SOTT
SIGNS
OF THE
TIMES
OF THE
TIMES
Welcome to Sott.net
The World for People who Think
Society's ChildS
US - About 20 liberal demonstrators tried to shout down Rick Santorum while he delivered his stump speech on the steps of the state capitol building here Sunday, yelling "racist" and "fascist" at the Republican presidential candidate.
The anti-Santorum faction began chanting "Get your hate out of our state" when the candidate started his address. Standing before a microphone at the top of the steps, Santorum ignored them and continued speaking. The demonstration lasted about 15 minutes.
© unknown
But instead of the obvious choices - the American dollar, the British pound or the euro - it seems Icelanders are eyeing our loonie. According to an article in the Globe and Mail, several Icelandic business leaders and some political parties have actually approached the Canadian government about adopting the Canadian dollar as their national currency.
"Canadian ambassador to Iceland Alan Bones had planned to deliver remarks to a conference on the future of the Icelandic krona, making it clear that if Iceland decided to adopt the Canadian dollar, with all its inherent risks, Canada was ready to talk," the article notes.
However, Bones' Saturday speech was cancelled abruptly.
In June 1914, Serbian ultra-nationalists calling themselves the Black Hand managed to kill Archduke Ferdinand, the heir apparent to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire, in Sarajevo and ignited the First World War. None of the Great Powers wanted that war. None expected it to last more than four weeks. It lasted four years and took 19.5 million lives. Today, three apparently coordinated attacks on Israeli diplomats in Georgia, India and Thailand, for which Tel Aviv is strenuously blaming Iran, could become the spark for a similar conflagration in the Middle East.
The comparison is not as fanciful as it sounds, for the configuration of forces in the international state system is beginning to resemble what existed in the decade before the First World War. The most striking similarities are the decline in the economic power of the hegemonic nation - Britain then, the United States today; challenges from new aspirants to hegemony, Germany then (with the U.S. lurking in the wings), China and Salafi Islam today; attempts to shore up hegemony through alliances with like-minded nations - Britain, France and Russia then - the U.S., the European Union and Israel today; the emergence of a bunker mentality that hardens stances and progressively closes the avenues for peace through accommodation; and a growing temptation to use military power to pre-empt potential challenges even before they arise.
© Peter Parks / AFP/Getty ImagesA vote is cast Saturday in the village of Wukan in China's southern province of Guangdong as residents participate in leadership election.
Although the election in Wukan village was not the first of its kind, the village in Guangdong province has become a test case for how far the party is willing to go to accommodate local grievances and demands for a more accountable government.
The fishing village last year erupted in furor over sale of its farmland to real estate developers, a volatile issue throughout fast-developing rural China.
In Wukan, villagers went further than many others. They ransacked a police station, kicked out their leaders and erected barricades, keeping Chinese authorities out for 10 days in December until a compromise could be negotiated.
The vote held Saturday was part of that compromise. Lin Zuluan, a protest organizer was elected village head and party secretary, and another protester, Yang Semao, was picked as his deputy.
© unknownCautionary tale … Okushiri Island devastated by an earthquake in 1993 has become a concrete fortress.
Islanders still recall with horror how a wall of frothing black water raced out of the darkness to consume entire communities, leaving almost 200 people dead.
In the five years that followed, the Japanese government rebuilt the island, erecting 10.7-metre concrete walls on long stretches of its coast, making it look more like a fortress than a fishing outpost. The $1 billion worth of construction projects included not only the hefty wave defences but entire neighbourhoods built on higher ground, with a few flourishes, like a futuristic $13.8 million tsunami memorial hall featuring a stained glass panel for each victim.
But as Japan begins a decade-long $277 billion reconstruction of the north-east coast, Okushiri has become a cautionary tale. Instead of restoring the island to its vibrant past, many residents say, the $1 billion spending spree may have helped kill its revival.
© The Vindicator/Jessica M. Kanalas / Associated PressA house is shown where a man, woman and two girls died Saturday, March 3, 2012 in a house fire in Warren, Ohio.
Two adults, Edtwan Kimble, 32, and Yolanda Holmes, 38; and two children, Mari'auna Holmes, 12, and Marniece Holmes, 9, died Saturday during a fire at their home at 160 Austin Ave. NW.
"It is a sad day for Warren. Our arms are open, and if they need us, we'll be there to help them along the way to go through this period," said Councilwoman Helen Rucker, D-at large.
Fire Chief Ken Nussle said the blaze began about 3:30 a.m. Saturday.
"The [911] caller indicated she was burning up, so the firefighters knew they had occupants," Nussle said.
When firefighters arrived two minutes after the call, the entire second floor of the home was engulfed and flames were in the first-floor kitchen, the chief said.
Once inside, firefighters did a search and found the adults and children, deceased, in two bedrooms on the second floor, Nussle said.
"No working smoke detectors were found," he said.
© unknownBrent G. Dickinson
Prosecutors say the U.S. Secret Service and local authorities collaborated to arrest Brent Dickinson.
The county district attorney's office said Saturday the 33-year-old man "intended to murder" the targets of his threatening messages. They said the U.S. Secret Service intercepted two threatening messages posted by Dickinson on a White House message board Friday.
Dickinson was arraigned in Saratoga Springs City Court on charges of making terroristic threats.
He was taken to city jail after bail was set at $50,000. It wasn't immediately known Saturday whether he had an attorney.
A message left at a number listed for Dickinson's possible relatives was not returned Saturday.
Source: The Associated Press
© Jeff Kowalsky / European Pressphoto AgencyAndrew Breitbart signs his book Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World! Feb. 25 in Troy, Mich.
A source familiar with the investigation told The Times the tests are routine in a death of someone so young.
An autopsy was completed Friday, and the tests are expected to take several weeks.
"It's standard procedure," coroner's spokesman Craig Harvey told Reuters. "We have a very young man who died suddenly and unexpectedly, so we want to make sure we cover all the bases."
The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case was still under investigation, said officials are working on the assumption that Breitbart died of natural causes. A witness saw him collapse while walking near his home and said that he had no external injuries, the source said. Paramedics rushed Breitbart to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where doctors pronounced him dead.
"It looks like a heart attack, but no one knows until "an autopsy is done, Breitbart's father-in-law, actor Orson Bean, told The Times.
'Biggest fundamental disregard of democracy'
Canada, British Columbia - Demonstrators marched through downtown Vancouver Saturday in protest of the robocall scandal.
Carrying placards and flags, chanting slogans and following police on motorcycles, a modest number of demonstrators that included members of Parliament, union leaders and average citizens marched to a prominent war memorial from the Vancouver Art Gallery.
"There isn't a more important issue than this in Canada right now," said rally organizer Sarah Bueller, with OpenMedia.ca.
"We can fight on every issue but if we can't trust the ballot box this is going to turn into something very shortly that isn't Canada."
Representatives from the NDP and the Liberals urged whoever is responsible to come forward, as did Vancouver City Coun. Adriane Carr.
"This is the biggest fundamental disregard of democracy I have seen in this country," she said. "We are talking about illegal activity."
© Libby Davies/FlickrHundreds rallied in Vancouver Saturday to protest the growing robocalls scandal.
Canada, British Columbia - Demonstrators marched through downtown Vancouver Saturday in protest of the robocall scandal.
Carrying placards and flags, chanting slogans and following police on motorcycles, a modest number of demonstrators that included members of Parliament, union leaders and average citizens marched to a prominent war memorial from the Vancouver Art Gallery.
"There isn't a more important issue than this in Canada right now," said rally organizer Sarah Bueller, with OpenMedia.ca.
"We can fight on every issue but if we can't trust the ballot box this is going to turn into something very shortly that isn't Canada."
Representatives from the NDP and the Liberals urged whoever is responsible to come forward, as did Vancouver City Coun. Adriane Carr.
"This is the biggest fundamental disregard of democracy I have seen in this country," she said. "We are talking about illegal activity."
US - A Hawaiian mom said she was embarrassed after the TSA asked her to "prove" her breast pump was real by filling the bottles before being allowed to board.
Amy Strand was flagged in the security line at the Lihue Airport in Kauai on Wed. She was traveling with her 9-month-old daughter, reported KITV 4 News.
She had an electric breast pump with her, and because the bottles in the carry-on bag were empty, she indicated she was asked to "prove" the breast pump was real.
TSA reportedly wanted Strand to demonstrate the pump and fill the bottles. The breastfeeding mother asked if there was a private area where she could pump the milk, and the TSA sent her to a women's bathroom to fill the bottles.
