Greece’s Most Notorious Prisoner Breaks Jail…Again!

Prisoner Flees Again By Spectacular Helicopter Escape

ATHENS (Reuters) – The helicopter escape of Greece’s most notorious prisoner for the second time in three years has dealt a new blow to the conservative government, still reeling from riots and a ratings slump.

The government, which has seen its popularity decline amid the world financial crisis, sacked three justice ministry officials and arrested three guards over the spectacular escape but drew scorn comments from the media and opposition parties.

The main opposition demanded the justice minister’s resignation after Vassilis Palaiokostas, 44, and his Albanian accomplice Alket Rijai staged the getaway.

"Quick, lets beat it! See ya later, suckers!"

“In any other country ministers would have resigned,” said socialist opposition PASOK spokesman, Dinos Rovlias. “There is no public security, there is no government in Greece.”

Athens dailies carried front-page headlines criticizing the government for taking no measures to avoid the new embarrassment to Greek authorities, which is under pressure over the police shooting of a teen-ager that led to the worst riots in decades in December.

“Carbon-copy fiasco, Embarrassment” said the conservative daily Eleftheros Typos. The pro-government Apogevmatini addressed a letter to Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis asking him to step in and “put an end to the chaos.”

Palaiokostas, 44, was serving a sentence for robbery and kidnapping when he first escaped with Rijai in 2006 in a helicopter. He was arrested again in August and accused for organizing the kidnap of an industrialist.

He was due in court to face charges over the first escape on Monday. But Sunday, a helicopter approached the roof of Greece’s maximum security prison, threw down a rope ladder and whisked the two convicts away as prison guards watched.

Police arrested and are investigating three prison guards, a police official said.  (Read more.)

B.S. Report:  This sounds like an episode of Batman or something.  How, in this day and age, does a helicopter hover over a prison, lower a rope and pick-up a prisoner; whisking him off to freedom?

It would appear that some of the prison guards were on the take and allowed him to get away. Minister Nikos Dendias said, “The government will not tolerate this and those involved will be punished.”   Excuse me Mr. Dendias, but isn’t this the second time the guy has escaped?… So maybe the government will tolerate it after all…

Amazingly, the escape was videotaped…our B.S. Report sources have found the tape of the daring escape:

Disgruntled Diners…No, I’d say VERY Disgruntled Diners

NICOSIA (Reuters) – Disgruntled diners at a taverna in Cyprus opened fire with a shotgun and doused the room in petrol, threatening to torch it after a dispute with the owner over the bill.

"You are in big trouble! The meat was overcooked and the beer was flat!"

Three men had quarreled over a 93 euro ($120) charge for drinks and food at the restaurant in Mesana village, in the west of the Mediterranean island, on Sunday night. They offered to pay 50 euros instead.

Two of them left, only to return with a can of petrol and a shotgun, police said.

Shots were fired at the restaurant owner but he was not hit. One man then emptied the petrol over the room and said the other patrons would be burned alive. Police arrived in time to stop him.

Two men were being questioned on Monday and a third who fled was being sought, police said.

B.S. Report–That must have been one “poor” meal.  Trying to blow the owner away with a shotgun, burning other diners alive…You would think that the “unhappy” diners would have food poisoning at the very least, that is, if you’re willing to murder everybody.

But the insane diners offered to pay a little more than half the bill…so I guess that means that every second bite was reasonably tasty.  My own philosophy regarding a bad meal is…don’t fret, there’s another meal right around the corner, usually just 6-8 hours away.

Mr. “No Earmarks” New Omnibus Bill Has 9,000 Earmarks…

$410 Billion Omnibus Bill Loaded With Earmarks

WASHINGTON — During the 2008 presidential campaign, candidates Barack Obama and John McCain fought vigorously over who would be toughest on congressional earmarks.

“We need earmark reform,” Obama said in September during a presidential debate in Oxford, Miss. “And when I’m president, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely.”

"My administration will be an example of fiscal responsibility!"

President Barack Obama should prepare to carve out a lot of free time and keep the coffee hot this week as Congress prepares to unveil a $410 billion omnibus spending bill that’s riddled with thousands of earmarks, despite his calls for restraint and efforts on Capitol Hill to curtail the practice.

The bill will contain about 9,000 earmarks totaling $5 billion, congressional officials say. Many of the earmarks — loosely defined as local projects inserted by members of Congress — were inserted last year as the spending bills worked their way through various committees.

So while Obama and McCain were slamming earmarks on the campaign trail, House and Senate members — Democrats and Republicans — were slapping them into spending bills.

“It will be a little embarrassing for the president if he signs a bill with that many earmarks on it,” said Stan Collender , a veteran Washington budget analyst. “He’ll say they’re left over from the Bush years, and he as to say that next year the bill will be clean.”

Experts agree that most earmarks are legitimate. Cary Leahey , senior economist with Decision Economics in New York , said the nation’s economic crisis is a contributing factor to the plethora of earmarks. Lawmakers can argue that for a relatively small price they’ve helped boost the economy.

“One congressman’s earmark is another legislative way to fix a serious problem in his district,” Leahey said.  (Read more.)

B.S. Reports–“And when I’m president, I will go line by line to make sure we are not spending money unwisely.”  I guess he can say anything he wants and no one is going to hold him to account.

Maybe someday he won’t have everyone, especially the media, enthralled. And if and when that day comes, lets hope the country isn’t totally beyond repair.

This Is Outrageous! Now Obama Pledges U.S. Taxpayers To Pay $900 Million For ‘Stimulus’ To Rebuild Gaza…

President Obama Continues to Play Santa With Our Money!

WASHINGTON – The United States plans to offer more than $900 million to help rebuild Gaza after Israel’s invasion and to strengthen the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, U.S. officials said on Monday.

Our President is out of his league and throwing money at every problem.

The money, which needs U.S. congressional approval, will be distributed through U.N. and other bodies and not via the militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza, said one official.

“This money is for Gaza and to help strengthen the Palestinian Authority. It is not going to go to Hamas,” said the official, who asked not to be named as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton planned to announce the funding at a donors’ conference in Egypt next week.

Neither the United States nor Israel have direct contact with the Islamist Hamas movement which runs Gaza and remains formally committed to the destruction of the Jewish state.

The official said the pledge was a mix of money already earmarked for the Palestinians and some new funding.

“The package is still shaping up,” he said, when asked for specifics over how the money would be spent and a breakdown of old and new funding.

“The package is still shaping up,” he said, when asked for specifics over how the money would be spent and a breakdown of old and new funding.

In December, the former Bush administration said it would give $85 million to the U.N. agency that provides aid to Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

The March 2 donors’ conference in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh resort aims to raise humanitarian and rebuilding funds for Gaza after Israel’s invasion last December to suppress rocket fire against its cities.

Preliminary estimates put damage from the offensive, in which 1,300 Palestinians died, at nearly $2 billion.

Clinton’s bid to get “substantial” funds could face an uphill battle in Congress because Hamas continues to rule Gaza and the U.S. focus is on its own souring economy.  (Read more.)

B.S. Report–It’s bad enough that President Obama is ripping us off to pay for phony “stimulus” projects here at home but now, in an economy that he happily describes as the worst since the Great Depression, he’s stealing more of our money to give to foreign interests!

The President insists that Hamas won’t get the money…of course they won’t, Hamas only runs the Gaza strip.  But how does this expenditure even find its way to the top of President Obama’s to-do list?  Where is Obama’s priorities?

Huckabee: Obama’s performance ’cause for alarm’

Huckabee wants Obama to stop talking down the enonomy

Former GOP presidential candidate Gov. Mike Huckabee in an exclusive Newsmax interview says President Obama’s early job performance is “cause for alarm,” and warns his penchant for talking down the economy is “the worst possible direction he could take.”

Obama’s dark portrayal of the U.S. economy — apparently intended to lower the high expectations stoked by his rhetoric during the campaign — is on the verge of becoming a “self-fulfilling prophecy,” Huckabee adds.

Huckabee questions Obama's leadership so far

The former Arkansas governor’s criticism followed a week that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a six-year low. The S & P 500, the index that most trading professionals rely on as a market barometer, closed the week at its lowest level in 12 years.

“He can no longer talk about the fact that this is all Bush’s fault,” Huckabee tells Newsmax. “First of all there, there was a Democratic Congress that Bush had to deal with, that would not let Bush deal with Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac.

“Now, I think there’s plenty of culpability within the Bush administration, particularly for the TARP [financial bailout] program, which is a dismal failure,” Huckabee concedes. “But Obama ran for president knowing full well what he faced, and as soon as he took command of the ship, it’s his ship to sail or sink.”  (Read more.)

B.S. Report–I must admit, I am not a fan of Mike Huckabee, but when a guy is right, he’s right.  Obama is talking down the economy, deliberately or otherwise.  He is not showing himself to be an optimistic leader; he is not inspiring citizens to fight through this rough period.

Instead, he and his staff continually pound home the point that we’re in the worst economy since the Great Depression, (not true, at least not yet), and that the economy is looking at a minimum of a several years’ decline.  The amount of dire predictions by the President and his staff come at a steady pace each and every day.

All the while the President continually reminds us that he inherited this dire situation from GW Bush.  But it is Obama that has pushed through this incredibly large spending bill masquerading as “stimulus.”

It is Obama that has passed another mortgage bailout measure.  It is Obama that is spending taxpayer money irresponsibly.  And it is Obama that has lost the confidence of the financial markets as the stock market plunges with every new proposal he makes.

President Obama needs to lead by showing the American people he has confidence in us and the future of the country.  So far he has done the opposite.  He hasn’t shown the qualities of a leader.  He lacks the sunny disposition and unwavering confidence in America that Ronald Reagan exuded.  And he hasn’t shown himself to have the iron will of  a Winston Churchill to lead the country during a crisis.

In short, so far he’s shown himself to be as empty as his rhetoric.

This Day In Entertainment

1900–Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright and novelist dies at age 46.

1940–Comic actress Lucille Ball weds bandleader Desi Arnaz in Greenwich, Connecticut.

1979–Pink Floyd releases “The Wall” which would sell 30 million copies.

2004–Ken Jennings finally lost on the game show “Jeopardy” after winning 74 consecutive games.

“The Devil With Him!”–Inmate suing because prison won’t let him practice his religion…Satanism

Satanist Inmate Sues County

A Billings man in prison for drug possession has filed a $10 million federal lawsuit against Yellowstone County for alleged civil-rights violations, including interference with his satanic religious practices.

Jason Paul Indreland claims in the U.S. District Court lawsuit that county jail staff took from him a religious medallion, denied him access to religious material and ridiculed and punished him for his religious beliefs.

Speak of the devil!...Jason Paul can't properly practice his Satanism.

The lawsuit also alleges that Indreland was denied medical care for his drug addiction, that he was placed in situations where violence was expected and that he suffered harassment and retaliation while incarcerated.

Indreland said he has been a practicing Satanist for the past decade and the confiscated medallion was a “protective symbol” in his religion. The lawsuit claims jail staff refused to return the medallion or allow Indreland access to a “Satanic Bible or Book of Satanic Rituals.”

Indreland, 35, is incarcerated at Montana State Prison for a term of five years, with two years suspended, for felony drug possession. Indreland was convicted of the crime after Billings police found him with 15 grams of methamphetamine in March 2007.  (Read more.)

B.S. Report–I find it difficult to feel sorry for this guy.  Our prisons don’t have to encourage this lunatic’s practicing of Satanism.  He can do or think whatever he wants to when he gets out of prison but while he’s there, he has limited rights.

They do have to provide him with medical care and take reasonable precautions to ensure his safety, but they don’t have to provide him with certain creature comforts to aid in the practice of his “religion.”

You know, people, your not supposed to enjoy your stay in prison.  Our prisons rank among the most civilized in the world.  Cable TV, weight-rooms and even a certain amount of library time is provided at many prisons.

By the way, if you don’t find it pleasant, there’s a remedy available:  don’t commit crimes when you get out and you won’t land yourself back in prison.

And The Oscar Goes To…Who Cares?

3rd Least-Watched Oscars Ever

NEW YORK — A preliminary measurement of the nation’s biggest markets shows ratings for this year’s Academy Awards went up 6 percent over last year, yet the telecast is still likely to be among the three least-watched Oscars ever.

Nielsen Media Research says its estimate of the Oscar audience’s size will come later Monday. Last year’s audience of 32 million was the smallest ever measured for an Oscar telecast.

Last year and in 2003, when “Chicago” won best picture before 33 million viewers, are the low-water marks for the annual show.

New York, Chicago and Los Angeles were the markets with the highest Oscar ratings Sunday.

Today In History

1836–The Battle of the Alamo began on this day.

"Remember the Alamo!"

1954–Children Receive Jonas Salk’s Polio vaccine for the first time.

"Ouch!"

1965–Comedian Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy fame, dies.

"I'm the thin one."

1980–Eric Heiden speed skates into Olympic history with 5 gold medals.

Stars, Stripes and Marines Day

February 23, 1945–The Raising of The Flag on Iwo Jima

It was February 23, 1945 and four days of bitter battle had taken its toll on the 28th Regiment of the Fifth Marine Division of the U.S. Marines. Their task had been to neutralize the defenses and scale the heavily fortified Mount Surabachi. The volcanic peak, at the southern tip of the Japanese island of Iwo Jima, was one of the first objectives of the Marines’ invasion of this small, strategic island, 750 miles south of Tokyo.

Although losses were heavy, the Marine platoon succeeded in its mission and reached the top of Mount Surabachi on this day. Victory was triumphant — as the famous photograph (by Joe Rosenthal) of these Marines raising the American flag portrayed.

The photograph inspired the Marine Corps Memorial, Iwo Jima Statue which now stands at Arlington National Cemetery, the largest cast bronze statue in the world. This monument is dedicated to all U.S. Marines (since 1775) who have given their lives for their country.

As the flag was being raised, Navy Secretary Forrestal was standing on the beachhead below. When he saw Old Glory waving in the breeze, he told Lt. General Holland M. Smith, “The raising of that flag on Surabachi means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years.”