alone.

The murder of women who are deemed to have disobeyed traditional codes of morality is even more common in the rest of Iraq where government authority has broken down since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

A surprising reason explaining the massive increase in the number of honour killings is the availability of cheap mobile phones able to take pictures. Men photograph themselves making love to their girlfriends and pass the pictures to their friends. This often turns out to be a lethal act of bravado in a society where premarital or extra-marital sex justifies killing.
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Maliki offers amnety to al-Qaeda

Iraq offers amnesty in northern Qaeda stronghold
By Khalid al-Ansary
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, leading an offensive against al Qaeda in the north, offered cash and freedom from prosecution on Friday to fighters who give up their weapons within 10 days.


Maliki made the amnesty offer in the northern city of Mosul, where he has been supervising a U.S.-backed campaign aimed at delivering a fatal blow to Sunni Islamist al Qaeda in the city and surrounding Nineveh province.

Many al Qaeda gunmen have regrouped in Nineveh after being pushed out of Baghdad and other areas. The U.S. military says Mosul is al Qaeda's last major urban stronghold in Iraq.

"We have decided to grant amnesty to those who joined the armed groups on condition they hand over heavy and medium weapons to the security forces," Maliki said in a statement.

He did not elaborate, but this would mean weapons such as rocket-propelled grenade launchers and mortars. Iraqi law allows each household to have an AK-47 assault rifle.
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Oh but Bush thinks even talking to Iran is a bad thing, but Gates wants to talk to them. So what was his speech all about the other day?

Congressman Wexler wants Rove-R to come on over

Last night, I appeared on MSNBC's Verdict with Dan Abrams to discuss Karl Rove's outrageous refusal to appear before Congress regarding serious allegations that he used the US Justice Department to take down a prominent Democratic politician. It is alleged that Mr. Rove personally instigated the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegleman. The case has been criticized by legal experts, and 52 former state attorney generals – both Republicans and Democrats – have criticized the case and called for an investigation. (You may view the clip here.)

If Rove refuses to testify voluntarily and ignores the subpoenas that will certainly be issued, he should be held in Inherent Contempt of the House of Representatives.

No American is above the law. None of us should be able to ignore Congress without consequence. If Mr. Rove ignores a subpoena from the Judiciary Committee, then the House of Representatives should pass an Inherent Contempt citation and exercise our right to send the House Sergeant-of-Arms to gather Mr. Rove and bring him before Congress to testify.I do not advocate this option lightly, but the reality is that Congress has few options left against an Administration that totally refuses to submit to any type of reasonable Congressional oversight.

Congress has both the right and obligation to investigate these matters. Never before has an Executive so upset the checks and balances inherent in our Constitution. If we back off or delay, we effectively forfeit the power of Congress to investigate the Executive branch.Rove is not the first White House official to ignore Congress. We have seen a pattern of refusals based on laughable claims of executive privilege. First, White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers ignored subpoenas on the investigation into the firing of US Attorney Generals for partisan political motives.

Their refusal to testify was unprecedented: never before have executive officials totally refused to even show up before Congress. Bolten and Miers are the highest officials ever held in contempt of Congress. Unfortunately, Attorney General Mukasey – in a dereliction of duty – has refused to enforce the contempt decree and now Congress is suing them in District Court to demand compliance.

Then, the Vice President's Chief of Staff, David Addington, refused to testify on the investigation into the Bush Administration's ordering of torture. Now, Rove continues this executive arrogance by also refusing to testify. Enough is enough. We have a Constitutional obligation to provide accountability to a White House that is trying usurp the constitutional powers of Congress. These are the very reasons why I have been pushing for impeachment hearings for Vice President Cheney. The Bush Administration has been running roughshod over the Constitution for eight long years. We should not allow the promise of a positive election be used as an excuse to ignore our duty to investigate crimes that weaken the very fabric of our Democracy.I thank you again for your commitment to the causes that we hold so dear.

With warm regards,Congressman Robert Wexler

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Hunger adds to Afghanistan's nightmare

Hunger adds to Afghanistan's nightmare
By Carlotta Gall Published: May 14, 2008

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan: Thieves raided the city flour market in broad daylight a few weeks ago, shooting and wounding two people before escaping with their loot.

"We are not feeling safe," Haji Hayatullah, one of the flour merchants, said sitting on the floor of his shop with sacks of flour stacked around him. "We don't have security and we don't trust the government to provide it." The merchants got together and hired eight private security guards.

Yet their fears remain, not only about gunmen, but also because they sense a growing hunger and desperation in the general population.

Flour and bread prices doubled in the space of two weeks in Afghanistan last month after Pakistan stopped wheat and flour exports. The traders said they smuggled in flour through a mountain road instead. A government distribution of flour in Kandahar and its outlying districts eased cost fears slightly and the price of flour dropped back down a bit.
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http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/12/asia/afghan.php

As we strike military targets, we will also drop food, medicine and supplies to the starving and suffering men and women and children of Afghanistan. The United States of America is a friend to the Afghan people, and we are the friends of almost a billion worldwide who practice the Islamic faith.
President Bush October 2001
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/terrorism/combating/bush_10-7.html

Americans have responded magnificently with courage and caring. We've seen it in our children who have sent in more than $1 million for the children of Afghanistan. We have seen it in the compassion of Jewish and Christian Americans who have reached out to their Muslim neighbors. We've seen it as Americans have reassessed priorities: parents spending more time with their children and many people spending more time in prayer and in houses of worship.

We are destroying training camps, disrupting communications and dismantling air defenses. We are now bombing Taliban front lines. We are deliberately and systematically hunting down these murderers and we will bring them to justice.

(APPLAUSE)

Throughout this battle, we adhere to our values. Unlike our enemy, we respect life. We do not target innocent civilians.

We care for the innocent people of Afghanistan, so we continue to provide humanitarian aid, even while their government tries to steal the food we send.

When the terrorists and their supporters are gone, the people of Afghanistan will say with the rest of the world, "Good riddance."

http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/11/08/rec.bush.transcript/

In this same speech he brought up the anthrax killer, a terrorists that was never found and hardly ever mentioned after.

The second attack against America came in the mail. We do not know whether this attack came from the same terrorists. We don't know the origin of the anthrax. But whoever did this unprecedented and uncivilized act is a terrorist.

Four Americans have now died from anthrax out of a total of 17 people who have been infected. The Postal Service has processed more than 30 billion pieces of mail since September the 11th, and so far we've identified three different letters that contained anthrax.

We can trace the source of infection for all but one of the individuals, and we are still trying to learn how a woman who died in New York was exposed.

He kept saying we would give the Afghan people a better nation to live in. Looks like he didn't mean that claim either.

Study reveals growing evidence of global warming

Study reveals growing evidence of global warming
Margaret Munro , Canwest News Service
Published: 4 hours ago
A vast array of physical and biological systems - from polar bears in the Arctic to tiny krill in the Southern Ocean - are showing the effect of the world's rising temperature, say scientists who analyzed more than 30,000 sets of data stretching back to 1970.

Shrinking glaciers, melting permafrost, earlier spring river runoff, and warmer water bodies point to pervasive physical changes, they say.

And earlier spring blossoms, bird migrations and altered distribution - salmon showing up in the Arctic, the mountain pine beetle expanding into vast tracks of Western Canada's forests - point to the many biological impacts
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http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=326fe156-c93e-4623-a268-e2d71dcfe7c9

We've gone green. Have you? My husband has a Harley. I drive a 4 cylinder KIA Sportage. Yes there are other ones we can drive but we can't afford them. We have a solar hot water heater with the solar collector on the roof. Living in Florida, it seemed the smart thing to do. We gave up plastic bags at the grocery store and use canvas bags. At about a dollar a bag, no one can complain. All you have to do is remember to bring them into the store. If I go to CVS or Walgreen's I skip the bag and pop whatever I buy into my pocketbook. The only time we get the plastic bags is when we are running out because we use them to line the small trash cans in our house. Since we drink so much spring water, we finally decided to toss them into a recycle bin instead of the trash. I was kind of slow for that to dawn on my.

There are all kinds of things you can do that make a big difference and you don't have to go nuts doing it. Do small things to start out with and make a difference in whatever way you can.

70% of Iraqis have no access to safe drinking water post US invasion

Iraq’s Baquba running out of water in rising heat


Shortage of water for drinking, irrigation in what was once Iraq’s agriculturally rich province.


By Ali al-Fadhily and Dahr Jamail – BAQUBA, Iraq

Water supply is drying out in what was once the agriculturally rich Diyala province north of Baghdad. Baquba, the capital city of Diyala, is now running out of water both for drinking and for irrigation.

Water supply has been hit by power failures. The central pumping station has been running short of electricity supply over the last two years.

The pumping station is located between two districts in conflict -- Hwaider, which is predominantly Shiite, and Jupenat, mostly Sunni. For two years now, fighting between Sunnis and Shias here has led to reduced water supply.

"The Diyala river passes by the two villages before the pumping station," resident Zuhair Mahmood told IPS. "They try to change its stream to deprive the other of water for irrigating their farms. The diversions mean relatively little water can reach the station."

Often, Mahmood added, "farmers irrigate their farms by setting up pumps on the banks of the river, which further contributes to reduced supply to the station."
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http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=25890
linked from ICasualties.org