Oh that explains everything

Global warming leads to an ice age, it leads to temperatures rising.......

Is their anything Global warming can't do?

Failing ocean current raises fears of mini ice age
The ocean current that gives western Europe its relatively balmy climate is stuttering, raising fears that it might fail entirely and plunge the continent into a mini ice age.

The dramatic finding comes from a study of ocean circulation in the North Atlantic, which found a 30% reduction in the warm currents that carry water north from the Gulf Stream.

The slow-down, which has long been predicted as a possible consequence of global warming, will give renewed urgency to intergovernmental talks in Montreal, Canada, this week on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.

Yes but it seems similar to another mini-ice age... you know the one that finished off just before global warming started.

Nobody is clear on what has gone wrong. Suggestions for blame include the melting of sea ice or increased flow from Siberian rivers into the Arctic. Both would load fresh water into the surface ocean, making it less dense and so preventing it from sinking, which in turn would slow the flow of tropical water from the south. And either could be triggered by man-made climate change. Some climate models predict that global warming could lead to such a shutdown later this century.

The last shutdown, which prompted a temperature drop of 5°C to 10°C in western Europe, was probably at the end of the last ice age, 12,000 years ago. There may also have been a slowing of Atlantic circulation during the Little Ice Age, which lasted sporadically from 1300 to about 1850 and created temperatures low enough to freeze the River Thames in London.

I am going to use global warming to get me a ham sandwich

The 9th circus does it again

ABP tossed me to the ruling that proves just how pathetic the 9th circus is

We consider the question of whether it is possible to convict
a previously deported alien for attempted illegal reentry
into the United States under 8 U.S.C. § 1326 when he crosses
the border with the intent only to be imprisoned. We conclude
that it is not, because attempted illegal reentry is a specific
intent crime that requires proof of intent to enter the country
free from official restraint. The government, operating under
a misconception about the meaning of official restraint, failed
to introduce evidence to support a finding of such intent, so
we must reverse.

Ok but they go into the law

[1] A previously deported alien who “enters, attempts to
enter, or is at any time found in, the United States” without
the express consent of the Attorney General has violated 8
U.S.C. § 1326(a)(2). However, for the purposes of § 1326,
“enter” has a narrower meaning than its colloquial usage. An
alien has not entered the United States under § 1326 unless he
does so “free from official restraint.” United States v.
Gracidas-Ulibarry, 231 F.3d 1188, 1191 n.3 (9th Cir. 2000)
(en banc) (citing United States v. Pacheco-Medina, 212 F.3d
1162, 1166 (9th Cir. 2000)); see also United States v.
Hernandez-Herrera, 273 F.3d 1213, 1218 (9th Cir. 2001)
(“Since 1908, federal courts have recognized that ‘entering’
the United States requires more than physical presence within
the country. . . . To ‘enter,’ an alien must cross the United
States border free from official restraint.”

So in other words are they saying that if the United States border has nothing to stop people that makes them free of restraint?

no then they would have ruled the other way.

Attempted illegal reentry requires proof of specific
intent, Gracidas-Ulibarry, 231 F.3d at 1190, more particularly
the specific intent “to reenter without consent.” United
States v. Leos-Maldonado, 302 F.3d 1061, 1063 (9th Cir.
2002). Because an alien has not “reentered” unless he has
done so free from official restraint, the requirement of specific
intent for this attempt crime means that to be found guilty, a
defendant must have the specific intent to reenter “free from
official restraint.”
UNITED STATES v. LOMBERA-VALDOVINOS 15521

Now here they are saying if you illegally enter for the purpose of going to jail its not illegal?

which is it?

lets hope the USSC cleans this one up to

And now for something which surprises no one.

The Movie Of Your Life Is A Cult Classic

Quirky, offbeat, and even a little campy - your life appeals to a select few. But if someone's obsessed with you, look out! Your fans are downright freaky. Your best movie matches: Office Space, Showgirls, The Big Lebowski

If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

Thanks to Tinkerty Tonk

The french government disconnect

A wonderful example of the French disconnect from reality. A DeVillpen interview

"I'm not sure you can call them riots. It's very different from the situation you have
known in 1992 in LA for example," the prime minister said in the English-language interview. "In France during the two-week period of unrest, nobody died. So I think you can't compare this social unrest with any kind of riots."

Actually Villpy two people died. One person was beaten to death, and one died of complications from injuries

The violence resulted in more than 9,000 cars being burned and more than 100 public buildings set alight. But Villepin stressed that "there were no guns in the streets."

Hmm wonder why the police Union said they were recieving fire?

"There is no ethnic or religious basis to this movement, as we see in other parts of the world," he insisted.

Hmmm guess we know who writes Villpy's speeches

"Very often you have people coming from the second generation of immigration, they don't know their country of origin. They don't have the same link with France as their parents who chose to come and work here.

So people who suffered the French colonial yolk and might have real grievences have a connection to france

and people educated in the french state, born there, raised there and getting welfare there don't.

No... this is not suspicious reasoning at all.

An email I sent to a Yahoo group about the war in Iraq

The White house should hire me to defend the war

> i don´t want to start an argument, but really it´s been said that
> this war
> is all about oil. Nothing else.



And that's an argument that falls apart not just when you look at where the
oil from Iraq goes ( the vast majority of the oil-even to this day- goes to
nations that didn't support the war in Iraq) and that the War in Iraq spiked
the oil rates but didn't raise the overall rate of profit for the oil
companies ( though that may be do more to the labor crisis in Nigeria and
the costs that has put on the oil industry to this day)

The truth is that's an argument presented by folks who don't want to take a
real in depth examination of what was going on. In the world of politics (
and sadly this is not a US phenomena) Advertising logic reigns. "No War for
Oil" is catchy, each word in it has just one syllable and it evokes (sadly)
all the stereotypes the world has about the middle east.

Saddam Hussein in addition to supporting terrorism had a network of bribes
for decades to Arab media outlets. He bribed the media to make him be the
new Saladin against the vile western crusader of the United States-Israel
entity.

Saddam butchered millions of people,Gassed people, and committed atrocities
that puts him in the select club of the evilest dictators in the world.

Saddam was well on his way to a Nuclear weapon and was devising a method to
ship it into Tel-Aviv for his 50th birthday ( according to the former head
of his atomic weapons program). The Israeli's stopped that nightmare from
happening by blowing up the research facility.

He gassed Iranians in the Iran/Iraq war. In Kuwait he ordered all the horses
and animals in the zoo to be butchered on the troops way out of town.

Their are few people in this world who were utterly as evil as Saddam. And
you know what it is to the every lasting shame that France, Germany, Russia,
and China did business with the man (despite what you've heard the United
States was never a significant trading partner with Iraq). It is to the
everlasting shame of those US companies (such as Haliburton) that profited
through European subsidiaries off of such unspeakable human evil. It is also
to the ever lasting shame of the world community only the charge of "Weapons
of Mass Destruction" could unify a sufficient public force to remove him
from power.

Great tyrants of the world aren't removed by their people. Its never
happened in the history of mankind. Armies invade, Coups happen, or pressure
from the outside of another nature (boycotts/embargoes/etc) force them to
succumb.

The murder of millions wasn't enough to force a global boycott. And their
was no real boycott in the end as under oil for food Iraq could sell more
oil then their highest production total of oil and through a series of
maneuvers Saddam as his last crime against his people didn't buy them food
or medicine.

Oil was a part of the picture, but the only ones who profited from that oil
were those who tried to stop the war and guarantee the servitude of the
Iraqi people to a unspeakable evil force in this world.

You have been told that this is a part of war against terrorism, but
> honestly it is not.



Actually that is debatable.

The United States government has no evidence that the Prague meeting with
Atta didn't happen (and has no evidence that it did). The only person who
would know about the scope of that incident and other crimes of terror
planned in Europe against VOA sites is currently held by the US government.
The Czech Authorities have been refused access to him.

Evidence that officers of the Feddayin Saddam were present at the Malaysia
meeting where the final details of the September 11th attacks have been
raised by some sources and remain unverified.

However in two separate incidents by the Al-Qaeda network former Iraqi
Intelligence officers worked as agents of Al-Qaeda.

When Usama was a nobody in the game of International Terrorism the head of
Saddam's external intelligence service went to visit him in Khartoum.

Saddam funded the families of Suicide bombers in the Palestinian territories
which killed numerous Americans with Dual American/Israeli
citizenship.Hegave free medical care (when his own people were being
deprived of medical
care) to Palestinian terrorist who killed Israeli women and children

The mastermind of the Achile Lauro incident was living in Baghdad and
running his terrorist organization from there.

He funded Terrorist groups in both Iraqi Kurdish regions and Kurdish regions
in Iran and Turkey.

He funded terrorist groups going after the Iranian government.

Thats just what he did, and thats what I can get access to using News
sources. Having access to government data may make the picture even worse.
To try to paint a simple picture doesn't get into the reality.

Saddam has supported terrorists, and he has supported these terrorists as
part of his own foriegn policy agenda and his agenda to become the new
Saladin. He would continue to do so. Now eventually the old UN regime was
going to go down and Saddam was going to go back to producing his chemical
and biological weapons.. these things could happen so it was part of the
war.

I don´t see anyone bombing or attacking Ireland, and there has been
> terrorists there for decades.


#1) The terrorists in Ireland were very different then terrorists in the
middle east. Whom gets targeted was hugely different to the IRA then to
say the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. This has to do with different ethics of
Just war, and killing that are part of the religions. ( while christianity
and islam both condem killing they do so in different ways)
#2)The Irish state never supported actions of the IRA after they were
granted independence by the UK. Now then, Individual Irish citizens (and
Irish-American families to) did support the IRA. And that was a major reason
neither Ireland, nor the United States targeted those people agressively.
#3)Terrorism prior to the soviet union was often sponsored and supported as
part of Soviet foriegn policy. As such an agressive move against a terrorist
group like the IRA could lead to a soviet escalation of some sort. Likewise
a move against Fatah (which was organized through a KGB agenda at the 64
Arab leauge meeting and trained by the Romanian secret police) would have
lead to similar problems.

..But then again there isn´t any oil there.


We don't know where all the oil in the world is... there could very well be.

Anyway , I don´t want start any big depate on this, it isn´t my people at
> war...so not really my place to say anything.


Your people since the second world war have been neutral (and due to the
politics of the time that is natural) but odds are highly good that your
people won't be neutral for much longer. Russian military incursions into
Finnish airspace is scaring your government. So you'll be part of this
system yourself eventually. How do you feel about that?

Blog Upgrade

I now have technorati supported for my blog. So future searches of what I say should be easier for random folk coming along here.

David Duke....

David Duke is a Nazi scumbag, a criminal... And reveals one of the fun little secrets.

Middle Eastern Extremists are allies of the Nazi's ( thanks for the tip LGF)
Let me first wet your mouths for the story with this headline

Dr. David Duke Improves American Image in Arab World

Right there... doesn't that just make you feel ill?

Dr. Habash, one of the major leaders in the Syrian Parliament said,

“Dr. David Duke’s wonderful visit has given us a new and very positive view of the average American. Syria has never in anyway harmed the American people. Israel has committed terrorist attacks against America both in the Lavon Incident and the attack on the American Ship the Liberty when 34 Americans were killed and 173 Americans scarred and burned in a terrorist attack by Israel. Syria has never spied on America or harmed America as did Israeli government spy Jonathan Pollard. It is Israel that is America’s real enemy as Parliamentarian David Duke has proven.”

David Duke... Average American.

This is what the folks in the Syrian government think.

So... again put that into your mental roladex when you hear about abuses in lebanon or terrorist groups sponsored in Syria. Think about the mentality of its government.

he Grand Mufti of Syria, the respected and preeminent Syrian religious leader, welcomed Dr. David Duke and thanked him for bringing Syria the true feelings of the American people. He said,

“The Iraq War has resulted in the harming of many thousands of Iraqis but also thousands of American dead and many thousands American hurt. For what is this war but as Dr. Duke shown, a war for Israel in which both Arabs and Americans have been harmed? Thank you, Dr. Duke for your courage in bringing us this message and his message of peace and friendship. My God’s peace and love be upon both our peoples.”

Islamic extremists not just Islamic Fascists love David Duke to.

Lets see some more love.

A professor of history at Damascus State University commented,

‘The Zionists now lie about Dr. David Duke and label White supremacist. The truth is that as Dr. Duke has shown in his book, Jewish Supremacism, that Israel is the most extreme example of racist supremacy on earth.”

“We researched Dr. Duke’s writings some of which go back now over 30 years. We found that he wants to preserve his European heritage and traditions just as we Arab Muslims seek the same for our own countries. We respect him for that as he respects us.”

“A supremacist wants to control other peoples. That is exactly what the Zionists want, to control other peoples, the Middle East, the world. Jewish extremists always accuse everyone else of their own faults. For over 30 years Dr. Duke has consistently defended Palestinians and Arabs in general from Zionist attacks. We are honored to have him visit us in Syria.”

She David is just burning that cross on your lawn because he wants to respect you.

Doesn't that feel better?

You see I just don't feel like illustrating this absurdity anymore... but it is so self evident that it is ok to just let it stand on its own

Michael Jackson is pulling a Chaplin

But not because of the little boys according to The Sun Online

By EMILY SMITH
US Editor
TRACES of cocaine were found on Michael Jackson’s underwear during a police raid, it was revealed yesterday.

The discovery emerged as the troubled singer faced shock new claims that he is abusing and trafficking drugs.

Cops are secretly investigating allegations by former aides that Jacko, 47, is hooked on anti-depressants and painkillers.

They say he pops up to 40 pills a day — and was seen falling flat on his face after injecting himself with a mystery drug.

He is suspected of transporting drugs from California to Bahrain, where he currently lives, and obtaining them with fake prescriptions.

Jacko the druggo....

Read the whole story... seems like Jackson had another reason to flee the country.

Economic signs good?

"How can we report that the Bush Economy is good" one NYT reporter says to himself. Why this way. by saying that "Well it may be good now, but doom is around the corner"

Gasoline is cheaper than it was before Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans. Consumer confidence jumped last month and new home sales hit a record. The stock market has been rising. Even the nation's beleaguered factories appear to be headed for a happy holiday season.

By most measures, the economy appears to be doing just fine. No, scratch that, it appears to be booming.

But as always with the United States economy, it is not quite that simple.

If this was president Gore or Kerry the New York times would be recording "President gets economy out of rut"

It all means that the economy is likely to end the year with a splash, but that does not mean the broad economic picture next year will be even better. Indeed, the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development said today that the United States economy is likely to be a repeat of 2005. The O.E.C.D. projected that 2005 growth will settle at 3.6 percent, down from 4.2 percent in 2004. The O.E.C.D. also forecast 2006 growth at 3.5 percent, but other economists think that may be too optimistic.

Who are these Economists? Are they from an organization that is as focused on national economic data as the OECD or is it some angy economic prof at CUNY who is upset the communists lost.

Oh.... sorry :-p that would add some perspective wouldn't it.

Now investors, whose stock-buying had been fueling an end-of-year rally, fear that the latest positive figures will lead the Federal Reserve to take the punchbowl away by raising interest rates more than most analysts expected just a few weeks ago. In turn, that could further slow the housing market, dampen consumer spending and crimp corporate profits. "The two major concerns are the extent of slowdown in housing and how it can feed into growth and consumer spending," said Joshua Shapiro, chief United States economist at Maria Fiorini Ramirez Inc., a research firm in New York.

"Even though housing hasn't slowed down but we no it will and soon."

"even though housing prices are more an aspect of local economics..."

Now he names a economicst here for a Research firm but we don't know anything about his firm... way to work that hit piece

The Commerce Department said today that new home sales jumped 13 percent in October, to an annual pace of 1.42 million, a record. But that contradicted earlier data that shows existing home sales slowing, construction activity easing, falling mortgage applications and declining confidence among home builders.

"I basically have a wait-and-see attitude with some healthy suspicion about this report," said David Seiders, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders. "Either there is something that all of those other reports are not telling us, or this will get revised."

In another seemingly upbeat report, the Conference Board showed consumer confidence jumped 16 percent. Still, that is below the level before Hurricane Katrina tore up the Gulf Coast last summer. And the Commerce Department said orders for durable goods - big-ticket items that last more than three years - jumped 3.4 percent, but most of that increase was concentrated in military and commercial planes.

Hinting that the good news is all doctored up.

Hey thats a great way to say that the Bush economy really isn't any good.

"That is going to push up production activity into the first half of the year," said Mike Fratantoni, an economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association, which expects 3.7 percent economic growth in 2006, up from 3.6 percent in 2005. "The second half of the year, we see somewhat of a drop off."

And priming the pump for the big lie election time economic news coverage.

Once again the NYT giving you their truth so you don't have to find it yourself

Hillary wants to have her cake, and eat it to

'ccordin to Dick Morris the Hildabeast is pro war because a woman can't win on an anti-war case. If this is truely her strategy she tries here to have her cake and eat it to. Supporting the mission, but hitting all the key buzzwords of the Democratic anti-bush position.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday defended her vote to authorize war in Iraq amid growing unease among liberal Democrats who could determine the potential 2008 presidential candidate's future.

"I take responsibility for my vote, and I, along with a majority of Americans, expect the president and his administration to take responsibility for the false assurances, faulty evidence and mismanagement of the war," the New York senator said in a lengthy letter to thousands of people who have written her about the war.

First-I take responsibility for my vote: a contrast to Bush.
Second-Bush made false assurances I.E Bush Lied this would be easy.
Third-Bush Lied I.E Now WMDs
Fourth-Bush is incompetent. I.E Bush is a chimp

She hit the Kos-Democrat talking points nicely

At the same time, she said the United States must "finish what it started" in Iraq.

This is her hawkish pose or the pottery barn philosophy "We broke it, so we now bought it"

"Based on the information that we have today, Congress never would have been asked to give the president authority to use force against Iraq," she said. Clinton stopped short of saying her vote was a mistake, the political path chosen by two other potential Democratic candidates _ former vice presidential candidate John Edwards and Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del.

Fifth-I was tricked into voting for the war, but am to smart to say I was tricked. Even though I know the evidence as well as anyone here at the time did including the president. And my Husband put into legislation what the President actually did.

"Given years of assurances that the war was nearly over and that the insurgents were in their 'last throes," this administration was either not being honest with the American people or did not know what was going on in Iraq," she wrote.

Sixth-4th times two. Even though as many military people on the hill said that wasn't accurate I want to go with the option most folks in the Media would have told you.

"It is time for the president to stop serving up platitudes and present us with a plan for finishing this war with success and honor," she wrote.

Seventh-Bush has no plan

So from a "Hawk" we see strategic language pointing to a Koshead

Song 2.3 = Yasna 36.3

Fire, you belong to the Wise Lord.

You are His Most Progressive Mentality.

It is the swiftest of your names,

O Fire of the Wise Lord.

Through it, we encircle You.

(Haptanghaiti: Song 2.3 = Yasna 36.3)



Summary Substance: Fire in the Gathic Doctrine symbolizes the Divine Mentality of Creation. This is the best description of a symbol that represents light, warmth and energy. With the concept that Fire is a divine symbol, the prayerful encircle the altar.

Hmmmmmm

Someone at school googled Larry+Bernard+Blog

hrmmmm

And a post on Science Blog is also attributed to Larry Bernard

Hmmm Hmmm

Two Gay Conservatives and torture

Michael on Gay Orbit is Parroting the latest foolish line from Sully on torture and they both manage to miss the point.

First I am against some of the torture techniques the CIA is allegedly doing (the only thing so far the US government is doing near the torture neighborhood)However John McCain missed the point which lead to this snow ball

"Torture doesn't work" Well it depends on what your goal is.
If your goal is to spread intimidation and fear ( ala Saddam) the torture works great. Perhaps torture works better then anything on the planet.

Torture as interrogation techniques does work but it does work efficently... it doesn't get you a very good result. But it does get results. Just not reliable results.Unfortunately that doesn't make a good soundbyte on either way you slice it. So McCain and NewsMax ( quoting NRO I think) got it wrong because they needed a soundbyte.

But Mike gets it shot out of the park for missing the point right here

To paraphrase, basically, this:

Torture worked on John McCain to extract information of no value and to get him to sign a document that meant nothing because he didn’t know what was written on it. Therefore, torture is ok.

What Information did they get John McCain to reveal?

• The punishment finally worked, McCain said. "Eventually, I gave them my ship's name and squadron number, and confirmed that my target had been the power plant."
  

#1) Propeganda Value.

Anyone who was a POW from that unit now had an operational detail that could be used to tell them how evil they are. It could be used to aid them in breaking down under torture. Used for External propeganda ( to political leftists) could be useful for internal propeganda to win hearts and minds.

#2) It gave them an idea of the training/capacity/quality of the forces from that ship



Recalling how he gave up military information to his interrogators, McCain said: "I regret very much having done so. The information was of no real use to the Vietnamese, but the Code of Conduct for American Prisoners of War orders us to refrain from providing any information beyond our names, rank and serial number."

John boy should also know it was a treaty violation for the Vietnamese to ask these questions but thats oK the NV's had a out which John McCain ( and other POWS) under torture gave them to further justify and build their torture.

McCain was taken to an interrogation room and ordered to sign a document confessing to war crimes. "I signed it," he recalled. "It was in their language, and spoke about black crimes, and other generalities."

"I had learned what we all learned over there," McCain said. "Every man has his breaking point. I had reached mine."

By confessing to violations of the Geneva Conventions in his conduct as a US soldier John under the NV's worldview was then a terrorist and ( yes) open for all forms of fun treatment they gave him.

So Micheal and Andrew both refuse to recognize the value to the North Vietnamese and their war strategy. But John McCain missed that point so thats ok.

Now that gets to the point of the Newsmax closing ( which came from a longer national review piece iirc)

That McCain broke under torture doesn't make him any less of an American hero. But it does prove he's wrong to claim that harsh interrogation techniques simply don't work.

His experience shows torture achieves the goals of a regime that is willing to use it and thus attacks his thesis "torture doesn't work"

Berkley Apologizes for Mao

Is anyone surprised?

You see I could go and make some kind of snarky comment but they are rationally defending a man who authorized, ordered, and planned the brutal murder of millions. Killed millions more by the utter hogwash that is communist economics.

It would be like people defending Pol Pot or Joseph Stalin or even ( This is not a godwin) how great Adolph Hitler was.

Those people are all monsters. And defending the glory of their revolution means you are blind to the blood and corpses that fed that revolution. And if you are blind to that their is a moral vacancy in your soul that really makes me weap for you.

"Child Abduction Is Not Funny,"

Lets turn the way Back machine to a particular episode of South Park to set up a horrifically stupid news story. (this is from Reading Online)

When South Park parents hear another newscast about child abductions explaining that instead of being taken by strangers, most children are taken by someone their family knows, they fit their children with unwieldy child abduction notification helmets.

Still another newscast informs the South Park parents that, instead of children being taken by strangers or by someone their family knows, most abductions occur at the hands of a family member. Throwing each other suspicious glances, for a short time South Park mothers and fathers refuse to leave their children's sides. They finally realize that their children will be in danger if they remain in their presence and would fare better alone out in the world. With a few belongings on their backs, the children are cast out of their homes.

When the children walk beyond the nearly completed wall around South Park, they encounter the band of invading Mongolians. The Mongolians take the children in, provide them with food and warmth, and see that they make it through the night. The following day the Mongolians succeed in blowing up the wall.

Upon hearing the noise of the explosion (which leaves the Chinese restaurateur muttering repeated deleted expletives in pidgin English), South Park parents come running and discover that the wall has been blown down and that, to their horror, their children have become Mongolians. The children explain that the Mongolians took them in when their parents cast them out, and this should make the Mongolians heroes. Hearing this, the parents experience an epiphany and realize that the true heroes are their children. It is their children, they realize, who make them see that you can't wall off the rest of the world. Walls only make things worse. Tearing them down brings people together.

And now I bring you to a news Story that shows the most creative fiction to describe the thinking of the folks from a small mountain town is sadly to realistic.

In Kiwi Land a man was told to move his seat cause he was sitting next to an unaccompanied child

so lets here some of his story.

Worsley said someone asked him after the event why he had not simply refused to move. "But these days you can't really do that. With [fears of] terrorism, if you cause any fuss on the plane you're out walking."

"Most males in the world, I'm sure, are perfectly law-abiding, good parents, good fathers, brothers, whatever," he said. "They're basically accusing half the population of the world of being a potential pedophile."

Worsley had been traveling on a flight operated by Qantas, the Australian national carrier. Both Qantas and Air New Zealand have now confirmed that they would not seat a child traveling alone next to an adult male passenger.

So right there the Anti_Terror laws ( which don't stop terrorists) force people to obey B-S rules and restrictions for fear they will get arested.

And yet the same logic which they could use to screen potential terrorists ( I.E folks from the middle east ,Sri Lanka, or leftist radicals on flights going near cuba) they instead go to the second most open target ( fat people being the first)

Thats right -MEN-

and Sadly the political correctness leads to stupidity like this

The airlines did win support from one quarter. Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro, a government appointee, commended Qantas and Air New Zealand for their efforts to keep child passengers safe.

Kiro said she doubted the policy was meant as a slur against men.

But her intervention drew a strong response from the Men's Coalition, whose spokesman Kerry Bevin said Tuesday the commissioner was not fit for her post and should resign.

"Kiro is telling our children that men are dangerous to children," Bevin charged. He also called for the airlines to make a public apology.

Something that sadly even South Park could have predicted

and this is not funny at all.

NSFW RINO SIghtings

NSFW by that weird surber kid ;-)

and I am 28 now. At the rate I am going I'll be 30 ( or so) when I get my B.A

strangely I actually met some one once at a career day who took 15 years before he got the degree that lead to his career

I just don't plan to take that long

The Sambergler strikes again

Sandy Bergler has went from getting the softest of slaps on the wrist to getting some real justice

In Traffic court.

but sadly in federal court no justice for the Sambergler

In addition to probation in that case, Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson fined Berger $50,000 and sentenced him to 100 hours of community service. She later admonished Berger for violating probation by getting ticketed for reckless driving, but did not punish him further.

Yes because you know destroying originals of classified documents ( a Classified document copy once notes are writen on it is now an original) after smuggling them out of the national archives in your PANTS a fitting punishment is 50,000 dollars ( maybe a week of his consulting fees to John Kerry) and a 100 hours of community service

Utterly horrendous

Sully Gets the Goss interview wrong.

Sully tries to attack Potter Goss but he misses "How the CIA does buisness" 101 before the attack. Here is the key point....

GOSS: Let me put it this way, I'm not going to comment on any individual techniques that anybody has brought forward as an allegation, or dreamed up or anything like that. What we do, as I said many times, is professional, it's lawful, it yields good results and it is not torture.

The CIA has had in the past and may indeed have in practice right now a history of hiring people who could be fully disavowed. A good fictional version is in the movie Confessions of a Dangerous Mind So Goss could quite clearly say We meaning the US Government, or more specifically the CIA don't do torture.

This could mean a independent entity with no contact or control from the CIA is doing the waterboarding.

If this is the case Sully's sources would be right and so would Goss.

Or... it could be another government entity ( say the NSA for example) and again the contacts would be right as would Goss because another government agent -could- be torturing inside a secret CIA facility.

But Sully is more intrested in trying to make Goss look bad. And fails miserably

50 Cent is ruining this country

I hated the fact he was going to make Graphic Novels about being a ghetto thug, I hated the fact he has a video game and a movie glamourizing his being a Ghetto Thug.I was mortified he was going to make ghetto thug themed books for children.

I was horrified he was one of the 2 G-Q men of the year.

But the tilt sign just came off my head at -this-

50 Cent is planning to create a vibrator of his manhood - so his female fans can pretend to have sex with him. The sexy rapper is desperate to release a line of condoms and waterproof sex toys designed to excite his female fans and make them feel closer to his idols.

The Get Rich Or Die Tryin' star said: "I need to make a 50 Cent condom and motorized version of me, which will have to be waterproof so you can utilize it in the tub.
....
"Blue is my favorite color so it will probably be blue. But I don't know how big." He is quoted in Britain's Mirror as adding: "But I want to do something like that, to create something popular and exciting for women."

What the h**** is wrong with this man.

How Narcisistic do you have to be when you can get any woman you want, that you have to make a mechanical "G-Unit" to take care of all the women you can't from a strict mechanical point of view or from a taste point of view.

and then you can have a condom shaped like him to try to make your boyfriend a proxy for 50

This is wrong on so many different levels.

Sex, Violence, and promoting ignorance...... he is the trifect of whats wrong in Entertainment.

I have said many bad things in my life about West Virginia

But in a single act of coolness I take them all back. If at all possible I would want to do this wherever I live.

Since 1998, the Beckley resident has amassed a collection of 12 dishes around his James Street home. He said he first just began subscribing to Direct TV and Dish Network, but he later learned that by purchasing special satellite receivers he could receive “free to air” programming from several different satellites swirling the globe. The information on how to adjust a dish and set up a receiver to pick up programming from these stations such as Galaxy 10, AMC 2 and Telestar 5 is included with these receivers.

“Up in the sky, there’s lots of free stuff,” he said.
....

The last time he counted, he received more than 5,000 channels. He has stopped counting since.

Now, he picks up local stations from Wyoming, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee and Ohio, he said. Being a former resident of both Tennessee and New Orleans, he does like to watch the local news from there, just to see what is happening.

“New York, New Hampshire, New Jersey, you name it,” Jessup said. “I get everything but Alaska. But if I pointed something toward Alaska, I’d probably get Alaska.

This may be the single most awesome idea i've ever seen on fark

Way to go Values Republicans

Time and time again the values vote promoting Republicans insist that "values" means what they says it means.

and time and time again they are proven wrong.

TV viewers tune out govt control -- study


WASHINGTON (Hollywood Reporter) - Americans overwhelmingly want Big Brother to butt out of their TV watching, according to a new study of U.S. viewing habits set for release Tuesday.

According to the survey done this month by Russell Research for TV Watch, 81% of American TV watchers worry about the kinds of programs their children could be exposed to, and 91% of parents said more parental involvement is the best way to keep kids from seeing what they shouldn't see. Just 9% of parents said the government should increase control and enforcement of network television programming.

I like this survey because it says two positive things.

#1) Everyone is concerned about the garbage on TV. I am concerned with it because it just isn't entertaining it is more hip and trendy and slick
and
#2) everyone thinks -PARENTS- are the answer.

Parents are the answer,not the government

One of these people is important... one thinks he is important

One of these people has a position of power, one used to. If you are for the war or are against it I want you to listen to the words of these folks and see which side sounds more credible.

Is it this one?

(I have obfuscated the name to make this game more fun)

"You have to question ... the president on a lot of decisions he's made," ********* said. "He might just think launching those weapons would be a good thing to do. ... He thought Iraq was."

********** said war is an outdated form of diplomacy that has stopped working.

First of all, about war being an outdated form of diplomacy that doesn't work... I think we should ask Slobo about that. Or how about all the Bosnians who aren't being killed genocidally. I wonder if they would agree.

and now the second one

"We do have a strategy," he said. "We do have a plan. I saw a strategy that's being implemented."

Ok lets do this again back to the first one

"That's what's going to be on top in the future," he said.

Things are becoming increasingly globalized, he said, and if humanity is going to survive, its members are going to have to work together.

"We are going to survive together, or we are going to perish together," he said.

and back to the second one.

"Most exciting is the political stuff. ... There is a campaign going on there for the Dec. 15 National Assembly elections and there are a lot of independent television stations and newspapers covering it."

The first one is Ted Turner... a crank billionare who used to have power, but sold his power.

The second is Joe Lieberman

I wonder which makes their point of view look better.

Where is the Earth Shattering Kaboom?

Yes folks the "Housing Bubble" still hasn't burst

Here is the skinny

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON

Sales of new homes soared at a record pace in October in what could be a last hurrah for the booming housing market.

The Commerce Department said that sales of new single-family homes shot up by 13 percent last month, the biggest one-month gain in more than 12 years. The increase pushed sales to an all-time high seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.42 million units.

The increase confounded analysts who had been predicting that new home sales would decline by 1.8 percent, reflecting continued increases in mortgage rates. It was possible that the unexpected surge reflected a final rush by buyers to get into the market before mortgage rates climb higher.

First of all... isn't it so great that the Al-Press writer starts off with pessimism about the housing market. And what is also great I can relate some of what shocks him to stuff I learned in school since coming to USF.

First of all the market forces that affect housing go back to the first law of real estate "Location, location, location"

The prices on housing are largely governed by "how is housing in -my- area." while some folks *DO* relocate the issues of housing price ( and overpricing) are governed by local and not national market forces. We could see a "southern-California" housing bubble burst but a national US housing bubble can only burst if their is a major economic shift that effects housing everywhere. And thanks to the Greenspan system of interest that simply isn't going to happen.

and second ( and most important) economic indicators aren't going down.

Yes fuel has pinched people somewhat but thanks to Bill Clinton and some of his policies the message has really penetrated every social strata. This is where my new favorite school of economics ( Rational Choice) comes into play. Their are other factors then strict economic factors at play. A lot of social factors ( people feel more like part of the system when they own property), Familial factors ( having a home to raise my kid) and even job factors ( do I want to live this close in a dump or drive from my own house. Trying to judge based solely on tangible factors ( income, fuel costs, intrest) won't work when the economy is essentially good.

So lets see some more hype on the housing bubble people so we can laugh at it

Canada is now closer to being a free country

Will the Horrific corruption of the LP be stopped?
Will the government of canada stop george bush from waring on aliens?

Seriously after the scandals that have come to this point Martin should have ran on a weakened but relatively strong position. His party doesn't deserve to win and you folks in canada deserve to have your heads examined if you re-elect them

Opposition leaders forced the no-confidence vote last week after the prime minister rejected their demand to dissolve parliament and hold new elections early next year. The opposition was hoping to make political gains from highly publicized corruption scandals involving leaders of the Liberal Party. Even though the prime minister was absolved of wrongdoing, the public's sentiment against the government is running high.

Prime Minister Martin was upbeat after the vote, saying he will campaign in the next election on the strong Canadian economy.

"Today in Canada inflation is low. Interest rates are low. It's easier to buy a home. It's easier to get a

job. And that is the result of the hard work and the good management of a Liberal government," Mr. Martin said.

Mr. T actually does something Useful with reality shows

By going out and using the force of pitying fools for good, instead of evil....

"Unlike all the other reality programmes, it is going to be about helping people. We're not going to be eating worms or swapping wives.

"For example a lady might write to me saying she's having trouble at a car dealership, because she's the only female employee and the men are harassing her. So I'll go in and straighten things out.

"I learn about the situation, observe for a couple of days and then call the guys into a meeting and give them the Mr T rap - 'I tell you fools, you don't disrespect no lady. My mum is a lady.'

"I don't get physical with anyone but I talk to them man to man and brother to brother."

This seems like it will be good tv and good message tv

France....

Old people die in the summer because of the impact of the doctor's holiday
-death by socialism-
Socialist abandonment of the urban poor leads to riots
-destruction by socialism-
Homeless people dying in the winter
-still more death by socialism-

And they have a better social model?

(hat tip ABP)

Yasna 36.2

The most perfect bliss, through progress,

Meet us, Fire of the Wise (Lord).

The blissful of the most perfect bliss,

Through the respects of the most respecting,

Meet us at the greatest of events.

(Haptanghaiti: Song 2.2 = Yasna 36.2)

ODIN

Odin You scored 57 Wisdom, 40 Sexuality, 18 Strength, and 63 Goodliness!

The Allfather, the head of the pantheon, blood-brother to Loki, you are the enigmatic, one-eyed man who heads everything. Thought and Memory are your ravens, who tell you everything on the planet. You hung from the world tree to learn the secrets of the runes, you seduced your way to the mead of poetry, and even cast your own eye into a well to receive the water of wisdom. You try everything within your awesome power to prevent the end, but your own efforts only serve to hasten it. You are capricious, but never malevolent. You and your mysterious brothers fashioned this world, and you will go down with it, victim of the foul wolf Fenrir.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 40% on Wisdom You scored higher than 11% on Sexuality You scored higher than 0% on Strength You scored higher than 59% on Goodliness

R2D2

Artoo You scored 75% airiness, 36% squishiness, and 26% edginess!

According to our patented JawamaticTM technology, you are most like Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) in personality. Artoo, being an astromech droid, favours technical challenges. He's quick-witted and, when called upon, can come up with creative solutions to difficult, complex problems. Artoo is logical, flexible, and ideas-driven. Artoo is, in a word, eccentric. (The polar opposite of Artoo-Detoo is See-Threepio.)

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 82% on airiness You scored higher than 37% on squishiness You scored higher than 21% on edginess

Response to Pat

Pat Hynes is wrong again….

I know these words are redundant but it needed to be said. As was pointed out to me in the comment section that Pat –does- have a book deal on something along this theme… but that’s ok lots of people who are wrong have book deals. I mean, look at John Kerry.

Pat over at Townhall starts out with an interesting thesis that would be good except for a “But what about…” that gets brought up.

According to Gruber, a household that attends church with twice the level of frequency as another household has 9.1 percent more income. Gruber’s paper highlights some other interesting findings, according to ABC News:
“That extra participation in religious activity correlates with 16 percent less welfare participation than the usual rate, 4 percent lower odds of being divorced and 4.4 percent increased chances of being married.”
Gruber does not claim to have established causation through his study. He only notes the correlation.
If a person attends church more then twice the rate of another household I will say this is a wonderful way to sort out the true believer from the Sunday Christian. And for a study like this that is absolutely vital… but now for the “what about…”
A person who attends religious services twice as much and is dedicated tends to lead a much more disciplined and structured life, has a strong focus on a world view, and in the case of Christianity views themselves as a part of an exceptionalist community (though they may not like that language that is indeed the case).
So let’s start from the bottom and work our way up. Exceptionalism, the belief that you are chosen/more significant/a cut above the rest… how many people with a drive as entrepreneur view their idea, their vision, or their worldview as something so exceptional that it must achieve and must succeed. Now that view isn’t exclusive to Christianity so that sense of self purpose and being part of a group that is a notch above the rest or has an idea that is so transcendently true could be enough to lead to higher achievement.
People who set goals in life do better then people who don’t. Does anyone here doubt the validity of that point any? Having an ordered nature of some degree or another to ones life leads to a more successful life… no one doubts this. In Christianity you have that handed to you on a plate. Christ, salvation, heaven… these things set up a perfect goal system. And this is likewise not exclusive to Christianity.
Discipline and Structure also leads to success. Look at the use of the military and boot camps and you will see this. Look at the way the school system starts in elementary school trying to build the framework needed for success.
The study goes on to talk about Deviant behavior ( which is contrary to the Discipline and Structure case) and health ( which positive mental attitude of exceptionalism and a focused world view bring us)

But Pat being Pat (and I love ya man I really do) has to go back to the 2004 election.
According to exit polling data on the 2004 election, Americans who attended church “more than once a week” voted to reelect President George W. Bush by a margin of 64% to 35% over Sen. John Kerry.  Those who attended church weekly voted for Bush over Kerry by a margin of 58%-41%. The tiniest of a majority of those who attend church monthly voted for Bush over Kerry 50% to 49%. But those who attend church “only a few times a year” or “never” favored John Kerry with majorities of 54% and 62%, respectively. 
If you have a structured worldview with a focused “path” (not exclusive to religion) you tend to view the construction of your society as important to you and your path. This is why people with such a worldview would vote more then those without it. This is why the larger communities of people who hold a clear worldview voted for bush as the republican agenda deals with society in a constructive way.
-returning authority to the individuals
-allowing families to govern themselves
-promoting working together as a community
-America is a good country
The Republicans picked up the people who believe because they spoke their language. Those people with a constant worldview I am sure would have similar figures to the church folks.
The reason these polls (which are inaccurate as all polls are) don’t is because they are written by people who don’t want a honest answer but who want to marginalize behavior (church going) they disagree with. And by embracing their big lie it allows Pat to unintentionally further their agenda of separating those who believe in something from those who believe in nothing. Pat cherry picked things like Military service (which would matter if the person maintained the sense of discipline) and wealth (two words pat Limonene Liberals) trying to distance any argument but the –god=the win-
in Michael Weisskopf’s notorious words in the Washington Post, “largely poor, uneducated, and easy to command.”  The truth, apparently, is exactly the opposite.
No Pat it states that the ideal religious follower isn’t that. But as a Christian Pat I thought you knew humans weren’t ideal. Some one could have a strong sense of a Christian worldview, but not have the motivation as one of those who –must- pass on the word of Christ. Some one may be a good Christian but is lax on the discipline. Church going isn’t a magic bullet… it is part of a foundation of a good life, but Water is also part of making cement ….. And I sure wouldn’t want to build my building on nothing but water.
But Pat got a book deal off this sort of talk, so clearly it sells well to –someone-

I clicked on "The Daily Torture"

By Andrew Sullivan and I saw more of his meandering about US torture and I wondered if some one ever addressed the following point to him or the other "Organized Torture" people. This is all based on my understanding of the military rules

1. Torture is already quite clearly illegal under the uniform code
2. You have no obligation to follow an illegal order
3. you -do- have an obligation to disobey an illegal order
4. you cannot be courtmartialed if you have a reasonable case that the order was illegal ( and its pretty clear torture is illegal)

So for the Torture all the time folks.... What they are really saying is everyone in the US Military from the top to the bottom are all violating the law.

from the DOD to the grunt on the line who does the torture are all knowingly breaking the law.

I am sorry but thats not right. Some one would have stood up... and that would have stopped the chain. I can't believe not a single person in the chain of command from top to bottom didn't refuse a clearly illegal order. It defies logic

To those folks who doubted me about Poly Marriage in court

This case is at the tenth circuit

In February, U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart rejected the argument that the prohibition on polygamy is an unconstitutional violation of religious and privacy rights and ruled that the state has an interest in protecting monogamous marriage.
Stewart
also ruled that even the 2003 opinion in Lawrence v. Texas over the sodomy law did not grant a right to plural marriage, noting that the laws against bigamy and polygamy do not preclude private sexual conduct.
Under Utah law, Barnard says, married people living in a sexual relationship with someone who is not their spouse is guilty of bigamy, and deceit or a second marriage ceremony are not required elements of the crime. But although that provision makes it illegal for a married man to live with a girlfriend before his divorce is final, the law has been used to target polygamists, he contends.
There is no compelling governmental interest that makes the prohibition against religious polygamy constitutional, he argues in the brief.

But the best argument is the dodge to protect the government ban on polygamy.

Utah also officially abandoned plural marriage, in part, lawyers for the state say, because of social problems associated with polygamy; the exploitation of women and girls; and the encouragement of responsible procreation.
Barnard counters that the state does not regulate exploitative relationships between other couples, and if there were a compelling reason to promote responsible procreation, Utah would step into all family situations. Yet, there are no sanctions against an unwed mother who rears children alone, and there is no statute barring parents from divorcing and raising their children in separate households.
"The state does not restrict nor ban 'serial polygamists,' individuals who repeatedly marry, conceive children and divorce a series of spouses."

IF you can't regulate homosexuality as it is a matter of private conduct, you start to lose any ability to regulate sexual activity you deem improper or harmful to society.

You can ( and many do) get into explotive marriages and you can ( and many do) have children irresponsibly.

Unless you prosecute all of them with draconian codes attacking polygamists isn't constitutional

More Positive Entertainment

On Al-Drudge

Yes because Post-Apocolyptic dramas have done so well before

*rolls eyes*

The nets have filled their development slates with a bevy of brave ideas and bold format experiments, VARIETY reports on Monday, including shows about THE END OF AMERICA!

ABC alone has at least two would-be shows set in post-apocalyptic America ("Resistance" and "Red & Blue") while Gavin Polone and Bruce Wagner are teaming for the comfy-sounding plague drama "Four Horsemen" at CBS (which also is developing "Jericho," about life in a small town after America is destroyed).

Can programing executives be any dumber?

NZ bear what the Deuce (part II)

Now I am having Rodent displayed, a multicellular organism when I click on the link after going up to large mammal

What the Deuce man?

After the NZ Bear revised his ecosystem raitings

I am now a LARGE MAMMAL

2249.Inside Larry's Head (72) details

I am now in the Large Mammal list and not even dead last in it

now I am on the list with a much lower ranking then before but hey .. ;-) I win

Over at the Medienkritik

We see more of the "All Animals are equal, but some animals are more equal then others" mentality of the Anti-Americanist forces in europe and the Anti-Bush voices in general.

Here is what to the Anti-Americanist/Anti-Bushists is "bad" Translated from Babelfish

Stone Meier announced that with its start attendance in the USA the reports will be over secret CIA Gefangenentransporte with intermediate stop in Germany a topic. "there the topic also a topic of the discussion relating to domestic affairs in the USA is, can I that not exclude", did not say stone Meier on Saturday in Berlin. It expects a statement of the USA, for which the European Union asked. "what is to be read, would indeed give cause for concern", quoted the "picture on Sunday" the SPD politician.

Also law minister Brigitte Zypries had explained her in the Second Channel of German Television, hopes for a statement from the USA. The pool of broadcasting corporations reported, at least a German security authority had had knowledge of the prisoner transportation of the CIA of Germany. The pool of broadcasting corporations called no details and appointed themselves to information of their Hauptstadtstudios. The Federal Constitution protection did not want to express itself to the topic, the Federal Information Service was not attainable for a statement first.

The Federal Criminal Investigation Office explained, it had had no knowledge from such incidents. Several media had reported, airplanes of the CIA between 2002 and 2004 more than 80 times in Germany had landed. Main spider thereby the US military airports were in Frankfurt and RAM stone. The CIA also used the German airports, in order to bring illegitimately Islamics imprisoned held to verhoeren abroad, where they were possibly tortured. The Council of Europe and the European Court of Justice already introduced investigations.

But this and this are ok.

At "best" two of the techniques used in the "alleged" Black Prison system fit any reasonable qualification as torture.

Yet it is permissible to deal extensively with not one but two regimes who have either committed genocide (sudan) or worked very hard on genocide and democide fronts (Iraq). When you pull an amnesty international and say the US is the worst of all and you benifit from virtual slave labor in China (as some germany companies do.. and Americans to) then you lose your moral clarrity. You are then clearly only taking moral offense at those things which you find politically disagreable, not actually -wrong-

It makes your legitimate concerns about possible violations of the US government which you may -legitimately- be concerned about as nothing more then trying to advance your national/political intrest over the wellbeing and good of the country.

Dictatorships are proving that the Economic Liberal position is a farce ( which I think disproves the utopianistic ideas of Economic Liberalism) managed economies do succumb to outside pressures but as planned economies are becoming more and more integrated into the global economy they gain an ability to pull in a signifigant amount of foriegn capital with a prohibatively high moral hazard because quite simply they are evil dictators and can do it.

I feel guilty when I buy chinesse and other dictatorially made products at the marketplace but when "free" commerce isn't remotely competative for my dollar I have no ability to fight my own self intrests.

And thats why we are in the mess we are in. And its why we need the economic powers of this world to come up and draw a line of demarcation of what is acceptible and what isn't. then you have economic pressure to drive real reforms... not a lack of reform to benifit the greedy and short sited generation of buisnessmen who are far from capitalists we have today

It came from the Email Box......

Don't have a link to a site from this so take this as an email without any endorsement of its validity

just something that makes you go hmmm

November 27, 2005

Giant mosque for 40,000 may be built at London Olympics


A MASSIVE mosque that will hold 40,000 worshippers is being proposed beside the Olympic complex in London to be opened in time for the 2012 Games.

The project’s backers hope the mosque and its surrounding buildings would hold a total of 70,000 people, only 10,000 fewer than the Olympic stadium
.
Its futuristic design features wind turbines instead of the traditional minarets, while a translucent latticed roof would replace the domes seen on most mosques. The complex is designed to become the “Muslim quarter” for the Games, acting as a hub for Islamic competitors and spectators.
“It will be something never seen before in this country. It is a mosque for the future as part of the British landscape,” said Abdul Khalique, a senior member of Tablighi Jamaat, a worldwide Islamic missionary group that is proposing the mosque as its new UK headquarters.

Tablighi Jamaat has come under scrutiny from western security agencies since 9/11. Two years ago, according to The New York Times, a senior FBI anti-terrorism official claimed it was a recruiting ground for Al-Qaeda. British police investigated a report that Mohammad Sidique Khan, leader of the July 7 London bombers, had attended its present headquarters in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. In August, Bavaria expelled three members of the organisation on the grounds that it promoted Islamic extremism.

Defenders of Tablighi Jamaat say that it is not political and confines itself to humanitarian work. It was founded in India under the British Raj and has many members in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The east London complex would have by far the largest capacity of any religious building in Britain. The biggest at present is the Baitul Futuh in Morden, Surrey, which holds about 10,000 worshippers. Liverpool’s Anglican cathedral, the largest Christian place of worship, has a capacity of 3,000.

The new building will be called the London Markaz (Arabic for centre) and will be built in place of an existing mosque on a 10-acre site 500 yards from the Olympic development.

The three-storey mosque will be designed to accommodate more than 40,000 worshippers. Its sweeping roof is intended to evoke tented cities.
The complex would include a garden, school, library and accommodation for visiting worshippers.

Islamic calligraphy would cover the walls and ceilings, the washing areas would have cascading water to mimic a stream, and the complex’s buildings would be adapted to allow extra worshippers during festivals such as Eid, accommodating a further 30,000 visitors.

Ali Mangera, the London and Barcelona-based architect who is designing the mosque, said: “People in this country build mosques with fake domes and plastic minarets to look like the mosques back home. Islam has traditionally been at the forefront of technology and change. The Markaz will reflect this. It will be more than a mosque. The whole idea behind it is to break down barriers.”

Mangera has previously worked with leading British architects including Zaha Hadid, designer of the Cardiff opera house. Mangera and Tablighi Jamaat are in negotiations with Newham council, the Greater London Authority and the Thames Gateway Development Corporation for planning permission.

Sunil Sahadevan, a planning officer at Newham council, said: “We are working towards the mosque application with the organisers and discussions are ongoing. The application will be finalised over the next year.”

It is estimated that the project would cost more than £100m and donations are being sought from Britain and abroad.

Lincoln Lied People Died

A wonderful Spoof of F9-11 by the folks from Jikes

so look at Fahrenheit 1861

So I to am joining this blogging wagon train -I saw this on fark but i decided to post about it thanks to peer pressure from Dean-

A second break from the work I should be doing

Why does anyone care about Pajama's Media?

I was one of those folks who looked at the "you may be a winner" packet and tossed it away. and the more I look at what PM is producing the more I realize I choose ....wisely.

It seems to be a really badly designed buisness. Why is everyone so up in arms about it one way or another?

No.. not politicizing the war

Not Democrats from the bay state never

Mass. Democrats Emerge As Iraq War Critics

Three years ago, Massachusetts Reps. Martin Meehan, Stephen Lynch and Edward Markey bucked their state Democratic colleagues and cast votes to give President Bush a green light to go to war in Iraq.

Since then, the three have renounced their votes and emerged as critics of the way Bush has handled the war. ...

"The war was based on the false premise that Saddam Hussein had an active nuclear weapons program," said Markey, who accused the administration of "manipulating facts."

Again they can't even say they oppose the war without making it an attack on the administration. It has come out that the House and Senate Intelligence committee members had -more- intelligence in a -more- raw form then the president did. But saying "He lied, thats why I went against you" is mortgaging the lives of our soldiers for their own political gain.

Just the opening thesis (not his later thesis) of Murtha's is the best way to do it.
"The longer we stay the worse things will get because we are the target there"

It is faulty reasoning but its better

Or even

"I support a war done in a way that makes the sacrifices of our soldiers and sailors meaningful, and that is not this war"

but instead they have to present themselves as blind and impotent to oppose the war.

and then say the pro-war folks aren't discussing it in a meaningful way

UPDATE

I should have my paper finished up today....

Once that happens I'll be rolling out some posts

Can some one in Canada fill me in Here

Who is this guy, whats his story, etc...

I want some input on this

Hellyer revealed, "The secrecy involved in all matters pertaining to the Roswell incident was unparalled. The classification was, from the outset, above top secret, so the vast majority of U.S. officials and politicians, let alone a mere allied minister of defence, were never in-the-loop."

Hellyer warned, "The United States military are preparing weapons which could be used against the aliens, and they could get us into an intergalactic war without us ever having any warning. He stated, "The Bush administration has finally agreed to let the military build a forward base on the moon, which will put them in a better position to keep track of the goings and comings of the visitors from space, and to shoot at them, if they so decide."

Hellyer’s speech ended with a standing ovation. He said, "The time has come to lift the veil of secrecy, and let the truth emerge, so there can be a real and informed debate, about one of the most important problems facing our planet today."

Ok... I admit I used to be a UFO nut but this sounds like UFO nuttry combined with hatebushery.

a little thing like a moon shot couldn't be hidden....

***UPDATE***

Some Farkers Added in some comments on this

2005-11-24 07:22:03 PM El_Swino [TotalFark]

Meh. Hellyer's had the rep of being a total loon for years and years. When he was in government, he was incompetent. That incompetence blossomed into full-blown insanity 10-15 years ago. Canadians have learned to ignore him.

2005-11-25 10:05:26 AM My Little Pony of Borg

Canadian cabinet ministers are not chosen based on any skill they might have related to the position, but rather, are rewarded with the positions based on how much ass they kiss for the party and how much the Prime Minister likes them. There are no pretenses made about appointing people who are qualified, and as completely unqualified ministers have become the norm in Canada, there are rarely protests about specific appointments. In some cases, a member from another party is bought off, and convinced to switch parties and is then rewarded with a ministerial position (a recent example being Belinda Stronach, who was bought on the eve of a crucial vote).

Over the course of their careers, most MPs (Members of Parliament) who are popular with their leader are put into a number of different, and unrelated, ministerial positions. This particular whacko, Paul Hellyer, was Pearson's Minister of Defence, then later Trudeau's Minister of Transportation and Deputy Prime Minister.

UFO conspiracy theorists like to point to Hellyer's credentials to legitimize their beliefs. However, even Hellyer admits that his term as Minister of Defence gave him no special information regarding UFOs, and he did not come to believe in their existance until much later.

Dear Sully

Since Sully Is confused I decided to help him out

Bush administration documents, dated September 21, 2001, reveal that the CIA refuted any past or present connection between al Qaeda and Saddam in the wake of 9/11. The administration did not and will not release these documents to the Senate Intelligence Committee. Why not?

#1) It depends on which activities we are refering to... and thats based on a theory.

Secular islamic states work with religously fundementalist terrorist groups all the time just take a look at syria. So the theory used to dismiss some of the contacts. And these are also the guys who got tons of things wrong before the infamous WMD issue.

#2) Their are more leaks out of the senate committee then out of the CIA

So *IF* their is an active operation right now where peoples lives could be in jeopardy he is trying to minimize the potential of leaks.

Answering these questions in a -reasonable- way aint hard

Superhero OKCUPIDtime

Lurking Defender You scored 60% Stealth, 45% Invincibility, 9% Manipulation, and 15% Deadliness!

You like to sneak around and avoid conflict, though you don't really need to. You're quite strong enough to take your share of hits and more, but you prefer to stay out of the thick of things. You'll have a problem doing damage of your own, so your best bet is to stay in the shadows or give cover to those that need it.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 70% on Stealth You scored higher than 68% on Invincibility You scored higher than 31% on Manipulation You scored higher than 31% on Deadliness

Link: The Awesome Super Hero Test written by nebulous_bee on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

The Richardson Draft Controversy....

Does anyone care?

I think it is amusing when a solid pick for the Dems in 08 who has real scandal history this is the best the press can do.

I am thankful

Since it is the time and all to do that....

I am thankful;

To have the roommate I do. I am not sure I could have done as well as I did in picking Kevin.
To be at a full University.... My long goal finally accomplished, and a new long goal started.
That in my current struggle my mother and surprisingly my father have been there.
That my dear song bird has flown back into my life and I've seen here wings grow stronger and surer.
That I am no longer living with my mother, as that was putting a strain on our relationship.
For my health

I may add more as I think of them

Cover sheet done, take a break

Ok I know the cover sheet is a bit early to take a break but I think this bit of Insanity "allegedly" from Michael Jackson is worthy of blogging.

The man, alleged to be Jackson, says, "They (Jews) suck. They're like leeches... I'm so tired of it... they start out the most popular person in the world, make a lot of money, big house, cars and everything. End up penniless. It is conspiracy. The Jews do it on purpose."

Add into this his feud with the head of sony calling him very devilish (which is often black anti-semetic code words for jews) along with his bit of singing anti-judaism here

It's not the first time Jackson has been accused of anti-Semitism - the New York Post reports that in 1996 song THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT US, he sang, "Jew me, sue me," and "kike me, kike me".(sic)

It is IIRC "Jew me, sue me, everybody do me, kiss me, kike me, don't no black or white me."

Housekeeping Tuesday post II

Well I have the finalists in my book search for my research paper done... and after a brief skim I know where I need to go to pull out the information I need to slam out my paper.

Everything seems to be ok for my World Perspective extra point paper....

So I should skin by the end of this semester paper wise.

Now Hopefully I will have a window After the religion paper to land some winter break styled W.O.R.K

It came from the EMAIL box

More reasons to doubt the rise of the hildabeast folks

no pac money in 06 means Hillary can't trot out the lines of endorsers she'd need in 08

HILLARY TRAIL$ THE PAC NY Post
By IAN BISHOP November 22, 2005 -- WASHINGTON — Approaching a critical election year, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's political-action committee has little cash to give other Democratic candidates.

Clinton appears to have drastically scaled back fund-raising operations for the once-rich HillPAC, letting its available cash dwindle to a microscopic $2,996, according to new federal fund-raising records.

It claims to hold $91,268 in the bank, but HillPAC is $88,272 in debt, with most of the money owed to consultant Gia Medeiros, who was canned after The Post revealed she embraced New Age spiritualism and once said 9/11 victims "weren't all good people."

HillPAC was created expressly to help other Democrats win at the polls, and spokeswoman Ann Lewis told The Post the committee still intends to hit its donation goals.

"HillPAC operates on an election-year cycle, not quarterly. Our fund-raising is on track," Lewis said.

While HillPAC's bank account has nose-dived in recent months, Clinton's official re-election committee, Friends of Hillary, has ballooned to nearly $14 million.

ian.bishop@nypost.com

More nails in the coffin of the Kyoto Accords

The Medienkritk is on the case. In the past I've already talked about how Kyoto is losing support in some countries because it now will actually cost them something....

Well that list is growing.

Canada is among those countries most likely to run into difficulty implementing its commitments, as in 2003 the country had increased its emissions by 24.2 pct from the base 1990 level, far from its 2012 target of a 6 pct reduction.

Japan, meanwhile, recorded a 12.8 pct increase over the 13 years to 2003 and is headed for an increase of 12 pct by 2010 instead of the intended 6 pct reduction.

And although the 15-member European Union, which ratified the treaty en bloc in 1997, achieved a reduction of 1.4 pct in emissions from 1990 to 2003 -- it is still a long way from the 8 pct target in 2012 -- most of the 15 countries have seen emissions increasing.

Now this measures the Emissions in their countries... not whats in the atmosphere but what they put out. Now ee know ALGORE called this one of the great tragedies of our time and it does seem to be....... just not for those of us who didn't want the treaty ratified.

For us in the camp of enviroskepticism this seems a proof we were indeed right.

but why has all this happened here is a thought

On Tuesday, Inhofe issued a statement from Capitol Hill that noted how scientists with independent views don't get on too well with the IPCC. Witness Chris Landsea of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who resigned from the IPCC this year because he believed an IPCC top hurricane scientist wrongly linked severe hurricanes to global warming; as a result, he wrote, "the IPCC process has been subverted and compromised, its neutrality lost."

Neutrality I think is more of a phantasm

Hey Kids

Uncle Larry has a research paper to write so... I may be a tad less voluminous in my posting.....

I'll post some in breaks in my work probably

Camp Katrina

I got my first blog email trying to hype up a blog

go look at Camp Katrina some guardsmen down in the bayou

Sharon will fail

I think Arik picked a bad play here. He went to see one of the Rebbi's and was told if he would be a political leader in Israel it would lead to nothing but blood.

What this comes down is to a war of the young turks... two factions were forming in Likud one under former prime minister Netanyahu, and one under up and comer ( and non-fmr. prime minister) Ehud Olmert.

The problem is Ehud is no more of a peacenik then Bibi... which means this breaks down over something much more important then the Palestinian situation... and that something is socialism.

In the end the Israeli's will always be under the gun of the EU and the US for aid and financial support due to the strong state base of their economy. The Bibi wing of Likud was for more capitalism which was a major problem inside Likud circles.

The rump end which was more moderate and status quoa leaning will try to draw off some of the more conservative elements of labor in hope to form a real party. So in the end it is about socialism, not about peace

DISINFORMATION-on book notes-

Now I haven't bought the book yet....

(and I'll need to figure how to afford it)

The author brought up some intresting facts about the war in Iraq that makes me go "Hmmmmm"

We all know that Able Danger has put serious doubts on the Prauge Incident as explained by the American government, is pretty suspicous but we now have a new situation about the Iraqi survey group.

He claims to have drawn this information from interviewing folks who were in the Iraq survey group (and I'll repeat I haven't read the book yet so I can't attest to much to what he said) That the Iraq survey group rarely left the green zone in Baghdad and had nothing resembling the translating resources required to do an effective job.

Translators needed to be fluent both in written and spoken Iraqi dialect of Arabic *( which is even more diverse then that) * which takes a small pool of US arabic translators and reduces it to a substantially smaller group. And then to require a serious amount of education in a scientific discipline... that makes finding the answers almost impossible.

And from working in a government agency I do have an idea about how "buck passing" works out. So my question here becomes a serious one We don't know if Osama was connected to 9-11 ( and we don't know if he was not connected) and we don't have any evidence that Saddam didn't ditch his WMD ( or if they are still hidden somewhere in Iraq)

then what the heck do we know about the war?

I'm surprised ( what I am gunna blog here later)

No one is commenting on the Sharon act of throwing the Israeli government into a tizzy

( I plan to after class myself)

I also plan to focus on some thoughts on a book notes with the author of "disinformation" -cause it puts the war debate into a more debatable form-

Well folks in the words of Homestar J. Runner "High-Ball"!

(Haptanghaiti: Song 1.3 = Yasna 35.3)

That we have chosen, Lord

Wise, through sublime Righteousness,

Which we have thought,

Spoken and done.

Of these deeds, the best

Be for both the existences.

(Haptanghaiti: Song 1.3 = Yasna 35.3)

Poking around the world of blog

I found this Post by Dr. Sanity... and in the belly of the beast I can say I imagine this often.

Imagine for a moment a higher educational system that actually used good business practices and was responsive to their customers.

A place you could send your children knowing that they were being taught to think--not what to think.

A place were good teachers were rewarded and the bad weeded out; and where there are no ideas that are prohibited from discussion and evaluation.

A place where even Republicans and conservatives (curse them!) would be welcome to express their ideas! And all that mattered would be the quality and rationality of the idea --not the political party of the person expressing it.

Where the only "conformity" encouraged was conformity to reason and reality (how bourgeoise and unpostmodern!)

But...no. They are far too superior to be held to such a capitalistic standard. Besides they see it as their job to tell their customers what to think (or at least, the children of their customers).

Read the whole thing

The CIA is planning more torture

Get Sully on the case

The official says the government has studied endless tapes of his show, but they just can't nail the technique. "We think he could teach us how to suck them in with that sly 'How's that working for you?' grin. The detainees aren't tough enough to withstand that, followed by the blow to their psychological security when he launches into a tirade when he gets less than the truth. The unrelenting lecture, the flailing arms, leaning in real close to the subject with his fist on his knee, that abrupt switch will break them. That's the key."

Thats right the CIA interrogators will be immitating "Dr." Phil

Tom Hayden is still alive?

Just kidding :-p

Tom Hayden on the HuffenPuff Post shows once again that the playbook we see today isn't 2005 but 1973.

The anti-war movement of old's vanguard who got all snuggly with communists are still around and becoming mentors to the vanguard of the new anti-war movement

Question this~!

I’ve been wanting to write a post like this for a while digging about I would like to say something on the issue. And as the Moonbat moment of the congress digests in my head I figured why not do it now?

Being against the war isn’t unpatriotic but some folks are being against the war in an unpatriotic way. So I think I should clarify what I personally see as the difference.

((And I may re-add to this list as time rolls on))

Now you can still be unpatriotic in an action without being unpatriotic in character. Like many people are unaware that Marxist-Leninist and Marxist-Stalinist movements are the major sponsors of the large anti-war protests in the country. It’s about acts of commission. You find yourself in a protest where people have signs showing “Death to capitalism, death to America.” And “Osama Bin Laden is right” you have a choice… do you choose to be a principled and patriotic opponent of the war or do you embrace the insane fringe to help your cause. When you sell your soul that’s when you commit a unpatriotic act.

Also even great patriots who fought and were brutally wounded in the field of battle can have unpatriotic moments which don’t negate their earlier patriotism. There is a different patriotism in peace then there is on the battle field

Protesting against the War:patriotic

Protesting against the War in a rally done by Communist parties (that were Pro-Saddam, Milosevic, Kim Jung Il, Castro, etc) –especially ones funded by a government at war with the US-: Utterly Unpatriotic.

Protesting Things like Abu Ghraib and demanding accountability: Patriotic

Making up false war crimes: Unpatriotic

Making fake evidence of fake war crimes: utterly unpatriotic

Circulating false war crimes after they are exposed as false: Unpatriotic

Rallying with people who promote false War crimes: Unpatriotic

Voting against the War: Patriotic

Voting for the war, but being against it when it politically benefits you: Utterly Unpatriotic.

Voting for the war, but claiming you were mislead by documents you never read: Unpatriotic

Serving in the Military: Patriotic

Serving in the Military, then opposing the war: Patriotic

Serving in the Military and thus claiming you are above reproach on issues of the war (or any war): Unpatriotic

Serving in the Military then making up fake war crimes: Utterly Unpatriotic

Presenting false information about the war effort to try to sway public opinion against the war: Unpatriotic

Presenting false information about the war to try and sway the public against the war and make millions of dollars off of it: Utterly Unpatriotic

Presenting true information about the faults of the war effort to try to help the soldiers: Patriotic

Protesting the war because you think War is wrong: Patriotic (if you opposed every other war in the last 25 years)

Protesting the war because you think War is wrong: (but you seem to never protest when a democrat is in office) Unpatriotic

Protesting the war if you think THIS war is wrong: patriotic

Protesting the war by saying the president is “Chimpy McHitlerburton, a Liar, the new Hitler,…etc.” Unpatriotic

Protesting the war by saying the war wasn’t “adequately planned, and ill concived”: Patriotic

Protesting the war by saying “No war for Israel, No War for the jews, … etc”: Utterly Unpatriotic

Protesting the war once the body count got to high: Unpatriotic

Protesting the war once you lost a loved one and felt the losses were to high: patriotic

Protesting the war by saying this country “Isn’t worth dying for”: Unpatriotic

Protesting the war by advocating major crimes (especially violent crimes): Unpatriotic

Protesting the war because you oppose the suppression of constitutional rights which has occurred during the war: utterly patriotic

Protesting the war because you are an isolationist: patriotic

Protesting the war because you thought the UN should be in charge: Unpatriotic

Protesting the war by going to protests endorsed by cop-killers and promoted as such: unpatriotic

Calling some one a Chickenhawk because they refused to serve: Unpatriotic

Calling some one who has a yellow ribbon on their car a chicken hawk or denigrating them when you don’t contribute to any charities that help soldiers families: Unpatriotic

Calling some one who has a yellow ribbon on their car a chicken hawk or denigrating them when you do contribute to any charities that help soldiers families: Unpatriotic (but just barely)

Protesting hospitals where people who are wounded from the war are recovering: Utterly Unpatriotic

Raising money for DOVE candidates: Patriotic

Voting for Dove Candidates: Patriotic

Voting or raising money for a Dove Candidate who does numerous of the above mentioned unpatriotic acts: unpatriotic

Organizing “teach ins” about the war that provide information and don’t demagogue people on the issues of the war: patriotic

Organizing “teach ins” about the war that bash politicians on matters other then policy (“Christian take over of America, Neo-Colonial Imperialists, Etc.): Unpatriotic

Voting for the 87 billion dollars, before you voted against it: Unpatriotic

Protesting the war because the government is racist/sexist/bigoted (but also protesting the people we are at war with for being even more so): Patriotic if not out of control

Protesting the war because the government is bigoted (but not protesting far worse and far eviler bigotry in the people we war with): Unpatriotic

Protesting the war if you talk about how wonderful and free totalitarian regimes are (Like Iraq or Cuba): Unpatriotic

Disrupting supplies to the military through non violent protest (that are for weapons systems): Patriotic

Disrupting military supplies of any other type through non violent protest: Unpatriotic

Claiming the soldiers will come back insane/brain damaged/etc: Unpatriotic (and largely untrue in Vietnam’s case)

Claiming race x serves on the front lines and is being killed in a genocidal way (when it is untrue): utterly unpatriotic

Calling for a pull out of the war when the military is already engineering one (and thus doing it for political gain): Unpatriotic

Claiming the government lied to get us into war without presenting the lies: unpatriotic

Claiming a draft is coming to get people to oppose the war when that is untrue: Unpatriotic

Meeting with a foreign head of state who is hostile to the US or   a group the US is currently in hostilities with the US to plan protests: Unpatriotic

As I said I will add/flesh out/diversify this list as time goes on.

I take suggestions from you in the gallery of peanut

What the Duce~? ( Cartoon Network)

Ban enough they butcher Japanese toons but I see they will be featuring

"Goonies" and "Batman" ( Not Batman The Animated Series) on their network soon

What the Frell man? Is Cartoon Network trying to become the new MTV and never show any cartoons again....

Stupid TV networks

Some should ask Madonna about some things

And not just looking like a 80 year old prostitute.

Much as scientology is a kreepy Kult Madge should answer something about hers.

Berg, a former insurance salesman from Brooklyn, changed his name from Feivel Gruberger and left his first wife and seven children to become the spiritual leader and pyramid head of the Kabbalah business. Berg, who refers to himself as Dr., enjoys a millionaire’s lifestyle in Los Angeles. He and his current wife, Karen, set up their first center in Tel Aviv, and created a worldwide empire.


Vivienne Marco, wife of the deceased Binyamin Marco, former head of the Center, echoed Shtiglitz’s analysis. “I was head of accounting at that place many years ago,” she said. “And always, but always, there were echelons. Everyone, including myself, wanted to be close to Rabbi Berg. He was like a god for me. I shook when I was next to him. I worked for free for years, and when they wanted to change my position, I insisted on staying."

and This to

The people in the center immediately caught on that I was weak. They constantly drummed in the message that only the Center could bring the light and the messiah. The lecturers said that psychologists were not okay. All the rabbis were crap. Only rabbi Berg could do it. They told me I should buy recordings of the lectures. I sat with the disc and listened until it penetrated me - the words, what they were saying. In short, it was brainwashing.”


A year after arriving at the Center, he joined the ‘inner circle’ and slept with eight of them in a one room apartment in central Tel Aviv, on blowup mattresses placed on a highly crowded floor.


“They called me and suggested I come only for three days, to see how it is. I knew it was considered the best to be with the inner circle. So I agreed to come. And those three days turned into a week and a half, which turned into a few months.”

they have a part I and Part II to this series go see the latest evil money stealers that use celebrities to dupe the masses.

as the part II article details

The names of many celebrities are indeed linked to the Tel Aviv Center. For instance, the visit of Madonna and Rosanne Bar, as well as Israeli celebrities Adam, Orna Banai, and Orna Fitosi, and (actor) Zvulun Moshiashvili.


“I was a member of the Center until four years ago, and I left to study Hassidism,” says Zvulon.


“I felt like I was turning into Harry Potter there. I learned how to be a magician. There is a very special place there, with powerful energy, so that on Shabbat everyone comes in white," he says.

check it out

We were MISLEAD

A charge that was absurd to start out with but now I find out They didn't even read it. ( hat tip to Ace)

Demagougery from Dingy Harry Reid ahead

Reid said: “"We'’re talking about six senators. The answer is, if you ask me, I didnÂ’t read it. But I don'’t know who did. But there'’s a hundred senators, not six. And some members of the Intelligence Committee may have read it. I don'’t know. But the fact of the matter is —you can'’t escape this, the administration manipulated the evidence and the people who opposed them, like Amb. [Joseph] Wilson were taken to the woodshed."

How do you know they Manipulated the Intelligence Harry if you never read it?

10 things i dislike about the war effort

Ok folks I’ve been making tons and tons of –pro- war commentary lately…so let me talk for a moment about what I don’t like about the War in Iraq.

I support the war, but I don’t support the p!$$ poor way the government has set about the War.

#1 Weapons of Mass Destruction was a joke. Making the Casus Belli full court on WMD wouldn’t work. It was the best case in a strictly legal manner but in the case of attracting other nations it would never work. As we have now found out with Able Danger there is more evidence that the Prauge Incident did happen then the government made the case for. That and allegations the IA observed a Feydaheen Saddam officer was present at least one of the planning meetings does establish a far superior case of Casus Belli. The president could have also went to the American people and talked about how the United States would use the full strength of our national power to save a people from a dictator who would callously murder and torture them. We could have made a better Casus Belli to rally the support of the world… it would have less of a legal case but when everyone agrees that makes law.

#2 We dropped the ball on Turkey
We did. The US government could have made Turkey a staging ground and they blew it. That made the casualties of the actual combat period far worse… and probably lead to the drawn out “where’s Saddam” period.

#3 Powell never really challenged the Franco-German Axis of weasels in diplomatic terms.

Powell as a sec state from everything I have read sat in foggy bottom and occasionally NY. Powell needed to be out there doing counter-diplomacy to DeVillpen… or he needed to be canned. Bush in his pandering to get African-American voters put perhaps the worst Secretary of state in modern US history into office during a time when we needed some one with fat diplomatic skills.

#4 THE RED LINE AROUND BAGHDAD.
Saddam was never going to use Chemical and Biological weapons on US troops. The assertion he was by our military and our government may rank as one of the ten dumbest things they have ever said. Not only was preparing for this foolish, selling it to the media was foolish because it helped to build the case for the US war as “the gang that couldn’t shoot straight”

On top of that in the first gulf war Dick Cheney (yes that Dick Cheney) hinted the US would use any weapons in their arsenal to respond to such an attack. Saddam’s security team would have remembered this. So first and foremost they would have to worry just how far unconventionally against their men the US would go.

Then you have to go to folks like Lt. Ahmed. Lt. Ahmed may indeed have orders to use a VX artillery shell. But Lt. Ahmed knows if Iraq loses, he will be guilty of war crimes (and possibly executed). There is a very huge difference to fanatical loyalty to a brutal dictator and going down the drain with him.

#5 Putting the US Millitary in charge of occupation.

The US military has only twice in its 230 or so year History gotten occupations of countries right. Wanna know all the places they got it wrong.. Well most of Central America and the Caribbean have been occupied and administered by the US military once or twice (and one case 3 times)… only countries who are economically stable are wellllll Japan and Germany. And those occupations were hardly just the Military either.

Now beyond that the US Millitary has a very “Guns and Butter” budget philosophy. If they have a insufficient amount of money in the guns budget some where they will take it out of the butter budget. So more soft scale projects like “Hey lets train locals to take over security” fell by the wayside when IED’s were happening and dirty terrorists needed to die.

#6 Not planning for Prisoners.
Geee now Larry can’t you cut them a break. How were they supposed to know they’d have all these POWs. Well gosh that’s a good point when did they have something comparable… Oh yeah the first gulf war where most of the Iraqi units put up white flags. Add to that we had US prison guards who tend to be the type of guys who are in National Guard and reserve units assigned to do things other then… well guarding prisoners. They had a good core of people who could have been assigned and transferred to do the job. Not giving the MP’s the training in how to deal with that was ludicrous. Not ensuring the discipline was tight in those units lead to the sexual sadism of the Abu Ghraib gang.

#7 Not Planning for “Hate America” fest

Look when the US militarizes heavily and has since the Cold War era an amazing thing happens in Europe. They start to hate America as an Imperialist Aggressor. And as goes Europe so goes the NYTimes. As goes the Times so goes the US media. I hate to use the word propaganda because the connotation is so negative but the US media was going to embrace the Weasel Axis and our government wasn’t prepared for it. Had the government been fighting for hearts and minds here we’d have more resolve over there.

#8 Not Handling the UN during the reconstruction

Had the UN not withdrawn from Iraq after the attacks on their mission early in the post war period we’d be out of Iraq right now.  The UN ran for the hills and our government didn’t pressure the UN to stand its ground effectively.

#9 Calling a rat hole a spider hole
We allow to much pro-islamist propaganda to be repeated by out military to sound culturally sensitive. We need to stop that

#10 Imbeded media

I think it set the wrong relationship with the press. I think if we handled them as we did during the First gulf war we’d not be losing on the home front as we are.

Withdrawl MANIA wrap up

Now with something which passes for sleep and being out of the thick of the events lets talk with more sober and cooler heads about Withdrawlmania.

The Provisional Iraqi government has been talking about a Withdrawl starting after the first full parliamentary elections.
The US Military said it could start some time In January or febuary.... March at the latest. The reality is troops were going to be gradually tuned down.

Then a little thing like Hurricane Katrina happened and the President's aura of kick-arse was reduced and people begin to fault washington for everything ( even stuff that wasn't their fault)

Into this enviroment we have Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid pull stunts along the "Bush Lied" Meme. In the senate first, and then in the house proposal to withdraw troops came out. Representative Murtha as a trusted military aide to Nancy Pelosi was acting as a political agent. And with his connection to the pentagon... those elements that are there forever he would have known plans for troop reductions were making their way up the pipe. He was pulling a stunt.

Listen to his repeating his speech and some of the shrill talking points of the democrats during his floor speech and you see the scripting of partisan hackery.

Not to be outdone the Republicans gave the Democrats a chance up or down to vote the Kossak-DU-Moveon platform on Iraq. The Democrats didn't play this out politically... instead they in a almost drinking game like fashion said every party and left wing group buzz word about the war in Iraq. They did this without actually talking -about- the war.

The Republicans thumped their chests and made vauge implications ( and some not so vauge) about the spines and colors of them about the Democrats.

A game deserved a game... it deserved a massive PRESENT vote. Only 6 Democrats were smart enough to do that.

Of the 3 nays were the creme de la creme of the moonbat fringe.

We didn't have a real debate on Iraq we had ego's petted and people talking about how great the other guys service was while hiding the dripping dagger in their cloak.

All of it was a show folks, a show that in the end ment nothing.

And the ultimate sign the whole withdrawl resolution was worthless

Al-Cnn

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The top U.S. commander in Iraq has submitted a plan to the Pentagon for withdrawing troops in Iraq, according to a senior defense official.

But Al-CNN has failed to make a headline and a lead quote that goes with what the story says

Gen. George Casey submitted the plan to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. It includes numerous options and recommends that brigades -- usually made up of about 2,000 soldiers each -- begin pulling out of Iraq early next year.

I am sure their are plans on a pentagon shelf somewhere to invade the vatican if we have to.

But in the end everyone said following these december elections we would probably see withdrawls... said it for some time now.

The house democrats media whority gives them a chance to claim credit for it while they were "speaking the truth to power."

amd they boosted troop levels for the elections so this is a win no matter how you play it out.

Sadly politics not policy has been governing this war for a while

(Haptanghaiti: Song 1.2 = Yasna 35-2)

We belong to Good Thoughts, Good Words,

Good Deeds -- done and to be done,

Now and henceforth.

We are, accordingly, the praisers

And invokers of all that is good.

To the folks at time

My blog is worth $58,147.62.
How much is your blog worth?

and I'd be willing to brand myself to TIME for that much money plus a small salary

Vote

3y-403n-6p

23 NV

and Cynthia McKinney (D-Moonbat) is one of the yeah's

wow

I am so surprised

One positive thing about Murtha

Right now he is going off on something that is completely legitimate.

We need to completely revamp our military. we are short on equipment, and the equipment we have is againg and rusting.

And the War in Iraq is taking funds away from that mission....

but once again a real debate on National Defense isn't something we are seeing in our government

“The Red Line around Baghdad”

Ok kids…. Let me say this. As Rep. Murtha is bringing up the issue of N.B.C weapons in Iraq any member of the military claiming Saddam would have used those weapons against our soldiers was out of their honkin mind.

If Saddam used them against US troops he would open the door for the same to be used against him, and he would lose what support he had in the world community.

Anyone who believed that was an utter fool.

Period.

Fantasy Speech II

Also from the fantasy world where I am some how able to speak as a member of congress.

[Congressman Larry Bernard R-Fl]

Mr. Speaker, members of this house, and my fellow Americans;

The other side in saying they are not given a real chance to debate are taking their time to claim an attack against a member of this house.

We are putting forth on my side of the aisle utter political gamesmanship.

I could argue for the war, but this debate about the war has nothing to do with the realities of the war.

This is a debate about nothing, so I will give the ultimate vote of present because this farce deserves nothing less.

When the other side put forward by their voices that this is a war “mislead” they have brought this upon them.
When members of the other body play smash mouth politics we bring this upon them.
Ladies and gentlemen lets bring this body back from the brink.

Let us both stop playing politics, I pray this house will follow my wisdom but I doubt we will.

When we impugn ourselves as we have in this debate we cast a sour taste in the mouths of the American people.

Lets get real, and lets do some real work.

Woot

First John Malcovitch(sp)
now Johnny Depp

two of my favorite actors are fleeing france

He says, "It's insane, that setting cars on fire is the new strike.

"I went there (to France) to live because it seemed so simple.

"Now it's anything but. I don't know how they'll recover from this."

Spider Hole

BTW:

By calling Saddam's hidey hole a spider hole you actually help Saddam
(*but the republican leadership is stupid)

as Muhammed the Prophet hid in a spider hole ( and a spider covered it with a web) when the Meccans came to kill him and he fled to Medina

by saying Spider Hole you empower islamic radicals

Closing with Nancy Pelosi......

WTF mate?

seriously what the heck are the house democrats thinking...

Steny Hoyer had the best closing. This speech by pelosi is so utterly attrocious and from a woman who wanted to pull a stunt ala Harry Reid calling it a stunt makes me physically ill.

I think Jack Murtha did this on purpose... I think the democrats decided now was a time to pick a fight. But hearing people croon about being a vet makes me ill right now

The Democrats are only slightly more repugnant right now.. but I am so disgusted by both parties

Fantasy Posting

Since I hear these people who have no idea how to speak as members of congress I take this moment to speak as a fantasy member of congress… Mainly because they all suck as public speakers

[Representative Bernard R-Fl]

Mr. Speaker;

I have heard the members on the other side of the aisle say words, say words that imply that this house, this government, and those of us who support the war are playing politics.
Well Mr. Speaker, I will say that tonight and on this rule and resolution we are indeed playing politics and so are the members on the other side of the aisle.

I’ve heard “lies”, “mislead”, “don’t question our patriotism” and a host of other sound bytes that play well for the Democratic fundraisers but not for the realities of the war.

I see members of a party which have a grassroots base mobilized against the war dancing for their base.

I am a politician, and when I am not kissing babies I am out there stealing their lollipops and lying to them. But let’s be truthful.

The policies of Moveon.org and International A.N.S.W.E.R no more address realities then does blindly embracing the failures of this administration in how they carried out this war. No one in this body has a moral bone to raise and point a finger equally lacking in morality and saying “J’Acusse!”

I will vote for the rule, but vote present on the resolution. I reject the gamesmanships and politicization of this war by my party and yours. I support the administrations stand because even in its failures it is closer to being adult then anything the other side has to offer.

With our budget defeats the members on the other side of the aisle have shown they have the power to have brought forth a real debate… brought forth a real oversight to this war. Instead this house and the upper chamber dance for political opinion and not realities of this war.

I am sickened to be a member of this house. And I hope after this vote we can work to honor our troops and our citizens not debase them and dishonor them as we have in how we debate this war and the most serious issue of our time.

Lets vote and get this done.

Thanks to the Tom and Katie folks

For giving me a surge in my viewership.

I tend to say Anti-Scientology things when I get news tossed out that I can comment on so keep me in mind.

"Your kids won't be fighting over there..."

Less then 1% of the american population is in the US military

Lets say .1% of the population is in the active armed services right now.

we have 435 members of congres

435 X .001 =.435 i.e less then one member of congress would be representative of congressmen as a member of the US population.

So if just a single member of congress has a child in the war then the members of congress are -more likely- to have children in the war then the general public.

and thats assuming that you are counting the population in Iraq as the full military population.

The larges plurality of our servicemen and women are in Iraq right now...if not an outright majority ( and this doesn't factor in nationaguardmen and women either).

Lets not repeat that bogus myth folks....

While we hear about how Bush "lied"

Lets thank Gay Patriot for this source to say otherwise.

**FULL DISCLAIMER FIRST**

VanguardPAC is a conservative policy and activist group disseminating the intellectual capital necessary to create a better, freer world, both by training candidates in the nuts and bolts of how to win, and by promoting policy ideas calculated to reshape America and the globe.

It is VanguardPAC's mission to help create a farm team of activists and candidates across America ready and able to take leadership, from the lowest level to the highest, effectively implementing the ideas of liberty.

But a pac can have legitimate information so lets roll that bean footage.

In a report which might alternately be termed “stunning” or “terrifying”, United Nations weapons inspectors confirmed last week not merely that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, but that he smuggled them out of his country, before, during and after the war.

Late last week, the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) briefed the Security Council on Saddam's lightning-fast dismantling of missile and WMD sites before and during the war. UNMOVIC executive chairman Demetrius Perricos detailed not only the export of thousands of tons of missile components, nuclear reactor vessels and fermenters for chemical and biological warheads, but also the discovery of many (but not most) of these items - with UN inspection tags still on them -- as far afield as Jordan, Turkey and even Holland

And since the IRAQ SURVEY GROUP was well... surveying IRAQ of course it wouldn't find weapons that are outside of Iraq.

Looking at the fact several former Baathists are now in Yemen and offered positions in the Yemeni military it begins to make you wonder about the Scudesque missles being shipped into Yemen by Kim Jung Il.

But until Iraq was calmer ( and it is calmer now) and until people were safer with their families no actual progress could have been made.

Perricos highlighted the proliferation danger to the Security Council, as well he should: UNMOVIC has no idea where most of the WMD material is today, just that it exists and it's gone; and anything in Syria is likely to be in Jerusalem or New York tomorrow.

So folks... Syria hasn't been investigated. And we have instability on the Harrari case...

and rumors and half news items talking that Assad wants protection outside of Syria makes me wonder about some of the house cleaning that happened in Syria.

but he adds in another Jab about the No WMD crowd.

You probably haven't heard about Canada's Prime Minister Paul Martin either -- a socialist and no friend of America. Addressing a group of 700 university researchers and business leaders in Montreal last month, Martin stated bluntly that terrorists have acquired WMDs from Saddam. “The fact is that there is now, we know well, a proliferation of nuclear weapons, and that many weapons that Saddam Huseein had, we don't know where they are…. [T]errorists have access to all of them,” the Canadian premier warned.

Why would the Canuk PM say this well after the US government declared "No WMD existed."

Well charley the Canadian Navy was responsible for much of the UN embargo actions on Iraq during the time period of the war. So Paul Martin and his government if any boats got through their blockades would have real and credible knowledge on the subject.

Curiouser and Curiouser

It came from the email box ( and from a dubious source)

I'm not accounting for the accuracy of this... but I think this source may be right ( but I sure as heck hope not)

and strangely no Cuban members of congress are there

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<> LA VOZ DE AZTLAN NEWS BULLETIN <>
<><><> Los Angeles, Alta California <><><><>

November 18, 2005

Congressional Hispanic Caucus to vote for
the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq

A poll of the 21 members of the Congressional Hispanic
Caucus indicates that they will be voting for the withdrawal
of US troops from Iraq in a historic vote expected to take
place at 7:00 PM (EST) tonight. The caucus voted
unanimously against a resolution authorizing George Bush to
attack Iraq on Friday, October 11, 2002. That Roll Call
Vote is published at: http://www.aztlan.net/rollcallvote.htm

Attacking Iraq was a major mistake. The war was justified by
the Bush Administration through shameful lies and deceit.
As of today it has cost the lives of 2,085 US soldiers and
15,568 US soldiers wounded. Approximately 15% of these are
Mexican-American and other Latinos. It is estimated that
60, 000 Iraqi civilians have been killed. Many of these are
women and children.

If the Roll Call Vote takes place tonight as expected, La
Voz de Aztlan will report on how each elected representative
voted.


MEMBERS OF THE CONGRESSIONAL
HISPANIC CAUCUS
------------------------------------------------------------

CHAIR - Grace Flores Napolitano (CA-38)

1st VICE CHAIR - Joe Baca (CA-43)

2nd VICE CHAIR - Raúl Grijalva (AZ-7)

WHIP - Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34)

MEMBERSHIP

Xavier Becerra (CA-31)

Dennis Cardoza (CA-18)

Jim Costa (CA-20)

Henry Cuellar (TX-28)

Charles A. Gonzalez (TX-20)

Luis V. Gutierrez (IL-4)

Rubén Hinojosa (TX-15)

Robert Menendez (NJ-13)

Solomon Ortiz (TX-27)

Ed Pastor (AZ-4)

Silvestre Reyes (TX-16)

John Salazar (CO-3)

Linda T. Sánchez (CA-39)

Loretta Sanchez (CA-47)

José Serrano (NY-16)

Hilda Solis (CA-32)

Nydia Velázquez (NY-12)

HErk

When i said Murrah I ment Murtha

When I am slightly agitated I some times let small errors happen

Here I fall Alice

Flawed policy wrapped in delusion or is it illusion?
Avoidance and misdirection… this has become the Democrats policy on Iraq. I am re-listening to the Murrah point and again we hear the same tired point about how “you never served”

He lies about Abu Ghraib and about the fact this was an official group as opposed to the reality that these folks were a unofficial group that did far more then torture and showed they were utterly deranged…He has followed the path of Demagoguery that the Democratic party is playing from in the war.. and he says as some one who serves, yet slanders troops he some how has a moral superiority to speak?

Let’s forget the fact that not every American will ever have the chance to serve in combat. So then are women un-allowed to speak? How about homosexuals? Let’s forget the undemocratic nature of the assertion he avoided the question.

The Democrats have buyer’s remorse. Democrats were afraid of the political fallout from this war. They had the same intelligence they did in the 98 … they had a much more raw form of the intelligence then the President did.

The intelligence was wrong… By no standard from multiple investigators on either side of the Atlantic was any trickery brought on the intelligence.

If they could admit “the war was wrong but I voted for it out of political opportunism” or “I didn’t want to pay a price this high” at least then we could have an honest Debate on the war and on the policy. But instead we hear “lies” and “mislead” and “deceived” out of the Democratic leaders.

Here on my TV now this reality of Abu Ghraib twisted and manipulated and a man saying “my authority is beyond appeal.” And I am sickened that this is a man who uses the red stains on his toga veralis to allow such lies to be given legitimacy.

He is a partisan hack… The Democratic Party is not engaging in an honest debate and calling the other side “Liar~!” is this real? Am I living in some kind of illusionary reality?

I tell you…. I could almost vote for Katherine Harris… I could almost make myself do it as the Democrats are showing themselves right now so utterly unworthy of casting a single vote on my behalf or in my name.

Pat Robertson: Still a Idiot

Home School Movement Needs Metal Detectors, Says Pat Robertson

Biff Scuzzy , 15.11.2005 23:47

VIRGINIA BEACH, Vir. - Calling the shooting deaths of Michael and Cathryn Borden "the home schooling movement's very own Columbine," televangelist Pat Robertson urged parents who home school their children to install metal detectors in their houses.

Read the whole story Instead of focusing on the fact crazy people are well..... crazy we now see the utter lunacy that the left would put forward for our public schools now trying to be placed in our homes.

Robertson is a moron folks.... Periodically we need to see it again to remind us.

CSPAN makes me ill right now.

A horrific farce is on TV right now on CSPAN. The House leadership is giving the democrats an up or down rush in vote on withdrawing the troops from Iraq effective immediately. It was one thing when an utter Kook who is viewed as a laughing stock by most sane folks in this country like Charley Rangel with his farce of a vote on a draft now has brought some degree of legitimacy to those kind of tactics.

A debate that has been lacking in any substance or purpose. I feel that as a taxpayer we should return dueling, Cannings, spitunes, and fights like the legislatures in asia to at least make this worth my money.

They are trying to force in this on a straight up or down vote when Nancy Pelosi has herself put up legislation in her entire career to disarm the US military... their attempt to try to be pro-troop while putting orweilian attempts to strip power from the military makes me rather ill.

Talk of lies, misleading, culture of corruption only lacked "we can do better" to make this festival of democratic quotes truely drinking game worthy. And the republicans using veiled and in some cases unveiled refrences to the democrats manhood ( and that applies to the women two)

The democrats who with a handful of republicans this last month beat back the President's agenda and claimed "their is no oversight of this war"

Yes their is... And even if your absurd notion is true with a rank party discipline and pulling a handfull of republican votes you can get what you want done. So it is quite obvious you care much more to dance for DailyKos, Moveon,org, George Soros, et. al.

If they cared about oversighted they would have fought and horsetraded with the republicans and got real oversight hearings. They don't care but we are in a period right now in our society where it is more important to -appear- to care then to actually care.

after looking at this vote I advocate a new policy

We have a fresh election for 535 members of our national legislature and fire the lot of them.

Sully does it again

On the new hot element of the Anti-War debate Andrew Sullivan takes a break from his almost pornographic obsession on torture to try to re-claim his more reasonable foriegn policy positions ( see here)

ON MURTHA: I guess I should make it clear that I strongly disagree with Murtha's notion that we should withdraw troops from Iraq, and strongly disagree with the Senate's recent amendment all but committing us to troop withdrawal in 2006. I just believe that Murtha is a good guy, a patriot, and utterly undeserving of the partisan and vicious attacks now being leveled against him.

Ok Andy... You and many of the folks in the anti-war movement have lost yer bloody minds on the issue of this debate.

Just because you served in the armed forces that doesn't give you a pass on having your words legitimately rated and debated.Nor does losing a child/spouse/or other relations.

Representative Murtha is a member of the leadership team for the house democrats as a ranking member. With a full court press on an anti-war amendment ( sully even agrees it is that) to major bills in the senate and in the house is part of a partisan act by the democrats on the war.

As Representative Murtha has participated in a Partisan attack he deserves a Partisan attack.

I write this listening to a ludicrous resolution being debated by more ludicrous and bloviating blowhards on both sides of the aisle in the US house of representatives each trying to preen and prawn to make their political agendas fit their job as LEADERS of our nation.

Sully goes deeper earlier on his post and as probably one of the most establishment figures in the place of the blog I find some of this disgusting.

The difference - and surely it's a relevant one - is that Murtha is now calling for withdrawal of troops the same week the Senate went wobbly. It seems to me it would be more helpful if Republicans and conservatives offered positive arguments for how to do better instead of attacking every critic as a wuss, unpatriotic, inconsistent, or worse.

No. No. and NO~!

When the opponents of the war are arguing "Bush lied, people died" and saying "No weapons of mass destruction" when over a million tons of enriched uranium get halled out of Iraq. Saying "we were mislead" an equally morally cowardly positions.

If the critics place a constructive argument about the war then it should be discussed constructively.But when the critics of the war are acting in a matter as partisan members of the dove-party seeking to attack a political leadership that is leading the war then they should be engaged in a constructive manner.

Murtha spent 37 years in the Marines. He voted for the war. But, unlike some, he kept his eyes open and he's reflecting genuine, real, patriotic worries about the war among many Americans. If he's worried, we all should be. It doesn't speak very well of the pro-Bush right that their first instinct is to ignore him and their second to dismiss him. But it's no big surprise by now, is it?

He acted on the partisan agenda of the House and Senate Democratic leaders to assault the war and to embrace the Anti-War ( at all costs) position. This is part of a carefully orchestrated campaign to work the media and try to get them to work their audience into marketing "A Vote for the Democrats is a vote for peace."

I know Andrew isn't unable to see that... I think Andrews loathing and hatred for the Bush team and anyone who feels how society deals with human sexuality different then he does has clouded his judgement.

A partisan hack, deserves an attack from another partisan hack and flack from still more partisan hacks.

Uncle Wally

I don't like the buisness model of Wal-Mart but right now I am poor and I use the buisness model of Walmart to benifit myself.

If I had more disposable cash I'd not shop at Wal-mart or sams.. but thats not in the cards.

So I look at the news that a second Wal-Mart sub contractor gets busted for hiring illegals and I call shenanigins.

Wal-Mart spokesman Marty Heires said the company would cooperate fully with federal authorities.
"We have written contracts with these subcontractors requiring that they follow all applicable local, state and federal employment laws," he said in a statement.

Bihzull Shiznit.

I own a factory and I deal with Wal-Mart I have a contract which forces me to have Wal-Mart ten feet up my colon.

Wal-Mart can dictate to me changes I need to make to my buisness model or I'll be dropped like a bad habit.

Wal-Mart deals with suppliers who are rumored to ( as the PRC doesn't seem apt to want to investigate) using intellictual property of others without compensation to make products sold in Wal-Mart.

So to say Wal-Mart doesn't do that to construction subcontractors is frankly absurd. To say that Wal-Mart's constant quest to get it done cheaper they will take an illegal route if that illegality with fines is cheaper then doing it the right ( and dare I say LEGAL) way.

In New Jersey as I pointed out they are making some changes by making the punishment an actual penalty to the crime.Its a shame the federal government doesn't do that.

Thats the only way I think at this point to curb some of the illegalities in Walmart....

I have good blogging instincts

***** Warning I may get into clinical body part commentary here.****
**** use of neutral he does apply in this post so no hippie gender pronoun complaints**

I just don't always listen to them. Last night watching some Fox news I saw a attrocious selling a christian based approach to sex ed. Starting at the age of 3....

yes 3. It is apperently the hot new trend in sex ed well it seems the NYT did a story on it which inspired Restless Mania to go at it as well.

So when In doubt why not start off with a group whose approach seems more reprehensible on this subject because they make the Christian-Sex Ed guy seem much more sane by comparison.

"People have been told by experts that there's a right age" to learn about intercourse, said Dr. Justin Richardson, a assistant professor of psychiatry at Cornell and Columbia medical schools and an author of "Everything You Never Wanted Your Kids to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid They'd Ask)," one of a number of recently published guides that advocates early tutelage.

"If you're talking about how babies are made, there's no age at which it is harmful to learn that the penis goes into the vagina," he said. "Yes, it's true that exposing a child to sexual stimulation is harmful. But telling a kid how babies are made is very different."

*ahem* How is this not exposing kids to sexual stimulation? Honestly know boys and girls. You are giving them the road map and as the article talks about sexual implications in culture... it means kids as young as 3 can "get" the joke now. The Christian guy advocating this approach ( though not the same regimine) talked about trust building with kids and talking about how a part of the mommy and a part of the daddy help to make a baby and that it is a gift from god. He talked about teaching the morality with the sex ed at the early age.... his approach seems more sane.

But back to the begining of the article....

THIS September 3-year-old Halley Vollmar of Bellmore, N.Y., was having her annual checkup when her pediatrician paused. "I'm going to check your peepee now," he warned, and tugged down her underwear. But Halley protested. "Mommy, why he call my vagina a peepee?" she scolded, telling the startled physician he was a "silly doctor" before allowing him to proceed.

Ok two things here....

#1) This theory is all about proper names. Well PeePee is more general but the doctor might have been checking the urethra and not the vagina. Its this kind of subtlty which is why going into to much anotomical detail with kids isn't such a gang busters idea.

and -much- more importantly

#2) You and your ped are a team.

I had a similar experience when I was little. I was hugely prone to accident and injury. I once flipped out when the doctor said he was using a magic needle and thread. This was the ER doctor and not my regular doctor so my mother explained that I was a bright boy who knew a great deal about medicine and that approach kind of spooked me

( and IIRC this wasn't my first time being patched up in an ER so I was more exposed to this)

Now the doctor you take your kid to for a normal regular check up... he should be some one you clued in on " I want my kids to have a bit more knowledge about their body then other parents."

So this story is really a sign of hugely bad parenting here. Also when you teach little Halley about her body parts you should teach her that not everyone teaches it this way. So you can also begin to teach the child at an early age respect for others.

However why use good parenting when instead people can continue to use fad parenting....

If not, these advocates warn, children will gather their impressions anywhere and everywhere: from prime-time television jokes about threesomes, Internet pop-up ads for penis enlargement pills or even more explicit Web sites. When the Rev. Debra Haffner's son typed "Katrina images" into Google's search box for a school project, he ended up staring at photographs that had nothing to do with the hurricane, said Ms. Haffner, a Unitarian Universalist minister and the author of "From Diapers to Dating."

Here i find myself closer to the minister who was buying into this idea on fox.

You need to have your kids trust you to give them good information. You need to be there for them. So instead of starting on Sex you need to start the kid into a situation where when confronted by things like this and getting confused he knows he can come to mom and dad and get the straight answer.

Also you should when you sit little susie on your knee and show her the interweb you tell her how to avoid bad places on the internet... because just like life their are bad people out there who will do bad things to you. And the best way to stop them is to avoid them

I had a psych class and the prof was talking to us about sex ed with kids. And he said you should tell the child information (1) when they ask for it and (2) at a level that is appropriate for them.

Sadly this new movement seems to be working to saw off #2

Great googly moogly

I didn't get on the Rep. Murtha pig in a poke because well... other bloggers beat that horse until it became a pile of goo, then proceeded to beat it some more. But just when I thought I was out on a story UPI pulls me back in....

By MARTIN SIEFF
UPI Senior News Analyst

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- On Thursday, a Democratic national politician for the first time managed to do what former Vice President Al Gore, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, their running mates and more than $150 million of Democratic consulting and campaign resources signally failed to do in more than five years and two national elections: He mauled President George W. Bush.

"The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It's a flawed policy wrapped in illusion. The American public is way ahead of the members of Congress," said Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania as he called for an immediate U.S. withdrawal from that country.

"The United States and coalition troops have done all they can in Iraq. But it's time for a change in direction," Murtha said. "Our military is suffering. The future of our country is at risk. We cannot continue on the present course. It is evident that continued military action in Iraq is not in the best interest of the United States of America, the Iraqi people or the Persian Gulf region. "

Murtha's blistering speech Thursday could have been easily shrugged off if it came from Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, the late Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, or even Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. But Murtha had been gung ho for the war and accepted the intelligence evaluations at face value that were presented to Congress arguing the necessity of it.

Dear Marty;

Their is this great website called "GOOGLE" I hear you can do wonderful things like look up old news stories.. you know ones like how Murtha made a almost identical speech last year and has been hesitant about the war since 2002....

Sincerly,
The Interweb(aka the timmy)

But you look at this Analysis and it has a very very clear theme "The President is in trouble"... An analysis needs to be based on facts which lead to a conclusion not a conclusion which leads to facts.

THIS is why the President has a low approval raiting. A media which is clearly playing "the anti-war party" better then the Democrats....

But the farce grows in this article.

Now, he has transformed the political dynamics of the Democratic Party. He is the first prominent Democrat since former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean in his meteoric lightning rise and fall in 2003 to early 2004 to attack the president head-on on Iraq. In January 2004 in the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, Democratic voters overwhelmingly repudiated Dean's bold stand against the war and not a single leading Democrat since has dared to oppose it outspokenly and consistently.

Huh... Are you High? What about Nancy Pelosi? Or Kusy Kusinich? Or Russ Feingold?

I am sure if I actually made an effort Marty I could find prominent Democrats who since the war started have been consistantly against it or Critical.

But He says this after the Reid-Pelosi one/two punch on the war makes this comment truely pathetasad. He thinks people who read this ( and since it is mostly going to be in newspapers or blogs making fun of him...) won't remeber back a few weeks.

How stupid does he think people are?

Apperently... very stupid

But Murtha, who has no presidential ambitions -- at least not so far -- has smashed that consensus and that taboo. And he did so only weeks after the indictment of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice president Dick Cheney's longtime chief of staff in the Valerie Plame leak case, and within weeks of the U.S. military death toll in Iraq finally breaking the 2,000 barrier

Murtha's speech was the third of three political body blows to hammer the president in this, yet another "black" week for he man who just a year ago was reelected to a second term with more votes than any American had ever received in history.

Look at how ham handed he is painting the strokes of that brush all the media events such as the libby endightment ( which is now blown apart by Bob Woodward's testimony that he heard Valerie Plame's name from a former white house offical well before Miller did thus ruining the time line) and the artifical marker of the 2000th death.

Its like he is trying to build some obscene chain of dominos to try to negate the reality of Bush's election.....

However the stupidity grows in his article and his disrespect for the reader increases to truely monumental scale.

In the first months after the rapid occupation of Iraq, Hagel was looked down upon by the GOP rank and file as a wild, romantic maverick, and even during the first year of the occupation of Iraq as the insurgency there slowly but inexorably took hold in the Sunni Muslim areas, he was still seen as an isolated eccentric by most of his fellow GOP senators.

Thats right folks... he can't even lie and call Hagel a defector to the cause... but he paints the fact Chuckie still doesn't support the president and made more speeches about it as something that matters.

This is a political hatchet job with one thing in mind -destroy the president- UPI should have made this an editorial or commentary

at least then they could have some respectibility

More Airline security stupidity

Air Line security is stupid... doesn't really do anything that would have stopped terrorists, let alone doing anything to stop new and inventive terrorist attacks.

The Lie detector; something which has failed to detect every single Spy for a foriegn power in the CIA and FBI

What is better then one stupid government Idea, why combine two of them.

The software will almost always pick up uncontrollable tremors in the voice that give away liars or those with something to hide, say its designers at Israeli firm Nemesysco.

"In our trial, 500 passengers went through the test, and then each was subjected to full traditional searches," said Chief Executive Officer Amir Liberman. "The one person found to be planning something illegal was the one who failed our test."

yet some one who is sociopathic and feels his cause is just will make it through just fine

good job fella's I am sure the Fascists at thte TSA will order 10 for every airport in America to further dehumanize people

Random Mr. T facts... a twisted site

I found this fact so disturbing i decided to share it with ya.

...and now a random fact about Mr. T:

Mr. T and Lawrence Taylor were once the sucka-fighting superteam T< until Mr. T found out that LT smoked crack. Mr. T pities the fool who smokes crack cocaine. LT got so mad when he was pitied that he went and broke Joe Theisman's leg

"That's just mean"

Hey lets go to lilith fair

Isis Indeed, you are 83% erudite, 79% sensual, 41% martial, and 33% saturnine.

This Egyptian supreme Goddess is certainly the most influential deity on subsequent cultures. She was the ideal figure of womanhood, usually compared with the Greek Goddess Demeter or her Roman version, Ceres. Isis was one element of a Holy Trinity, the remaining two figures being her brother and husband Osiris and their heroic son Horus. She was the Goddess of Magic for her brilliance, as well as the Goddess of Love because of her tenacious devotion. She is often shown with wings, curving to caress coffins and sarcophagi of many a king. In certain papyri she is shown with her falcon wing headdress, covering her ears. One of her sacred symbols is the sistrum, a musical instrument that was believed to ward off evil spirits. Isis' sistrum was carved bearing the image of a cat and was representative of the Moon. Isis was the High Priestess and an omnipotent magician as well as the only being ever to discover the secret name of Ra. She invariably carries the ankh, the symbol for eternal life. Her name is, by the rules of numerology, adding up to the number �2� and she just so happens to be depicted on the tarot card �Key 2 � The High Priestess�. The Fifteen Goddesses These are the 15 categories of this test. If you score above average in � �all or none of the four variables: Neit. � Erudite: Minerva. � Sensual: Aphrodite. � Martial: Artemis. � Saturnine: Persephone. � Erudite & Sensual: Isis. � Erudite & Martial: Sekhmet. � Erudite & Saturnine: Nemesis. � Sensual & Martial: Hera. � Sensual & Saturnine: Bast. � Martial & Saturnine: Ilamatecuhtli. � Erudite, Sensual & Martial: Maeve. � Erudite, Sensual & Saturnine: Freya. � Erudite, Martial & Saturnine: Sedna. � Sensual, Martial & Saturnine: Macha.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 67% on erudite You scored higher than 50% on sensual You scored higher than 12% on martial You scored higher than 7% on saturnine

Link: The Mythological Goddess Test written by Nitsuki on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

The new South Park episode rocks

Matt and Trey have been my hero's for some time but the new episode helps take the cake.

They took out the glove and smacked it across the face of scientology. And they have now put themselves in a position to be sued by scientologists as so many small time websites have been.

And if the challenge Matt and Trey put out isn't answered then we know the lawsuits against the numerous sites out there who put out anti-scientology messages are attempts by a powerful organization to strike those who don't have vast resources.

Matt and Trey show solidarity with our cause... kick ass :-)

Old post response II

Going after Henry again ( hey I’d have posted this earlier if you track backed)

Sometime, though, leaks are necessary. Especially when our government is doing things which are not good. The leak of the Pentagon papers was a good thing. The fact that the US is operating what appears to be illegal detention centers is also a good thing.
Now, someone might argue that both leaks are harmful, and they are free to do so. However, even then, a breach of security simply to silence dissent, and a breach to expose inappropriate dealings by our government are oceans apart.

What would be great is if Henry read my point
Now, by going after a story about a leak the media has now slit their collective throats as any leak containing sensative information will soon be tight lipped. This time it isn't a president that kills off deep throat but the media themselves.
I have no problem with leaks because unfortunately they are a bi-product in a free society. But if you think the Plame case where no one was hurt (due to her exposure by actual leaks to foreign intelligence agencies) vs. a case where US personnel are in danger –is- different.
But my concern is the fact the media and the democrats by doing this prevent any leaks of *REAL* problems in the government. In other words real problems now won’t be leaked because of some people’s chasing after the Plame case.

They ruined the need for good public leaks for everyone.

Old post response I

Plugging around Truth Laid Bear I found this site which had taken some issues with some of my posts. So… had this guy tracked them back I could have had a nice current post exchange going but instead we need to turn on the way back machine.

My original comments are in bold Henry’s words are in Italics and my current words are in normal text

I’m not sure what Larry is doing in this post.

Well what I was doing was dealing with a multiple series of stupid political thoughts that all came together with the vote on ANWR by the house which several other right of center and left of center bloggers were talking about.

After the defeat ( again) of ANWR drilling I'd like to hear all those on the left who complain about having no power to please be silent. Once again with those people who don't toe the party line in the house you proved you have the power.

So, the left is in power? So the GOP is so weak members are easily conned by the left into voting a certain way. Or, maybe, drilling in the ANWR (at least, at this point) is a bad enough idea that it’s not just those on the ‘left’ who are against it.

My point here was that the far-left and the leadership of the house democrats say “We can’t do anything.” But the fact with the ANWR vote and now two separate budget votes they –have- gotten what they wanted accomplished. Instead of selling a message of political impotence the leftist leadership promotes they should try to –make- an actual agenda happen.

And when it comes to big spending while you like to blame the GOPerS you know darn good and well more of your team votes for the out of control spending then ours does.

Ummm, the GOP controls the house, senate, and Whitehouse. I’m not sure how it’s still the ‘liberals’ who are responsible for out of control spending. Oh wait, that’s right,. We’re able to bend the will of the GOP, which means you can kiss those tax cuts goodbye.

Large group of Pro-spending democrats + slightly smaller group of Pro-spending republicans + President who refuses to veto anything = Budget mess.

Not sure that is a problem.
The point is Dean and many other national Democratic figures are trying to sell their party as the party of Fiscal discipline… but they haven’t acted any better then the republican leadership. Only turks outside the leadership have made any major effort to actually –get- spending under control.

We have more barrels of oil coming in to this country then we have the capacity to refine.
If we increase the amount of oil we get we STILL won't increase the amount of usable product we get. So as much fun as drilling and using more domestic US oil capacity can be.... their is another important part of the capacity.
-snip-
Before we pop the cork off in Alaska lets make sure we actually can USE the oil first and more importantly that we need it.
He snipped out my going into specifics about the lack of refinery capacity to deal with ANWR or other US domestic petroleum reserves.
Wait, so not drilling is a good thing? Then why start off pointing out how the ‘left’ has power, instead of acknowledging the GOP for doing the right thing?
Conservatives are so hard to understand...
Because instead of saying “lets get more refinery capacity so we can make oil prices lower” these Republicans said “lets not get more refinery capacity and not drill for more oil.” It’s called –Philosophy-. As I said I pointed out the power of the democratic leadership to point out their inability to deal with the realities of power, and I pointed out the republican leaders were wrong for the wrong reasons.
Henry wasn’t able to understand because it was a nuanced opinion of things.

Another Democrat made good story

In New Jersey a Democratic State senator has done good

State Senator Ellen Karcher is sponsoring a bill that would permit county prosecutors and New Jersey's Attorney General to seek damage fees against corrupt developers and use those fees to help repay the municipalities for the cost of corruption.

The bill would allow prosecutors to pursue monetary damages from developers convicted of bribing public officials in an effort to get approval for developments. Under the measure, developers could be charged with the crime of public corruption during a criminal trial. If convicted, they could face penalties of three times the value of any property involved in the crime, with an extra assessment of up to $500,000, depending on the severity of the crime. If the bill becomes law, fees collected from the corrupt developers would have to be reinvested in the municipality to offset any property tax increases caused by the development.

If this passes the fines can exceed what you would have made in the crooked deal.

I think if the state legislature doesn't do this then it spells out just how corrupt New Jersey is

Things I have learned

I have learned some things in Larry's big college adventure so I felt like sharing them with you all.

1. I really don't deal well with professors using classes to evangelize their politics ( something I'll be dealing with more and more)
2. I really don't like not-working-.... Only thing I like less then not working is working in a crummy job. Every saturday when I work what I have that passes for a Job I feel good about the whole process. Even preparing for it helps a lot
3. I like not living with my mother... a lot
   
4. I also like having a home that is more mine to crash out in
5. Raman noodles aren't that bad
   

Go take a look at Day by Day

For those of you who aren't familiar with the strip i highly suggest you see today's The Passionate left winger marketing person and her boyfriend the conservative black man have a very intresting interplay here. Not the sort of thing you see in many strip format comics.

It came from the email box....

Another segment when I the host of this blog show you stuff I get in my email box

-----------------------------------------------------------
U.N. CLAIMS U.S. SOCIAL SYSTEM VIOLATES HUMAN RIGHTS
By UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
World Peace Herald
-----------------------------------------------------------
Problems with U.S. social benefit systems impede people struggling to overcome poverty, the United Nations said.



High health care costs and lack of low-cost housing exacerbate poverty and this can be seen as a human rights abuse, concluded a 17-day fact-finding mission by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights Tuesday.



"Resource constraints have limited the reach of the assistance programs, and social discrimination has aggravated the problems in many situations resulting in poverty clearly seen as a violation of human rights," said Arjun Sengupta, the independent expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty of UNHCR.



The purpose of the mission was to learn from the U.S. experience in addressing its income poverty, human development poverty and social exclusion.



Sengupta's tour included New York urban areas, immigrant farm workers in Florida and hurricane-devastated New Orleans.



The mission's purpose was to show extreme poverty is a societal problem that occurs irrespective of the level of income of a country. Poverty is not only a problem of poor developing countries but a phenomenon that is found in most countries in the world, including the United States.



With higher per capita income levels than any other country, the United States also has one of the highest incidences of poverty among the rich industrialized nations. Some 37 million Americans, 12.7 percent of the U.S. population, lived in poverty in 2004. Some 45 million people were without health insurance coverage and 38 million households experienced food insecurity. There is a significant disparity in poverty between African-Americans, Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites, said UNHCR.



"If the United States Government designed and implemented the policies according to the human rights standards much of the problem of poverty could be resolved," said Sengupta in a statement.

Why I support the WAR in Iraq part I of XX

Why I support the War in Iraq Part One of XX
(Any fans of white wolf game system know what page XX means)

I think with all the Liberal backbiting and wailing about the war it is useful for those of us who think the war was a good idea to come out and talk about why we think it is a good idea.

So let me add in a caveat if you will. I believed (and semi-believe) Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. What he had it turns out was more based on in poker terms what he was “representing”. The evidence shows Saddam wasn’t just accidentally having dual use industries around. And some things like the 1.7 million tons (I think it was) of enriched uranium should make it clear that their was something there. But a silver bullet secret room with nuclear missiles ready to strike… that never existed. But neither was their true absence of something. But to me –personally- It was never the main reason to be for the war.

My major reason for being in favor of the war in Iraq was that Saddam Hussein was a very bad man… Yes the reason is pretty simple but the logic behind it isn’t.
Saddam Hussein brutalized his political opponents and committed acts of genocide and more general “ethnic cleansing.” This isn’t a matter that can be disputed. This is pure and simple “the facts”. Saddam Hussein bribed media outlets outside his country to portray him in a favorable light and held absolute sway over his own media. Also not something anyone can dispute and be honest about. Saddam committed wars of absolute aggression for territorial gain without anything remotely resembling a “just cause.” Again this quite simply is fact. Saddam sponsored (softly) terrorism in Israel and hardly in Iran. This again is more things that are absolute fact.

There are two ways to deal with dictators that cause problems in the world. One way is to try to pressure them softly to get back on the winning team and be “normalized”

This approach worked with situations like SPAIN and LIBYA. This also worked with the Egyptian government to a point. But in the end these leaders have to be fairly rational.

We take a look at folks like the regime in North Korea, Saddam Hussein, and Adolph Hitler. These dictatorial regimes all fueled the ego and narcissism of the leader. It was about stealing from people. While Gaddafi isn’t a nice man and certainly has enriched himself as a dictator… he has not been a narcissist about it. He hasn’t entered a sociopathic “I am god and can do whatever I want” stage with the lives of other people. So we can draw a line though as we approach the line things may break down a bit. On one side of the line are ok leaders (or at the least tolerable) and the other are people who “gots to die”. In those cases that can be more grey (take Saudi-Arabia and Pakistan) we can take a look at the real changes made and their willingness to be influenced to change to put it on the list.

So: If you murder masses of your civilians for political reasons or worse for flippant and psychopathic reasons (as Saddam and his sons did) then that should mark you for the world’s worst pressuring influence –war-. If war isn’t on the table then to my mind and my personal morality we are buying our western lifestyle on the blood of those people who suffer.

Now Do I think this should be just the United State’s duty absolutely not. But the reality is the United States is one of a very small number of countries (and getting smaller every year) that believes we have an obligation to remove evil people. The French were so cuddly with Saddam it gives me the jibblies. They were cuddly over business interests as were the Russians and the Germans. The only case of such Hypocrisy the United States has atm is China. And that really doesn’t count because right now China almost has the same world destroying power we do.

If the power to destroy the world means you are free from political consequence, then it explains why evil men like Saddam seek WMD. They seek it because they know that power leads to their own ability to freely do that which is evil. Murdering anyone small and large in scale. Brutally torturing a man to death and sending his body back to his wife because you “promised” to return him to her that day. Ordering the rapes of women who might be disloyal… the acts he committed are those of the worst psychopath. The problem is few psychopaths get countries.

And rare is the international will to stop them. And for every Stalin and MAO who shield their evil under the cover of Armageddon there are lesser men like Saddam, Pol Pot, Kim Jung Il, Mugabe, and a host of others that no one would really weep for their death.

Men who clearly are not fitting a normal sense of rational actions and who can and do murder whole percentages of their population must be removed. It is a moral imperative. The United States right now is the strongest nation who views this as morally right

People in an oppressive regime in the scope of a Hussein Regime can’t overthrow things. Because they execute a strong enough grip of terror over the populace…. And if a Dictator cannot be talked into reducing his terror (say a Syria or a Ukraine) Freedom cannot take hold through peaceful action.

War should be used to remove those stubborn weeds that cannot be removed or changed in some other way. We can debate if Saddam could be removed another way (and I will later) but this to me is the moral slam dunk on the war. American soldiers are dying to prevent a new genocide in Israel from a Iraq (and to a lesser extent Syria and Iran) We won’t see a Saddam resume his ambition to become the leader of a Pan-Arab state spreading his evil over many. This is preventing a bigger problem, and I tend to view it as better to loose a few thousand Americans now then lose tens of thousands of Americans later in a war that is as just as say WWII in the eyes of many

This is my first reason

The Slippery Slope Slips again

Those of us who aren't keen on gay marriage point out ( and often get bashed) for the "slippery slope" theory of life. And just like the polygamy in the Netherlands we keep seeing a slip slip slip

While the bill would keep bestiality technically illegal, it gives the option of less severe penalties. Previously, those convicted of "a sexual act on an animal" could receive up to 20 years in prison.

Explains the local weekly: "The new measure would give activist judges the option of slapping perps with a mere two and a half years in plush local jails, or even letting zoophiliacs walk with a $5,000 fine."

It -LOOKS LIKE- from reading the bill this is an effort to reduce criminal acts of sodomy. This however means people could in theory boink a bunch of chickens and the judge could give him no jail time and a fine.

Its the next chink in the armor of society that translates sexual mores into law.

Now hopefully some one can explain to me why raping an animal isn't a serious crime I'd like to know.

Now -admitedly- this IS a worldnetdaily story so they may be omitting key information.... but i think this is a rush to decriminialize all sodomy and is frankly to much sensativity and tolerance.

To Quote Maddox:

"If these words were people I would support Genocide"

Not content for Metro-izing our sexuality now people are metro-izing spirituality

most of your answers are yes, then count yourself among the growing numbers of metrospirituals—the kinder, gentler post-Yuppies who want to treat the earth and native cultures with respect, connect with their inner source and inspiration, test their bodies and expand their minds with ancient physical practices—and do it all with serious style.

These words all bother me when strung togther in a sentance. So let me pick some of the wonderful aspects of "Metro-izing something that is just a bunch of hippie yuppy garbage"

Jim Twitchell from U of F leads us off.

The sensations of luxury mirror the sensations of epiphany—the ability to give the consumer the sensation that I’ve come to the end of the line, I’m saved, I’m there, I don’t have to wrestle any more." The metrospiritual takes luxury-buying to a new level--reaching outward for connection to the planet and to each other.

You see he is leading off by saying "Luxury and consumerism replace religion" but the author of this belief net article doesn't get the joke... but I do and I find it very funny

Some Marketing shlub moves on with the next line of unintended Irony

"There’s lots of desire to be spiritual and have more meaning than a commercial, purely secular lifestyle provides. And there’s a smorgasbord of product offerings that have gradations of spirituality woven into them."

"Product offerings" and personal favorite "Gradations of spirituality" so you see again we are saying the vapid yuppies and vapid neo-hippie douches instead of trying to be spiritual look for products to be spiritual. They don't want a god that is just in some building they want god that has lots of offerings for life.

They want amway god.

Whole foods ( which is putting smaller actual useful health food stores out of buisness) shows the borgian influence of boomerisms on the "lifestyle" of metro-toolism

Metrospiritual companies that practice what they preach believe that popular, profitable products and social responsibility are not mutually exclusive propositions. Whole Foods, an emblematically metrospiritual company, is in the midst of a massive expansion of its $3.9 billion business. Not surprisingly, the Whole Foods web site echoes the now-familiar mantra, "We believe in a virtuous circle entwining the food chain, human beings and Mother Earth: each is reliant upon the others through a beautiful and delicate symbiosis."

Why buy your health food product at a special health food section of a regular grocery store when you can buy it at our store and pay more. But we promise to pet mother earth and call her george.

You don't see these tree hugging douches actually growing vegitables at home.. nor does the beliefnet quiz talk about that in where you get your fresh produce ( which shows how much this "lifestyle" is superficial because growing your own food and hunting your own food IMHO is the most spiritual way to get food)

but the Belief net author now goes in and embraces the vapidity of the lifestyle he is talking about himself....

One of the first things to catch the eye is a waist-high white Buddha-like sculpture. Not knowing quite what it was, I asked a sales associate, who didn’t immediately know the answer, but was extremely pleasant about it. We consulted a book on Buddhas, and when that didn’t help, asked another associate, who proclaimed it Ganesh, the elephant god, being held by his mother. Whether or not this is ultimately right, does it matter? It’s Indian, it’s expensive, and a lot of people have believed in it for a very long time, probably with very good reason.

#1) It is from India-thus superior to western spirituality-
#2) it is -expensive-
#3) people have believed in it a long time.

And in a store that sells these items to vapid people trying to embrace a spiritual system that is so hip and foriegn the first guy didn't know....

but again more irony abounds

" With all the new folks flocking to his studio every year, isn’t there a danger that the ancient practice will get diluted by commercialism, killed by its own popularity? .....What is unsaid here is that yoga can be awfully expensive (a 30-class pack at Jivamukti is $345, not to mention the $50 yoga mat and $70 Nuala yoga T-shirt, designed by metrospiritual supermodel Christy Turlington), so in order to get that healing you need a fair bit of disposable income.

oR ... I dunno you can just use a cheap mat a regular tee shirt not designed by a super moder - and we all know that supermodels are the saints of our new spiritual age-

You know how normal non vapid rich people do yoga

nder the sweeping banner of exquisite and forward-thinking good taste, reign supreme. Gorgeous Reichenbach tea sets jostle for space with retro aprons and folkloric Christmas ornaments, all on perfectly distressed grey-green driftwood cabinets. As their web site puts it, "Never satisfied with the familiar, our buyers and designers are on a tireless quest for those simple objects that bring beauty to our daily rituals, deepen our experiences, and to put it simply—make life inspiring."

Translation "I want something that looks less waspy... to show how sensative I am."

Ya see.. again... I might be crazy here but decorating your house with things that look good and are reasonably priced might be better because you are being frugal and reserving income to do positive works. Your not trying to show off how hip and uber-elite you are.

and it ends with such a cop out

And what is fantasy but a funny kind of hope? In a time of political uncertainty, natural disasters, and terrorist threats, maybe what metrospirituals are really doing is holding out the hope that, through their personal practices and purchases, they are making the world a safer, more friendly, benevolent place. And who’s to say they’re not?

In other words " I hate consumerism but I want to make MY consumerism superior"

Utter bunk

and how did I score... why just a slight shot ( 13 point) above the low end tier of "metro-hippie-douche-ality"

10 - 18
You may lead a spiritual life, but your interests are more 1969 than 2005. You prefer an earthy lifestyle to the city chic way of life that metrospirituals follow. Metrospiritual values like preserving the earth and using natural or organic products are probably important to you, but you're more conservative about the way you reveal these values.

I consider anything that is food to be organic. And I consider anything not made in a lab natural.

That is not what dirty neo-hippies do

Something HIGHLY amusing I found

On the Corner..... the Sesame Street theme From English to Klingon to English

A day of the daytime star.
The clouds are compelled to commence fleeing, and are filled with dread.
I have a destination;
and there, because of the atmosphere, I am pleased.
Describe to me immediately
how to go to Sesame Street.

Describe indeed

Something neat I found

On a blog that was with me in a technocrati links section ( Captain Marlow) who just showed again why Free Trade can work

The kingdom's minister for commerce and industry, Hashim Yamani, signed the protocol of accession, which means that Saudi Arabia will become a full member on Dec. 11, just days before a big WTO meeting in Hong Kong.
Mr. Yamani told delegates that the "door has been opened for one of the largest free-market economies to become a member.
To join, Saudi Arabia agreed to scrap all economic boycotts and it pledged not to resort to any future discriminatory trade measures against the Jewish state, diplomats said.
Restrictions on foreign investment in banking, insurance, telecommunications and other service industries had also been an obstacle.
The Saudi protocol will allow foreign ownership of up to 60 percent for banking and insurance, and up to 70 percent for telecommunications.
Pascal Lamy, WTO director-general, said in the accession process Saudi Arabia "undertook important economic reforms, which it is fair to say have touched virtually all sectors of its economy."

As the WTO works on bringing in more nations in the middle east we can see a end to tensions with Israel around the corner.

This is the reason why I am thinking about redoing my focus in IR

Bill Clinton shows he are smart

In the midst of Hillary's solidarity with Israel tour Bill takes a shot at the boat

Speaking at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem on Saturday, Clinton acknowledged that the remark was "outrageous," but he cautioned that the Iranian leader was "not elected because of his hatred for Israel or the West."

Bill talks about economic issues in Iran... but the thing is his hatred for Israel was pretty well known. He didn't need to campaign on it to get the people who want to wipe Israel off the map to vote for him.

Bill's analysis is really weak here... sucks people actually paid to hear it

Hmmm the WIZBANG blogger awards

A link here huh I wonder why i posted this ;-)

Thanks Kitty

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Thanks for the Test Kitty

Now where's my whip

I saw this on the sundries shack

And while this article goes into Che Chic for babies I found this part much more disturbing

This week, Fairchild Publications is introducing a horrifying new magazine called Cookie—a sort of Lucky for the sandbox set, featuring $900 strollers and hair gel for 3-year-old boys (“have him rub no more than a quarter-size dollop”).

Anyone who buys hair gel for toddlers needs to have their money taken away ( the same thing with 900 dollar strollers) and have all that money given to me.

More French Duplicity in Iraq

Seems their may have been something else in the French mind's when they opposed the Iraq war ( Hat tip Instapundit)

One persistent Pentagon rumor, however, might explain why the French came to oppose the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. In December, 2002, a French staff officer visited the Pentagon with a proposal from his government. France would send 18,000 troops (about what they contributed in 1991) to join the Iraq invasion force. However, France wanted a specific area of occupation after the war, with full authority in that area for as long as Iraq needed to be occupied. The American State Department backed the French proposal, but the Department of Defense didn’t trust the French, and were suspicious of their motives.

#1) It is a RUMOR

so take that for what its worth. But with some of the questionable French buisness deals in Iraq mayhaps the frenchies wanted to be on the ground to excersise their old contracts with Saddam even after he was gone

food for thought

USF Board of trustee's to students: Bend Over

For some time I've wanted to blog about something in the Oracle ( or as we call it the Orifice) after some digestion of an old article that still irritates me TODAY is that day

$225,000-> This is what the State of Florida pays every university president.
$359,856-> Is what the President of USF gets paid.

Now I know you have to ask where does the money come from? Well USF has a foundation which does all sorts of great things. Like scholarships ( which I hope to get some of them) and new resources for the school so really that $134,856 a year is money that doesn't provide scholarships for students... it doesn't provide resources for students. It goes to a President who gets a Large, extraigant house for free. And gets various bills regarding its upkeep -also for free-

You see corperation CEO's get very large perks because their is this myth of a competative market. This same myth exists about a University President

“If we want to have the right people, we’ve got to pay them more than the state allows us to,” Dick Beard, chairman of the BOT, said to the Oracle in January. “We and all the other universities around the state do it the same way.”

You know who likes to run Universities? Senators, Congressmen, former governors, senior partisan operatives, cabinet members, and other elite people in our society.

They view doing something like this as a service to the community. And these people are ( yes virginia) very rich and have oppertunities for wealth very few people ever get.

A pay raise for a University President is for that reason just as much of a joke as a pay raise for a CEO. A university president gets oppertunities for new political offices, think tanks, corperate board, speaking tours, and tons of books. These opertunities are enough that the state minimum ( which is already in the top 1% of income) is good enough.

But hey whats a little greed right?

The Pravada here in the heart of temple terrace doesn't address this in the same way they would if a CEO of a corperation did that at the expense of employee job.

Because they are hypocrites.

Bill Frist: Continuing to slay his chances to run for President

Bill Frist does another wonderful job of running for president.

The proposal on the Iraq war, from Senator Bill Frist, the majority leader, and Senator John W. Warner, Republican of Virginia, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, would require the administration to provide extensive new quarterly reports to Congress on subjects like progress in bringing in other countries to help stabilize Iraq. The other appeals related to Iraq are nonbinding and express the position of the Senate.

Ok.... and how does making the war in Iraq ( politically) more like vietnam serve anyones intrest?

Oh right it doesn't.

And the more the military has to give TPS reports about daily combat operations we will see republican and democratic leaders providing political pressure in the great swamp of DC on the operational command structure.

Now don't get me wrong. You need to have congress periodically reign in the millitary because they are being stupid. This isn't it.

This turns the war into a football game and not into.... well a WAR.

But sadly this is part of the current congressional republican view that being slightly less on a given issue then the Democrats is how to be a political figure.

And Warner and Frist out and out say so

Mr. Frist said an important reason for the Republican proposal was to offer an alternative to the Democratic call for a withdrawal timetable. "The real objective was to get out of this timeline of cutting and running that the Democrats have in their amendment," he said.

Mr. Warner said he decided to take the Democratic proposal and edit it to his satisfaction in an effort to find common ground between the parties on the issue.

We need the republicans to go against this alternative.

We need frist to get cut off at the knees here.

Without congressional pressuring the Iraqi government is talking about 06 as a time they see a phase down of US and coalition forces as possible.

We have seriously strong military efforts bringign stability.

By taking the Democrat Lite stand the Senate leadership is taking a liter version of the mantra"Bush Lied/People Died, War for Oil, We made it worse so we should get out."

Its a failure in leadership and a failure in governance of the first order

We can trust the UN

When it comes to our Internet... I mean what could possibly go wrong?

Already, rights watchdogs say, both Tunisian and foreign reporters on hand for the summit have been harassed and beaten. Reporters Without Borders says its secretary-general, Robert Menard, has been banned from attending.

Civil groups also accused the government Tuesday of blocking access within Tunisia to a Web site devoted to a citizens' summit held in conjunction with the main U.N. event.

Oh yeah Repressive third world regimes

-THAT- Must be it.

I think the US has a great way to solve this problem. Make ICANN run the internet and make it the pawn of no government.

I think the seizure is in part linked to the fact the US government is willing to keep an ultimate dead man control over ICANN.

And I think If other countries are willing to pony up the amount of money US intrests have put into building the internet backbone then we can talk about sharing.

Saying "we want everything you paid for ... for free" Isn't sharing

The French Have Youths......

We have Halloween Pranks.

You ever look at the "peace" protests and see the folks in black with the black bandanas? Those virginia are anarchists. I have heard rumblings that these anarchists are part of a society of anti-war/anti-globalization anarchists.

Tommy Franks comes to speak at the school.... *IF* UT-D has a chapter of these canuckleheads then their -is- a link. But I'd imagine for the school to do that they'd have to investigate the "peace" movement at school..... and I don't see that happening

So we now see our "Youths"

I knew I would remember who they were and now I dug it up and found it ( god bless Wikipedia)

A black bloc is a group within a group of a left-wing oriented protesters, often dressed in black clothing and/or wearing masks or face-covering articles. There is a mistaken belief, especially among the mainstream news media, that the "Black Bloc" is an international organization of some kind, when in fact it is nothing more than a tactic used by some protesters. There may be several black blocs within a particular protest, with different aims and tactics. Black blocs tend to be Leftist, usually anarchist-aligned, and may also include situationists, communists and other radical Far Left groups. What defines a black bloc is not ideology but action in what is percieved as being self-defense and the defense of the larger group of protesters. They are named for the typically black garb they wear for uniformity (black being the colour of the anarchist flag). Many also wear masks and scarves over their faces, to avoid identification, to protect their faces against tear gas and pepper spray, and for symbolic purposes.

Here is a good image of some Black Blockers ( Thanks to wikipedia again)

Doom..Doom..Doom

Next time some one says "Man the ___ Is going to destroy the world" show them what happened to Acid Rain ( with minimal actual effort to cut it back)

Since 1970 there has been an 84 percent decline in emissions of sulphur dioxide and a 37 percent fall in nitrogen oxide emissions, the gases largely to blame for creating acid rain.

As a result, fish such as brown trout have begun to return to rivers and streams once polluted with

Yep... And that is with the "developing world" pumping more sulpherous coal into their plants folks

Hey folks some blogger dry spot here

I just have been having a trouble getting animated to talk on any point in the news or the sphere.

Not really feeling philisophical .... or political... or sharing of something personal

I am sure I can punch something up at some point here... Just not sure how long I'll be dry

Viking Chieftain You scored 55% Berserker, 78% War Chief

You are a Viking Chieftain, beloved by the gods you have paved the way for your personal fortune through battle and hardship. You have led many raids and are an exceptional warrior. You are wise beyond your time and tend to approach things with a clear mind, Many people know you, and respect you, Many of them would fight and die for you. In Viking times you would have been a very wealthy land owner with rich land, many men would serve under you and look to you in times of war for protection and guidence.

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 36% on Bloodlust You scored higher than 96% on Leadership

Link: The Viking Test written by Thorshammer246 on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Not a smart cookie....

This guy doesn't get the way the world works. Nor does socialized medicine... You see to me In a Capitalist America this guy's story would equal a huge pay day

Stimpson was tested three times in August 2002 at the Victoria clinic for sexual health in central London and the results showed he was producing HIV antibodies to fight the disease.

Stimpson, originally from Largs in Ayrshire, contracted the virus from his boyfriend, Juan Gomez, 44. He began taking vitamins and other dietary supplements to keep his body healthy in the hopes that this might fend off the development of full-blown Aids.

In October 2003, after impressing doctors with his good health, Stimpson was offered a new test, which came back negative. Further tests in December 2003 and March last year also proved negative.

and here is where the potential payday could be.

The trust said there had been several other cases of claimed “spontaneous clearance” of the virus worldwide, although it is not believed any have been proved. A spokeswoman added that the trust had urged Stimpson to return for tests, but that so far he had not done so.

Ummmmmm dude.... this could be a HUGE profit making thing for that guy. Tests, getting flown to labs all over the world

money and the chance to help cure people.

More on Dean ducking

Dem Chair Dean Ducks Last Second Joint MEET THE PRESS Appearance With GOP Chair Mehlman

The DRUDGE REPORT has learned from exclusive sources that Democrat Party Chair Howard Dean turned down Republican Party Chair Ken Mehlman’s last minute offer to appear together on NBC’s MEET THE PRESS this morning.

Moments before taping was to begin with host Tim Russert, Mehlman asked Dean outside the NBC studio’s green room: “There’s still time for us to go on together Governor.” Dean declined with a shrug of his shoulders and an uncomfortable cackle and then proceeded to walk away into the green room.

Thanks to Drudge for the above.....

But Why is Dean ducking out on the RNC chair? I mean if this was a presidential proxy Howard Dean would accuse them of being unwilling to face the truth

Hmmm I wonder Why this is

I saw This headline on Drudge

DNC CHAIRMAN HOWARD DEAN REFUSES TO APPEAR ON SET WITH RNC CHAIR DURING TOMORROW 'MEET THE PRESS', SOURCES TELL DRUDGE... DEAN ONLY AGREED TO BACK-TO-BACK INTERVIEWS ON NBC WITH RIVAL... DEVELOPING...

I wonder if it is any relation to this story I also found on drudge

Now, the latest financial numbers are prompting new doubts. From January through September, the Republican National Committee raised $81.5 million, with $34 million remaining in the bank. The Democratic National Committee, by contrast, showed $42 million raised and $6.8 million in the bank.

Naaaaaaaaaaaaaw

It Came from the EMail BOX

I made 11-11 a celebration for the death of terrorists... but this belated Veterans day email made me feel it needed to be posted.

Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn (1910-1995), assigned to the Fifth Marine
Division, was the first Jewish chaplain the Marine Corps ever appointed. The American
invading force at Iwo Jima included approximately 1,500 Jewish Marines. Rabbi
Gittelsohn was in the thick of the fray, ministering to Marines of all faiths
in the combat zone. He shared the fear, horror and despair of the fighting
men, each of whom knew that each day might be his last. Roland Gittelsohn's
tireless efforts to comfort the wounded and encourage the fearful won him three
service ribbons.

When the fighting was over, Division Chaplain Warren Cuthriell, a Protestant
minister, asked Rabbi Gittelsohn to deliver the memorial sermon at a combined
religious service dedicating the Marine Cemetery. Cuthriell wanted all the
fallen Marines - black and white, Protestant, Catholic and Jewish - honored in a
single, nondenominational ceremony. Unfortunately, racial and religious
prejudice was strong in the Marine Corps, as it was then throughout America.
According to Rabbi Gittelsohn, the majority of Christian chaplains objected to having
a rabbi preach over predominantly Christian graves. The Catholic chaplains,
in keeping with church doctrine, opposed any form of joint religious service.

To his credit, Cuthriell refused to alter his plans. Gittelsohn, on the other
hand, wanted to save his friend Cuthriell further embarrassment and so
decided it was best not to deliver his sermon. Instead, three separate religious
services were held. At the Jewish service, to a congregation of 70 or so who
attended, Rabbi Gittelsohn delivered the powerful eulogy he originally wrote for
the combined service:


Here lie men who loved America because their ancestors generations ago
helped in her founding, and other men who loved her with equal passion because
they themselves or their own fathers escaped from oppression to her blessed
shores. Here lie officers and men, Negroes and whites, rich men and poor . . .
together. Here are Protestants, Catholics and Jews together. Here no man prefers
another because of his faith or despises him because of his color. Here there
are no quotas of how many from each group are admitted or allowed. Among
these men, there is no discrimination. No prejudices. No hatred. Theirs is the
highest and purest democracy …

Whosoever of us lifts his hand in hate against a brother, or who thinks
himself superior to those who happen to be in the minority, makes of this
ceremony and the bloody sacrifice it commemorates, an empty, hollow mockery. To
this, then, as our solemn duty, sacred duty do we the living now dedicate
ourselves: to the right of Protestants, Catholics, and Jews, of white men and Negroes
alike, to enjoy the democracy for which all of them have here paid the price …

We here solemnly swear that this shall not be in vain. Out of this and
from the suffering and sorrow of those who mourn this will come, we promise, the
birth of a new freedom for the sons of men everywhere.


Among Gittelsohn's listeners were three Protestant chaplains so incensed by
the prejudice voiced by their colleagues that they boycotted their own service
to attend Gittelsohn's. One of them borrowed the manuscript and, unknown to
Gittelsohn, circulated several thousand copies to his regiment. Some Marines
enclosed the copies in letters to their families. An avalanche of coverage
resulted. Time magazine published excerpts, which wire services spread even further.
The entire sermon was inserted into the Congressional Record, the Army
released the eulogy for short-wave broadcast to American troops throughout the world
and radio commentator Robert St. John read it on his program and on many
succeeding Memorial Days.


In 1995, in his last major public appearance before his death, Gittelsohn
re-read a portion of the eulogy at the fiftieth commemoration ceremony at the Iwo
Jima statue in Washington, D.C. In his autobiography, Gittelsohn reflected,
"I have often wondered whether anyone would ever have heard of my Iwo Jima
sermon had it not been for the bigoted attempt to ban it."


The above was written by Michael Feldberg, the director of the American
Jewish Historical Society and appeared on www.jewishworldreview.com in February
2005.

Source:
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0205/iwo_jima.php3


Regards,
Walter Greenspan, SP/4
Corps of Engineers
U.S. Army Reserve
1967-1969

WTF~!!!!!!!!!

I plugged over to Dean's site and saw this. I had to read the story three times for me to grip the fact this is -apperently- real.

"I was like, 'Donna, I've never done anything wrong,'" Ogborn said. "I could never steal — I could never do anything like that. I don't have it in me."

But inside the back office, which had now become an "interrogation room," Ogborn's protests fell on deaf ears.

"She said, 'Well, they said it was a little girl that looked like you in a McDonald's uniform, so it had to be you.'"

having worked in fast food I'd have told the manager to go -f- herself right here. This is a normal part of things going sideways... abnormalicy shows up here

Ogborn was told to empty her pockets and surrender her car keys and cell phone, which she did. Then the caller demanded that Summers have Ogborn remove her clothes — even her underwear — leaving her with just a small, dirty apron to cover her naked body.

Summers says she never second-guessed what she was being asked to do, as she firmly believed the person she was talking to was a police officer. Ogborn says she trusted her manager to do what was right.

Ok... you see I could see the manager being ok with her surrendering things in her pockets

But Naked? What the ~#_)(*#@(_#* When do police strip people down before they are in jail? They DON'T. I am sorry this right here is the point where the sicko on the phone crossed a line from improbable to "Dude who is this really"

But... it gets worse.

"He [Bradley] takes the phone and they're telling him to have me do certain things and drop the apron," she said. "He wouldn't have any part of it."

Bradley walked out in disgust, leaving Summers with no one to watch Ogborn. Then the caller made an odd request, asking Summers to call her fiancé to have him watch the girl.

Ok..... Did any actual I don't know conversation happen with Mr. Bradley?

"Ummmmmmmmm are you guys filming a porn here? I mean seriously? This can't be real..."

No... 'Pperently not.

"I honestly thought he was a police officer and what I was doing was the right thing," said Summers. "I thought I was doing what I was supposed to be doing."

WHY would a police officer ask you to call your fiance to watch over a naked woman? What the h#!! is wrong with this woman?

At this point in the story it ceased to be amusing and I became shocked at the foolishness of these people.

Nix, a 43-year-old exterminator, began following the caller's commands, ordering Ogborn to drop her apron, bend over and stand on a chair.

Then — as ridiculous as it sounds — he told her to do jumping jacks to shake loose anything she might be hiding. Ogborn says that was just the beginning of two more hours of torment.

The demands became more and more bizarre. When Ogborn says that when she failed to address Nix as "sir," the caller tells him to hit her violently on the buttocks over and over. At one point on the video, Ogborn was "spanked" for almost 10 full minutes.

"He told me I was asking too many questions, so he was told to hit me," she said. "I just said, 'Please don't do this.'"

And what the h#!! is wrong with this man...... the only positive thing I think is the manager gets to realize her fiance is an outright tool and psycho.

Summers denies Ogborn ever asked her to call the police or that the girl pleaded with her.

Ogborn says that after more than three hours of dehumanizing treatment, Nix — again on the instructions of the caller — forced Ogborn to perform a sexual act.

The caller then told Nix to hand the phone back to Summers and instructed her to bring in someone else.

Again...... WTF? I mean her fiance is a f***ing rapist but what was summers in the room when this happened? Didn't she notice her boyfriend or the girl in the "just had sex" position

What the donkey loving christmas is wrong with these people~!

This time, she had Thomas Simms, a 58-year-old maintenance man who worked at the restaurant, get on the phone with the caller, but Simms refused to comply with the caller's strange demands.

"Tom told me, 'This man is asking … for her to drop her apron so I can see her without the apron,' " she recalled. "And I said, 'Do what?!' "

Summers frantically called her manager, Lisa Siddons, who the caller claimed had been on the other line all along. But when Siddons answered her phone, she said she'd been sleeping.

She just believed her manager was on the line? I am sorry but It strains my sense of reality that this woman can be that stupid.

Unless she is the "May I take your order" type ( we all remember those commercials.)

I am of the mind she may actually have been in on this... it seems to be to unbelievable that this woman is that stupid.

but sadly the story provides evidence that yes virginia she may be that stupid

At a McDonald's in Hinesville, Ga., a caller convinced a 55-year-old janitor to do a cavity search of a 19-year-old cashier, while in Fargo, N.D., a manager at a local Burger King strip-searched a 17-year-old female employee.

In Phoenix, a caller had a Taco Bell manager pick out a customer and then strip-search her. And police in Massachusetts had been looking for a man who called three Wendy's restaurants near Boston in a single day.

It saddens me that these people have all probably bred.

passing their defective DNA and life skills on to children.

And all of these stories put me in the mind of the real hero of this story Thomas Simms

"Tom told me, 'This man is asking … for her to drop her apron so I can see her without the apron,' " she recalled. "And I said, 'Do what?!' "

A shrink involved in this thing says something that I find incredulous also... yet, the evidence of other cases makes me think "Ok he might be on to something."

"Everything is by the book," he explained. "This is how you serve it. This is exactly how you do it. You follow the book — you're OK. I believe he picked fast food restaurants because he knew, once you got them away from that book, once it was something outside the manual or the procedures, they would be lost."

To which I would counter

"When has a cop asked you to strip naked?"

"Well... darn you win this round defense attorney."

Basic sense is defied in every point in this story yet people comply.

In a statement, McDonald's said, "We take this matter very seriously and through our training try very hard to warn employees about such schemes."

"If a man asks you to do a body cavity search of an employee with some soda syrup he probably isn't a cop."

I doubt this is (prior to this point) in training manuals because I couldn't fathom people being this unbelievably stupid.

People being this stupid Is beyond my ability to comprehend.

And now I go off to proctor an SAT with a bunch of kids alone in a building....

I am scared enough just having that happen, I don't know why any sane person would ever do any of this.

I had the same thought as the headline writer for FARK

When I saw the story about the meteorite I basically thought this

USA Today Cool 1,400 lb meteorite found in Kansas. In other news, baby found in nearby cornfield, adopted by local farmer and wife

Sully continues to miss the point

In his pathetasad attempt to smear Bush by quoting Lincoln.

Mark Neely, an admirer of Lincoln and a respected scholar, cites estimates that there were over 14,000 arbitrary arrests from the beginning of the war until its conclusion -- and this amounts to the staggering total of 1 in every 1,500 Americans.

But sully doesn't note the clear difference in Size and scope here and continues to miss the point.

"appreciate the danger ... that the American people will, by means of military arrests during the rebellion, lose the right of public discussion, the liberty of speech and the press, the law of evidence, trail by jury, and Habeas Corpus, throughout the indefinite peaceful future ...

Now look at Sully's words again

The questions before us, however, are: does the current situation approximate the crisis of the Civil War; and how "temporary" is our new war?....

We are applying emergency powers to the executive indefinitely. Our only recourse is to trust the president. After the past three years? You've got to be kidding.

He gropes blindly to find a justification to compare a imprisonment of maybe at the most 100,000 non us nationals to what in todays numbers would be nearly a quarter of a million us citizens.

He tries to make people who protested far from the war zone and spoke out against the administration as morally more deserving of a strip of their basic rights then people who fought against this country in a war...

I don't support the current White House policy but Andrew Sullivan's "hate on" for the President is really sad

(Gatha: Song 17.5)

(Zarathushtra says) These words I speak to the charming brides,

and to you, bridegrooms. Do bear them in mind.

Comprehend them with your consciences.

Master the life which belongs to good mind.

May you each win the other through righteousness.

It will, indeed, be a good acquisition for each of you.

(Gatha: Song 17.5)

Question for Andrew Sullivan

QUOTE FOR THE DAY I: "I fear you do not fully comprehend the danger of abridging the liberties of the people. Nothing but the sternest necessity can ever justify it. A government had better go to the extreme of toleration, than to do aught that could be construed into an interference with, or to jeopardize in any degree, the common rights of its citizens," - Abraham Lincoln, in the midst of a national insurrection. It's on page 523 of Doris Kearns Goodwin's wonderful new book, "Team of Rivals." The italics are in the original.

Has anyone told Andrew that Lincoln suspended the Writ of Habeus Corpus and threw people in jail in the north who tried to protest his political choices?

Nah.... He needs to hate on bush so why point out the irony of this.

**Update** Sully has a response

LINCOLN: The scoffing from the back row from my quoting Lincoln deserves, I guess, a response. Yes, I am, of course, well aware that he briefly suspended Habeas Corpus. It was re-reading about those years and decisions in Doris Kearns Goodwin's book that brought me upon that quote. Lincoln's decision is still debatable, but it was made at a time of national meltdown. My point here is that even Lincoln, in the most perilous political situation imaginable, still recognized the vital importance of defending the liberties that the Constitution is fundamentally constructed to protect. I have never heard president Bush extol the importance of civil liberties for Americans, and the need to guard against the criminal arm of government. It would be good to know that he even appreciates the trade-off. Maybe I've missed his defense of civil liberties for Americans. If someone finds a quote from him in that respect that isn't pro forma boilerplate, I'll gladly post it.

I am amused ( I wonder IF I wasn't the only one with this gripe)

nice to know Sully also ignores the fact Abe threw people in jail who politically disented against him in states like minnesota and new york no where near the battle field and susprended their habeus corpus

Protestors do not equal terrorists.

and I am also amused sully finds lincoln being hypocritical to his public statements superior to Bush not being a hypocrite

Karl Malone is the Man

( Thanks to Jawa and Fark)

Excerpts from Malone's conversation with Roggin: "I wasn't going to just write a check, and I didn't want to go to New Orleans where all the celebrities were going (to grandstand). I wanted to go where no one was, and that's why we went to Pascagoula.

Already at this point my respect for Karl Malone just went up 5000%

but he goes on and kicks it up a notch

(bam)

"We took six million dollars of equipment and most of the guys from my company (Malone Properties). But when we got there, they (federal officials) told us that because we wanted to work for free, we had to go home. That we needed a government ID number or a contract to haul out debris.

"I said to them, 'bullsh--', we took 30 pieces of equipment and traveled nine hours and we're going to clean up some lots before we leave. So I told them 'I'm getting on my truck, now try to get me off.' I had my security guys there and they tried to stop us but they couldn't - and we cleared 115 houses.

"Then they started to help us ... we had 46 trucks trying to keep up with us. I can't describe the scene. People were fighting over a pile of garbage."

I said to some one the Federal government would be doing something new to irritate me and this is it.

Some one who has the proper insurance and is a legit contractor in the #@(#*@# state of the disaster and wants to work for free

sign them up.

This is why the country has so many stupid problems because the government has no common sense

Some more perspective on 06

Over on GOP Bloggers

For those out there who don't remember history

Terry McAuliffe, following the 2001 election results said he saw "'a huge shift' in political momentum."

And The Washington Times reported that Democrat campaign officials predicted that their "two gubernatorial wins [on Election Day 2001] would be a springboard going into the 2002 midterm elections.."

We all know what happened in 2002...

I like many other bloggers

Feel the news networks should adopt the french strategy of hiring anchors like this

I know I'd watch more

2nd Dead Terrorist day

This time last year I declared today is a day to hold in honor for dead terrorists, thanks to the death of this man.

While terrorists are on the rise right now with strikes in Jordan we must remember that their are certain people who committ unspeakable evil and "They gots to die".

so now some good Dead Terrorist news

30 bombs found in dead terrorist's hideout

BATU, Indonesia, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Investigators found 30 recently constructed bombs in the mountain hideout on Java where a terrorist mastermind died.

Bombs that will never attack women and children ever again.

thank god he blew himself up

celebrate a terrorist death today to honor the fact Yasser Arafat was tossed in the lake of fire this time 1 year ago.

(She replies:) Him I shall emulate and choose,

an act which will be an honor

for the father, the husband, the settlers, and the family.

As a righteous woman among the righteous people,

mine be the glorious union of good mind.

May the Wise God grant it

for the Good Conscience for all the time.

(Gatha: Song 17.4)

Only in Canada folks....

An idea not only that is so canadian, but from hippie canada to

Vancouver councillor calls for non-profit brothel
Last updated Nov 10 2005 06:32 PM PST
CBC News
Vancouver's ruling civic party is putting some distance between itself and the comments of one of its candidates.

Tim Louis campaign brochure

Tim Louis campaign brochure
COPE City Councillor Tim Louis told The Vancouver Sun he's in favour of opening a city-owned brothel to help women trapped in the sex trade.

We will help them by ensuring that they do their sex work for the government.... that will sure stop them.

and with the best comment of a canidate for Mayor ever

NPA mayoral candidate Sam Sullivan was shocked by the suggestion. He says that the city needs to work to get women out of the trade and not keep them in it. He told the Canadian Press that he doesn't want to "get in the business of being a pimp."

"Sam Sullivan doesn't want to be a pimp"

French Media Bias

This is amusing:

“Politics in France is heading to the right and I don’t want rightwing politicians back in second, or even first place because we showed burning cars on television,” Mr Dassier told an audience of broadcasters at the News Xchange conference in Amsterdam today.

“Having satellites trained on towns across France 24 hours a day showing the violence would have been wrong and totally disproportionate ... Journalism is not simply a matter of switching on the cameras and letting them roll. You have to think about what you’re broadcasting,” he said.

It is amazing how much those same attitudes could be applied to the media in the states.

And some more news that surprises no one

Hello Sony; welcome to big lawsuit country....

Viruses Exploit Sony CD Copy-Protection
Nov 10 5:08 PM US/Eastern
Email this story

By MATTHEW FORDAHL
AP Technology Writer

SAN JOSE, Calif.

A controversial copy-protection program that automatically installs when some Sony BMG audio CDs are played on personal computers is now being targeted by malicious software that exploits the antipiracy technology's ability to hide files.

And this should be a lesson to any slimy reptilian company that sells spyware.

I really hope some one gets infected from this and can sue sony for a bazillion dollars.

And now for some news that surprises no one

This is just shocking.

SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Mike Tyson was questioned by police early Thursday after a television cameraman accused the former heavyweight champion of assaulting him outside a nightclub.

but what makes this story even better... in the "Mike Tyson-Train Wreck" sort of way

The 39-year-old Tyson held a news conference Wednesday asking the Brazilian media not to approach him at night.

I for one if I saw Mike Tyson in broad daylight would probably just leave his field of vision

Obligatory ANWR post

After the defeat ( again) of ANWR drilling I'd like to hear all those on the left who complain about having no power to please be silent. Once again with those people who don't toe the party line in the house you proved you have the power.

And when it comes to big spending while you like to blame the GOPerS you know darn good and well more of your team votes for the out of control spending then ours does.

Now..... Lets review one time

We have more barrels of oil coming in to this country then we have the capacity to refine.

If we increase the amount of oil we get we STILL won't increase the amount of usable product we get. So as much fun as drilling and using more domestic US oil capacity can be.... their is another important part of the capacity.

Now we also have regional fuel blends. about 13 or 14 regions have a specialized blend. One for each season... this in turn takes our already insuffecent Refinery system and makes it considerably worse.

Before we pop the cork off in Alaska lets make sure we actually can USE the oil first and more importantly that we need it.

Now exploration was also cut in the bill.. and thats silly. We can at least find out what is actually there

"Run its the President"

Ok I see this on a whole lot of blogs and on talk radio today so I want to spell something out about this meme

Balderdash!

If Bill Clinton couldn't help get a Democrat elected in NYC how George Bush could beat a heir to a popular incumbent or a canidate in a highly corrupt and highly democratic state is beyond me.

And lets face facts to; Kilgore ran a horrendously bad campaign. Postive themes are what the American people -want- and the Warner-Kaine line passed out a positive vision for Virginia. Kaine won because Kilgore ran more like Democrats have nationally on nothing but fearmongering.

Is Bush pretty unpopular... yeah he is. And why is that
-He hasn't forcefully advocated for the War in Iraq-

If Bush went to the American people and sold the Mission for what it is "Doing for Iraq and Afghanistan what we did for Germany, Japan, and South Korea" I think his poll numbers would Improve. If the proxies for the administration really layed out how things actually are on the ground we'd be doing better. The President isn't forcefully advocating for this? Why... I think the White House doesn't have the vision to sell the humane service we are doing in Iraq.

-Massive C-fing of major government projects-

Alan Freaking Alda defended it much better... and He doesn't even believe in it. We simply have an administration that doesn't have the vision to fight for a smaller government.

I think the Bush team was focused on getting elected, then getting re-elected.

I think Bush needs people who focus on keeping the torch going. Bush picked up the torch from Reagan but it is painfully clear the president doesn't understand the signifigance of handing the torch on to some one else.

And without a torch carrier the vision is faltering and thus the support of the president is lagging.

Bush needs to realize he will be a failure as a President if his agenda dies in 08.

Apples are Apples

The Brussels Journal goes into their message on the failure of the EU system. But in their message is a very important learning tool.

Ah, didn’t Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy say earlier that “20 to 40 cars torched each night” was the normal rate?

Yes, he did, but the official figures are generally understood to be underreported. As this discussion (in French) between firemen shows, when one car is set alight but two cars next to it are destroyed in the same fire, the statistics count it as only one case of car torching, not three. And when a car is set alight, but is not damaged beyond repair, it is not included in the statistics either. Hence doubling or tripling the official figure is not considered to be unrealistic. Some people even put the number at 50,000 “car-becues” per year. This is almost 140 in a “normal” night.

Mark Twain said something about Lies, D@mned Lies , and Statistics... this is a very true point. When it comes to domestic US crime stats the numbers often do not mean what they say. The infamous "more likely to be shot by some one living in your own home" stat is you are more likely to be shot by some one who lives within 500 feet of you.

Where did this stat come from you ask? why from Chicago....

500 feet in urban chicago puts entirely different demographics on the crimes then 500 feet from say Aurora ,Illinois.

In Japan a husband can kill his wife and child, then kill himself and all the deaths are classified as a "suicide"

People always want to say "We are the best" and they come up with ways to say it. The problem however is what my roomate and I call the ESPN effect because of the ludicrous stats many sports casters pull up ( which is at its worst on ESPN)

"The Pittsburgh Steelers are undefeated when at home on monday night football since coach Bill Cowher is at the helm.

Ok lets review... many teams don't make it to Monday Night football. So Undefeated on monday night football is a legitimate stat, but just barely

Undefeated at home: a pretty good stat.

Undefeated @Home on monday night football.... how many times have they had home monday night football games?

Undefeated @ home on monday night with Coach Cowher: an utterly meaningless stat.

Statistics can provide meaningful context when they are -used- in a meaningful way