maze with frankie beverly joy and pain

A friend turned me on to Frankie Beverly. They played at the Mango Festival in Deerfield Beach. Fun was had by all. :-)

Question Girl

MILITARY POLICY VIOLATED IN SOLDIERS DEATHS

Two things here.....1.) the rape and murder of that girl and her family has something to do with why these guys were left alone, IMO. I'll leave it at that. 2.) Where's the leadership and chain of command in Iraq? There seems to be a free for all going on, with no leadership.



US army says policy violated in soldiers' deaths

By Ross Colvin
Reuters
Saturday, July 1, 2006; 8:27 AM

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three U.S. soldiers killed by insurgents south of Baghdad last month had been left alone at a checkpoint in violation of military procedure, a U.S. military spokeswoman said on Saturday.

An investigation is already under way into how the soldiers came to be on their own in an armored Humvee vehicle in an al Qaeda hotspot known as the "Triangle of Death" as night fell.

Continue reading here

Question Girl

REBUILDING TOGETHER

I heard this story on the news the other night, and thought I'd share it. What a great organization Rebuilding Together is.

Volunteers help make injured Miramar soldier's house more accessible

By Georgia East
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted July 1 2006


MIRAMAR · Not long before he was injured in Iraq, Staff Sgt. John Adams resurfaced the kitchen cabinets in the modest house he shares with his wife, mom and two young sons.

He used to be the handyman of the three-bedroom house, always seeing something that needed fixing, always within reach of his hammer and nails.

He still sees things to be done. But the brain injury he received in 2003, when a roadside bomb detonated near his Humvee, robbed him of coordination, hindered his short-term memory and slurred his speech.

On Friday, a team of volunteers with Rebuilding Together/Countrywide showed up at his east Miramar home to install a more accessible shower, paint his walkway and build an outdoor play set for the boys.

"I feel proud that they're doing all of this stuff for me,'' said Adams, 40, who served for 18 years with the Florida National Guard. "I was kind of surprised.''



Read the entire heartwarming story here

Question Girl

Black Eyed Peas

Sergio and the Peas.....

Question Girl

VA STOLEN DATA MIRACULOUSLY RECOVERED ......RRRRIIIIIGGGGGHHHHHTTTTTT!!!

Oh ok, so the laptop is stolen. A federal judge rules that if veteran's accept the offer of one year credit monitoring it does not mean they give up the right to further sue the government. There's a request for each and every one of the veterans to receive $1000. and NOT lose their right to further sue if they actually suffer identity theft. And all of a sudden, a day before a judgment on all of this.....the laptop mysteriously appears in a park. Oh and guess what??? There was no breach. Yah.....it's just dandy. No one got the data!!!!

How fucking stupid do they think we are???????

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A stolen laptop computer containing sensitive information on more than 26 million U.S. military veterans has been recovered and a preliminary review indicated no data was taken, the FBI and Veterans Affairs Department said on Thursday.

Both the laptop and the external hard drive that were stolen in early May from the home of a VA employee were recovered, federal authorities said in an announcement along with the Montgomery County, Maryland, Police Department.

Read the full story about this miraculous recovery here

Question Girl

SUPREME COURT SET TO RULE ON MILITARY TRIALS FOR GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEES

I'm watching this one....I'll update when they've ruled.

UPDATE:-- The Supreme Court rules President Bush overstepped his authority with military war crimes trials for foreigners held at Guantanamo Bay in a case involving a former driver for Osama bin Laden. 10:17 a.m.


The US Supreme Court is set to make a landmark ruling on military trials for Guantanamo Bay detainees.
Osama Bin Laden's ex-driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, is arguing that US President George W Bush did not have the authority to order such trials.

He is demanding a civilian trial or court martial, where the prosecution has to work harder than at a tribunal to make its case.

Mr Hamdan is one of 10 inmates facing trial by military tribunal.

Read on here

Question Girl

TEENS PAYING IT FORWARD

If people would worry more about others needs, other than their own, what a better place the world would be. Remember when you see a homeless person, there are many situations and events that cause people to become homeless. Remember that 1 out of 3 homeless men are veterans. Do something for someone else today......no matter how small.

Lifted from homelessness, family spends its time volunteering for Salvation Army

By Sara Ganim
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted June 29 2006

Fort Lauderdale · For 11 months, Mary Romero and her family depended on the Salvation Army for most of their daily needs.

Now, they are paying back the best way they know how -- by volunteering their time to the place they once called home

"My mom used to cry over us at night because we had no next step to take and nowhere to go," Romero, 15, said of living in the homeless shelter. "She said she wanted to do better for us."

Read more about this incredible family here

Question Girl

BERKELEY TO PUT IMPEACHMENT QUESTION ON BALLOT

From Fox News


City of Berkeley to Put Bush Impeachment Question on Ballot
Thursday, June 29, 2006

BERKELEY, Calif. — The left-leaning city of Berkeley will let voters decide whether to call for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

The City Council voted Tuesday night to put an advisory measure on the Nov. 7 ballot calling for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney.

The measure says the administration violated the Constitution with illegal domestic spying, justified the Iraq war with fraudulent claims and illegally tortured citizens

Question Girl

BP FACING PRICE FIXING CHARGES

Chalk on up for the consumer.......maybe

BP faces US energy price-fixing charges
By Jeremy Grant in Washington

Published: June 29 2006 03:00 | Last updated: June 29 2006 03:00

BP was facing allegations of price manipulation last night after a US watchdog filed a civil suit against the UK-based group accusing it of cornering a significant portion of the propane market used by millions of Americans.

Dennis Abbott, a former BP energy trader, pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to manipulate prices and could face up to five years in prison.

If found guilty, BP could have to pay restitution to potential victims as well as fines up up to $120,000 per violation.

Continue reading here

Question Girl

Allman Brothers Band -Statesboro Blues

I love this song.....it's always been one of my favorites. Boogie down baby!

Question Girl

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?? LIST OF STOLEN DATA GOES ON AND ON

I could go on and on with this list. But you get the picture. Something is very fishy about all the cases of stolen data of late. Who's stealing the data? For what purpose? Could it be political? What do you think???? Why isn't employee data more secure? Encrypted? Why are employees allowed to take home such sensitive information? The QuestionGirl has alot of questions about this.


Nuclear Scientists data stolen

CIA AGENTS DATA RETREIVED BY CHICAGO TRIBUNE

VA DATA STOLEN

WASHINGTON D.C. EMPLOYEE DATA STOLEN

IRS EMPLOYEE DATA STOLEN

EQUIFAX EMPLOYEE DATA STOLEN

USDA EMPLOYEES DATA STOLEN

Question Girl

$2 BILLION IN KATRINA FRAUD AND SCAM

Our government at work..... unfuckingbelieveable. Think of the good that could have been done with that 2 billion. The Gulf coast is still in shambles..... I'm sure that money could have been put to good use to help rebuild.

Frauds, schemes and errors related to Katrina cost U.S. taxpayers $2 billion

By Eric Lipton
The New York Times
Posted June 27 2006


WASHINGTON · Among the many superlatives associated with Hurricane Katrina can now be added this one: It produced one of the most extraordinary displays of scams, schemes and stupefying bureaucratic bungles in modern history, costing taxpayers up to $2 billion.

There is the hotel owner from Sugar Land, Texas, who has been charged with submitting $232,000 worth of bills for phantom victims. There are the 1,100 prison inmates across the Gulf Coast who apparently collected more than $10 million in rental and disaster-relief assistance.

Read on here

Question Girl

2 STOWAWAYS FOUND DEAD IN SHIPPING CONTAINER IN MIAMI

Just another clue that our ports are NOT safe. This administration keeps telling us they have to chip away at our civil liberties, our rights to privacy....all so they can keep us safe from the terrorists. If four poor people from the Domincan Republic can sneak into a shipping container, what's to stop real terrorists from sneaking in....or worse yet....sneaking a weapon in? Yah...the Bonehead is really keeping us safe. Thank God they got those 7 poor guys in Miami. Whew...glad we don't have to worry about them! If that had gone on any longer, the FBI might have actually driven them to the Sears Tower, given them explosives and told them what to do with them!! But let's not worry about our port security...or what might be coming through them. Naw....that's not important.



2 stowaways found dead in container on ship at Port of Miami

Associated Press
Posted June 27 2006, 8:04 AM EDT


MIAMI -- Two stowaways died in a shipping container aboard a freighter bound for the Port of Miami from the Dominican Republic, authorities said Monday.

After the Panama-flagged Seaboard Trader moored at the port Monday night, two additional stowaways were transported to a Miami hospital, said Lt. Cmdr. Chris O'Neil, spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard's 7th District.


The four men were found inside a shipping container aboard the vessel, which was carrying merchandise for Sara Lee Branded Apparel, said Port of Miami spokeswoman Andria Muniz.

The reason the two men died was under investigation. The four men were all believed to be Dominican nationals, O'Neil said.

The vessel had departed Saturday from Puerto Plata, on the north coast of the Dominican Republic.

The Seaboard Trader reported to U.S. authorities around 7:15 a.m. Monday that its crew had discovered the stowaways while still more than 100 miles off Florida's coast, said O'Neil.

The 40-foot-long container in which the stowaways were found contained T-shirts and had been packed in Haiti before being loaded onto the vessel in the Dominican Republic, O'Neil said.

``From what we can tell, if they were in the container when it was loaded, they would have been in the container for four days,'' O'Neil said. ``But the mechanics of how they got in, when they got in, is still under investigation.''

The ship is owned by Miami-based Seaboard Marine, said Zachary Mann, Customs and Border Protection spokesman.

Telephone calls made after hours to the company's offices rang unanswered.

Officials at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami said they would not release the condition of the two stowaways being treated there without their consent.
Stowaways are typically sent back to their port of origin, Mann said.

Question Girl

WE SHOULD HAVE POLITICIANS LIKE SWEDEN'S DICK MARTY

Europe's human rights body has passed a resolution accusing European states of colluding with the CIA on secret flights transferring terror suspects.
The Council of Europe says some countries were staging posts for illegal flights and others let the US abduct suspects from their soil.

Under the CIA policy of rendition, prisoners are moved to third countries for interrogation. The US denies that people sent overseas are subjected to torture.

The resolution passed by the Council of Europe reflects the conclusions of a seven-month inquiry by Swiss Senator Dick Marty, which studied air traffic logs, satellite images and personal testimonies.

Continue reading here

Question Girl

FALLUJAH: A CITY UNDER SEIGE

Fallujah: A city still under siege
By Dahr Jamail and Ali Fadhil

FALLUJAH, Iraq - One and a half years after the US assault on Fallujah, residents tell of ongoing suffering, lack of jobs, little reconstruction and continuing violence.

The US Marines Corps launched Operation Phantom Fury against the city of Fallujah in November 2004, destroying an estimated 70% of the buildings, homes and shops, and killing between 4,000 and 6,000 people, according to the Fallujah-based non-governmental organization (NGO) the Study Center for Human Rights and Democracy (SCHRD).

Inter Press Service (IPS) found that the city remains under draconian, biometric security, with retina scans, fingerprinting and X-raying required for anyone entering the city. Fallujah remains an island: not even the residents of the surrounding towns and villages such as Karma, Habbaniya, Khalidiya, which fall under Fallujah's administrative jurisdiction, are allowed in.

Read the whole story here after you've submitted to the retina scan.

Question Girl

FLEXING OUR MUSCLES FOR CHINA

China treated to a sight of US might
By David Fullbrook

LONDON - Lest China's generals were in any doubt about the edge enjoyed by US forces, the Pentagon gave them grandstand seats last week as it showed off its military muscle with the massive Valiant Shield exercise in the western Pacific near Guam.

It was the first time a delegation from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) had been officially invited to observe US war games in the Pacific, where the two countries face potential conflicts over Taiwan.

Rear Admiral Zhang Leiyu led a 10-strong PLA delegation, including generals from the army and air force, to watch Valiant Shield and meet US commanders. Unlike their US counterparts, the Chinese did not hold press conferences. However, China's



state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that the exercises "deeply impressed" the generals. Zhang was quoted as calling the visit to the war games "a positive step in China-US military ties".

"The visit helped China obtain a better understanding of US weapons, training, skills and exercise arrangements," said Zhang, a navy vice chief of staff and commandant of China's Naval Submarine Academy.

To be anything else is hard to imagine. Three of America's 12 aircraft carriers joined Valiant Shield. For now, even one remains but a dream for Zhang. Overhead flew billion-dollar B-2 stealth bombers for which China has yet no serious countermeasures.

This exercise demonstrated a joint-forces operation in which troops, sailors and pilots practiced working together. Few militaries have much experience of conducting such operations on a large scale, even fewer successfully so. US forces, though not perfect, are thanks to their experience and technology more adept than the Chinese.

US strategists think that if their officers meet regularly with the Chinese, the two sides will understand each other better, avoiding misunderstandings and miscalculations that might put them on the road to war. So the Pentagon invited, for the first time, a top-level delegation from China, expecting the secretive PLA to reciprocate. China's state media, however, reported that the PLA offered just that in 2003 and 2005.

Pentagon planners hope the backstage tour will influence the Chinese generals to caution their political masters. China's leaders have been stoking nationalism, trying to fill the legitimacy gap left by communism taking on a capitalist hue. Propaganda paints China as a victim, and promises to bring Taiwan, by hook or by crook, under Beijing's rule.

The current Taiwanese government, however, has another idea, wanting independence. Many people on the island want at least the status quo to be maintained. Worryingly for Beijing, opinion polls report that more and more people, even children and grandchildren of Kuomintang soldiers and refugees fleeing the communist victory in China in 1949, think of themselves as Taiwanese, rather than Chinese.

Whenever independence is broached, China's leaders respond by huffing and puffing, threatening an invasion. Taiwan, naturally then, takes a dim view of US and Chinese warriors meeting regularly, for its security rests on somewhat ambiguous US laws promising to defend the island.

Taiwan's cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council, which oversees relations with China, quickly issued a statement, probably aimed at US lawmakers, noting that more frequent meetings might allow Chinese officers to influence their US counterparts to Taiwan's detriment.

That seems unlikely, though, as long as the Taiwanese do not unnecessarily provoke mainland China by holding a referendum on independence. But with the island's ruling pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party tarred by corruption scandals and facing a tough election in 2008, a referendum could well enter its manifesto.

Despite its bluster, mainland China's military is far from being able to launch a massive amphibious invasion across 100 miles of sea to Taiwan's beaches. Instead, a rapid buildup of missiles in Fujian province, opposite Taiwan, would allow Beijing to crush Taiwan's will to resist by attacking its leaders, generals and command networks.

This is a one-shot strategy, because if the Taiwanese resist and the United States makes good on its commitment, as one would expect of it to maintain the credibility of its alliances in East Asia, then the mainland could face defeat.

US and Chinese troops could also face off if North Korea, an ally Beijing could do without, attacks either South Korea or Japan, both strong allies of the United States, or China decides to grab the potentially oil-rich Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands that Japan also claims.

Stopping these cold issues' turning hot is in everybody's best interests. A US exercise as large as Valiant Shield - 30 warships, 280 aircraft and 22,000 personnel - not far from the smoldering disputes of East Asia carries a strong political message.

It shows the United States' allies and potential adversaries that despite significant commitments in Afghanistan and Iraq, Washington can still quickly amass troops, ships and planes for battle in the Pacific.

Giving the order to enter battle, however, is another matter. China's leaders might believe the American public will not stand for another conflict, strengthening the case for attacking Taiwan before the election and the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008. China's generals might perversely then be the best defense against Beijing calling America's bluff.

Question Girl

INTERNATIONAL DAY IN SUPPORT OF VICTIMS OF TORTURE

Today is the U.N. International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Take a moment today and do something to support the anti-torture movement. Write your congressman/woman. Make a phone call. Demand the closing of Gitmo. The total disregard for human rights by this administration is beyond disgusting. Let them know it.


“No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification for torture.”
Article 2, United Nations Convention Against Torture


Read about the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture here

Question Girl

ZOMBIE DEBT IS ILLEGAL.....DON'T STAND FOR IT!!

by Harriet Johnson Brackey
Posted June 25 2006

Latoya Gibson thought debt collectors were never again going to bother her, after she went through bankruptcy several years ago.

But the 30-year-old Fort Lauderdale public housing counselor had the kind of debt that never dies. It just keeps popping back up on your credit report.

Zombie debt, some call it. It happens when your credit-card company sells off its bad debts. The buyer pays pennies for every dollar you owe and tries to turn that investment into a few nickels. They track you down and demand payment.

Often, bad debt buyers or their collection agencies will do one more thing that is especially harmful to your credit rating. It often happens in secret. And it's illegal.

Read more about Zombie Debt here

Question Girl

JUDGE PUTS HOLD ON OFFER TO VETS

Thank goodness for this. I wonder if this judge is a veteran! This breach in privacy is totally outrageous and offering free credit monitoring is NOT enough. This administration is the most incompetent EVER, and it's time they pay for their incompetence. The guy who took this computer home, to my knowledge, was not fired. Why not???? Stay tuned for the hearing Friday.....


By Hope Yen
The Associated Press
Posted June 26 2006


WASHINGTON · A federal judge temporarily has barred the government from publicizing its free credit monitoring offer to veterans whose personal data was stolen and wants to see if they might get a better federal offer.


Lawyers who have filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the 26.5 million veterans and active-duty troops affected contend that accepting the government's offer could jeopardize their chance of winning more money in the privacy suit.


U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman in Kentucky scheduled a hearing this Friday to determine whether the Veterans Affairs Department should revise its offer. His order on the credit monitoring was issued late last Friday.

Read the full article here

Question Girl

Praise The Lord and Pass the Ammunition

Sunday services at Question Girl's house.....Peace Be With You!!

Question Girl

LOOK OUT FOR DRUNK PELICANS

As you can see, I LOVE pelicans, so it's only natural that I'd post this one.....the poor baby!!


Possibly Drunk Pelican Hits Windshield

By Associated Press
Posted June 24 2006, 11:26 PM EDT


LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. -- The driver was sober. The bird that crashed through the windshield of his car might have been flying under the influence.

A California brown pelican probably was intoxicated by a naturally occurring toxin found in algae blooms when she hit the car on the Pacific Coast Highway in Orange County Thursday, wildlife officials said.

The driver was startled, but not hurt. The pelican needed surgery for a broken foot, and also had a gash on its pouch.

"She's hanging in there," said Lisa Birkle, assistant wildlife director at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach.

Though toxicology tests take several weeks, the odd bird behavior was likely the result of poisoning from domoic acid, which has been found in the ocean in the area, Birkle said.

Pelicans have excellent eyesight and are unlikely to fly into cars when sober, Birkle said.

The center has received 16 calls of strange bird behavior in the past week, and was holding three other birds found disoriented and wandering through yards and streets.

Domoic acid poisoning was the most likely cause of a 1961 invasion of thousands of frantic seabirds in Northern California that inspired Alfred Hitchcock's film "The Birds."

Those birds flew into buildings and pecked several humans.

Question Girl

GITMO GROWING AS TOURIST ATTRACTION

The world looks on as we hold people without charging them with anything, or allowing them a trial.



Lookout over naval base grows as tourist spot

By Ruth Morris
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted June 25 2006


GUANTANAMO, Cuba · There are no salsa clubs or cigars at the Malones lookout, and mosquitoes are more plentiful than mojitos.

But for the hardy traveler there is a sweeping view of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, and a chance to peer through a telescope at U.S. Marines, who peer back across the yawning U.S.-Cuban political divide.


"This is the last castle of the Cold War," said Guillermo Juliá Fernandez, as he handed out icy cups of pineapple juice and rum to visitors, and then pointed out an American flag, hanging still, across a windless minefield. "It's a piece of Cuba that should belong to Cuba."

Read on here

Question Girl