WUI (Writing under the influence)

In the dark of the night, dozens of Wilson High School students dug up some of the sod in the school’s courtyard and in its place, planted flowers in the shape of a giant peace sign.

Tuesday morning, Maggie Collins admitted to Newschannel 8, that she was part of the prank.

She explained, "We wanted to do something that wasn't destructive."

But Wednesday afternoon she found herself in the principal’s office.

She says the principal told her she could not be able to graduate until she covered the cost to move the flowers and fix the lawn.

posted by Polish Immigrant  # 5:03 PM 0 comments

The Hummer over the lifetime of the vehicle ends up being less of a drain of energy on society in general than does the Prius.

posted by Polish Immigrant  # 6:39 PM 0 comments

Poland and the U.S. held preliminary talks on a proposed U.S. missile defense system for Europe that will be placed on Polish soil. The U.S. wants to place 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic.

"We are characterizing these talks as useful initial discussions," U.S. embassy spokesman Andrew Schilling said. He added, "both sides exchanged their views and philosphies on how negotiations on missile defence should go forward and, more specifically, about the Status of Forces Agreement," which covers U.S. troops on foreign soil.

A delegation led by Robert Loftis, the State Department's senior adviser for security negotiations and agreements, represented Washington.

The Bush Government has said that any system in central Europe would be purely defensive and aimed at thwarting incoming airborne attacks from the Middle East, and Iran in particular. This is apparently to assuage Russian concerns that the missile system will change the balance of power in Europe. Portions of the system have already been deployed in the United States, Britain and Greenland

Poland's Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga said before Parliament on Friday that Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski had signed an "instruction for negotiations", which set the talks in motion.

Kaczynski has said the missile defense system "would pose no threat to our eastern neighbors, particularly not Russia."

Next week, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Rood is to lead a delegation in further talks in Warsaw.

posted by Polish Immigrant  # 9:57 PM 0 comments

Poland Fruit Crop Destroyed, Polish Farmers Commit Suicide

Update May, 9, 2007 The Polish Government now says that the initial estimates of the amount of damage was high. There will be a fruit crop but the quality of the fruit will be lower because of the damage to many of the blooming flowers and the loss of the early blooms. They did not provide figures as to the estimated loss.

Warsaw, Poland May 6, 2007 An estimated 90% of Poland's fruit crop has been destroyed by late season frosts prompting some Polish farmers to commit suicide.

Temperatures dropped to as low as minus 7 Degrees Centigrade in Poland on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week. The frost killed the budding fruits on trees all over Poland. Only some fruits on high ground survived.

It is estimated that 90% of Poland's fruit crop has been destroyed.

Oak and nut trees that were budding out were also affected with the new leaves being killed by the frost.

Strawberry crops have been severely damaged.

Some farmers were so distraught at being wiped out that they committed suicide.

The impact on Poland's economy is likely to be huge first from the point of the loss of over 300 thousand (translation corrected) tons of fruit sales this year and secondly from the point of the financial aid that will have to be provided to the farmers.

Poland's loss will also affect the prices of fruit in Western Europe as Poland is a major exporter of fruits.

posted by Polish Immigrant  # 10:42 AM 0 comments

Dear Excellency and Friend:

I thank you very sincerely for your letter and for your offer to transport me towards freedom. I cannot, alas, leave in such a cowardly fashion. As for you, and in particular for your great country, I never believed for a moment that you would have this sentiment of abandoning a people which has chosen liberty. You have refused us your protection, and we can do nothing about it.

You leave, and my wish is that you and your country will find happiness under this sky. But, mark it well, that if I shall die here on the spot and in my country that I love, it is no matter, because we are all born and must die. I have only committed this mistake of believing in you [the Americans].

Please accept, Excellency and dear friend, my faithful and friendly sentiments.

Quote of the Day

"A bipartisan investigation by the Senate intelligence committee subsequently established that all of these claims [by former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV] were false -- and that Mr. Wilson was recommended for the Niger trip by Ms. Plame, his wife... The [Libby] trial has provided convincing evidence that there was no conspiracy to punish Mr. Wilson by leaking Ms. Plame's identity -- and no evidence that she was, in fact, covert... The former ambassador will be remembered as a blowhard. Mr. Cheney and Mr. Libby were overbearing in their zeal to rebut Mr. Wilson and careless in their handling of classified information. Mr. Libby's subsequent false statements were reprehensible. And Mr. Fitzgerald has shown again why handing a Washington political case to a federal special prosecutor is a prescription for excess. Mr. Fitzgerald was, at least, right about one thing: The Wilson

MoveOnOutofMichigan.org
High taxes lead businesses to flee the Wolverine State.

Friday, March 9, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST

Comerica Inc. was founded in 1849 in Detroit and the Detroit Tigers play in Comerica Park, but this week the bank holding company announced it is moving its headquarters to Dallas--where, it said, the bigger growth opportunities are. Consider it one more vote of confidence in the state the national expansion forgot, and especially in Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm's economic agenda.

Prius Outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage
By Chris Demorro
The Toyota Prius has become the flagship car for those in our society so environmentally conscious that they are willing to spend a premium to show the world how much they care. Unfortunately for them, their ultimate ‘green car’ is the source of some of the worst pollution in North America; it takes more combined energy per Prius to produce than a Hummer.

Opinion: Michigan can't tax its way to prosperity

Jonathan Williams

With the recent announcement of Comerica's relocation to Texas, the hemorrhaging of Michigan businesses continues. Astonishingly, instead of taking bold steps to make Michigan more competitive and attract investment, Gov. Jennifer Granholm's plan to end the mass exodus of employers is to raise taxes on them.

Basic economics says that to become more competitive, you don't raise your prices, you lower them. Since taxes are the price of living and working in a state, they are a direct cost for businesses and influence business investment decisions.

The Blame-America-First Crowd
By Michael Barone

"They always blame America first." That was Jeane Kirkpatrick, describing the "San Francisco Democrats" in 1984. But it could be said about a lot of Americans, especially highly educated Americans, today.

In their assessment of what is going on in the world, they seem to start off with a default assumption that we are in the wrong. The "we" can take different forms: the United States government, the vast mass of middle-class Americans, white people, affluent people, churchgoing people or the advanced English-speaking countries. Such people are seen as privileged and selfish, greedy and bigoted, rash and violent. If something bad happens, the default assumption is that it's their fault. They always blame America -- or the parts of America they don't like -- first.

posted by Polish Immigrant  # 9:39 PM 0 comments

LOOSE CHANGE 2:

Warning: Contains disturbing scenes.

Was 9/11 a government set up? You decide.

Everyone's talking about it so we thought you'd like to see the film that started out as a home movie and became one of the most downloaded documentaries of all time. Was 9/11 a government set up? Were the twin towers brought down in a controlled explosion for an insurance payday? These questions and more are posed in this controversial film, seen by millions, derided by many. Now it's your chance to make up your own mind.

posted by Polish Immigrant  # 5:55 PM 0 comments