December 2008 Archives

From GNN.tv

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Summary:

The recent Israeli attacks on Gaza which have taken the lives of over 300 Palestinians and wounded approximately 1,400 has drawn a response from Congressman and ex presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich.

Said Kucinich: Today I sent a letter to Secretary General Ban ki-Moon urging the United Nations to establish an independent inquiry of Israel's war against Gaza.

Kucinich believes the attacks are in violation of article 33 of the Geneva convention, which forbids collective punishment. Kucinich said that perpetrators of attacks on both sides should be brought to justice, but that "Israel cannot create a war against an entire people in order to attempt to bring to justice the few who are responsible."

Give him hell, Cynthia.  Obama has to live up to beating you.


The CNN reporter telling a bit more in depth reporting on the boat and such.

Times Square New Years

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If you missed it, the song that led out of 2008 was John Lennon's Imagine, and the song that led NYC into 2009 was (you guessed it) Frank Sinatra's New York, New York.

The crowd sang along on the out, but they seemed too busy to sing along with Frank.

I think I might go out to see what Ukiah New Years looks like.  I still have almost three hours.

It's gotten progressively more surreal as I moved west.  When I lived on the east coast, it was midnight.  Then when I moved to Dallas, it was only eleven when it was midnight there.  Then in Albuquerque, it was only ten.  Now, it's just nine o'clock, and pretty much the entire rest of the world has already celebrated (and many have woken up to the next day, actually).

Sizing up the mark

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Sociopaths never hesitate to exploit a vulnerability

Sociopaths divide the world into two groups of people: predators and prey. They are the predators; everyone else is prey.

There are no rules of engagement. There is no compassion for the vulnerable, no sympathy for the bereaved, no mercy for the innocent. Your weakness is their opportunity.

Do any of the following traits describe you? If your answer is yes, be aware that a sociopath will quickly figure it out and then use it to manipulate you.

Lonely
Insecure
Trusting
Successful
Aspiring
Trustworthy
Nurturing
Committed
None of the above

Lonely

If you're feeling lonely for any reason--an empty love life, a deceased spouse, a solo vacation--you might as well paint a bull's eye on your forehead. As Dr. Robert Hare says, "The callous use of the lonely is a trademark of sociopaths." They stake out singles bars, read the obituaries and troll Internet personal ads looking for opportunities to cash in.


Insecure

Are you a whiz at work, but lacking in social skills? Do you feel unattractive--perhaps a bit overweight? Is your self-esteem a little shaky? If you have any insecurity, any self-doubt, any feeling of inadequacy--and who doesn't--a sociopath will find it.


Trusting

Maybe you're not street-smart, because you always stayed away from the street. Maybe you avoid politics, even office politics. If you generally accept what people tell you, if you're at all naïve about the motivations of others, you're an easy target for a sociopath. Do you believe people are basically good? You better learn that there are exceptions.


Successful

Perhaps you're wealthy. Perhaps you simply have a good job, discretionary income and access to credit. From a sociopath's point of view, the more you have, the more there is to take. And the sociopath you run into may not be a common criminal. He may be your investment banker.


Aspiring

What do you want--college tuition for your kids, a comfortable retirement, maybe just a little excitement? A sociopath can cook up a plausible plan to deliver it. Even a get-rich-quick scheme will seem legitimate. Just don't expect to see your dreams come true.


Trustworthy

You're an honest, forthright person. You take your obligations seriously. You would never dream of taking advantage of someone--so when a sociopath takes advantage of you, you won't see it coming. If you play by the rules, know this: Sociopaths don't.


Nurturing

"Sociopaths have an uncanny ability to spot and use 'nurturant' women--that is, those who have a powerful need to help or mother others," says Dr. Robert Hare. These women often work as nurses, counselors and social workers. They tend to look for the goodness in others and overlook faults. Is that you? Watch out.


Committed

When you give your word, it's good as gold. You see yourself as a good wife or good husband, loyal to your spouse. You stay the course, even when it looks like you've made a mistake. A sociopath will understand, and keep bleeding you until there's nothing left.


None of the above

Perhaps you're tough enough or savvy enough to avoid the pitfalls listed above. Don't think you're immune. All kinds of people have been manipulated by sociopaths--including corrections officers and psychiatrists who know what they are dealing with. Even "honor among thieves" doesn't apply to sociopaths. Everyone is a target.


I've realized (I took the test) that I'm STILL a mark (scored a natural 32 on my old settings, but only a 19 in the new reality).

Now, I have to note that there are NO scores on this test potentially lower than 12 (yes, even those who appear to be your 'friends' are deceiving), so it's creepy results I'm looking at.

Still, I'm pretty sure that I've known folks of this sort over my life (Ai told me that I was fixated on my previous relationship-really, I'm fixated on the whole idea of relationship).  I did mention my ex as an example more often than the others, but then, I had a whole lot more of her to work with than the others.

But then, over this year, I've run into more nutzo women than I've done in years past (not like I've been looking for the past two decades).  I don't think I've met one so far in this *city* who was attractive, single, sane, and honest.

Here's more advice from the same site:

Defrauded by your sweetheart? 
Don't expect help from the legal system

Suppose Mr. or Ms. Caring turns out to be Mr. or Ms. Con Artist; now your bank account is empty and your credit cards are full. Suppose you summon the courage to complain to authorities--the police, the FBI, the banks that issued your credit cards. Will they help you? Don't count on it.

• Cops and prosecutors know that fraud is difficult to prove. If you had a romantic relationship with the person who defrauded you, you'll need a tremendous amount of proof to get beyond "he said, she said." And prosecutors may still simply decline the case.

• You could go to civil court, filing a lawsuit or for divorce. You could win. Then you'll have a judgment that you probably cannot collect--after laying out thousands of dollars in attorney fees.

• Did the cad run up your credit cards? Even if the court rules that fraud was committed, you are still responsible for the debt. Pay up.

Our society's legal and financial systems are based on people following the rules. Sociopaths do not follow the rules. Therefore, when it comes to dealing with sociopaths and the damage they cause, the systems are practically useless.

In reality, you have only one option: Learn to recognize the symptoms of a sociopath, and when you see them, cut your losses and get away. Because once you get caught in a sociopath's web of deception, you're on your own.


Yano, in the 'old days' they had 'debtors prison' where the offenders went to work off the offense.  If nothing else, it kept them away from the rest of us.  The current 'legal system' offers exactly zilch in this respect (in fact, one might construe that this current government was by, of, and for, con-men if one looked at that in detail).

War Ravaged Pshycoses

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The residents of the Shaat al Arab, a small bit of land at the Persian Gulf end of Iraq, have been in contended territory almost longer than there's been Muslims.

One year, they are Persian, the next, Ottoman.  It's hard enough to remember which language the government is in, let alone which flavor of religion to adhere to (or whether it Turkey and Iran or Ottomans and Persians).

Scientists have christened the particular type of schizophrenia that results, "Multiple Persianality Disorder".

Lists of Lists of Lists of ...

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I Would Have Guessed MUCH Higher

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There are only:

34,606

Mercant Marine (commercial) ships on earth.

Nation of Retards

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Yeah, I'm used to it by now, but it's still annoying.

People here don't actually read much, nor do they glean much out of what little they do read.  The idea that people might actually try to get news from other parts of the world is pretty foreign in the country of the New York Times.

However, I need to point out something.  The idiots in your churches who tell you that Israel is our 'friend' (based on some kind of Bible ideas), are misleading you.

Let's look at those 'biblical' concepts a little closer.  Yes, they are in the second diaspora, and this seems to be with cause.  If you recall, the reason that they were thrown out of the mid-east in the first place (by the Romans, as the Egyptians and Babylonians only borrowed them for a while) was PRECISELY because they couldn't get along (constantly fighting).

The temple that they lost WAS NOTHING LIKE A CHURCH.  People wax poetic about the idea of "God's Third Temple" but never consider what is planned for that building.

It's not like the Jews hang out there and sing songs about how great God is, yano?

They want to butcher animals and give the blood and fatty parts to God on a big pyre.

Now, how 'familiar' is that form of worship to you?  Ever really considered how totally fucked up the goal here is?  I bet that it won't ever come to pass (too many Jewish PETA members).

With that end in mind, one must also consider the path to the goal.

In the Bible (the Xian version) it's quite clear (if you are a dispensationalist) that the J-man will be re-arriving and setting up the Kingdom of God in Jerusalem.  And WHAT is his plan for the Jews?  Well, it's the 'Lake of Fire' for them, remember?  If they are really our 'friends' what kind of 'friends' are WE?

In fact, that point (that this 'Israel' was NOT set up by the Messiah/Mosiach, but by the UN) is one of the reasons that many of the Hassidic Jewish community in NYC (yano, they guys with the sideburns?) reject Israel as an abomination.  For more info, see:


In fact, the photo from the main page of the last site is just precious:

December 28, 2008:  Anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews joined 1500 people in New York City marching in protest of the bombings and massacre in Gaza.


I bet some whacked-out Israeli rabbi declares them a bunch of mosers.

And in spite of the fact that the UN created the problem (by setting Israel up to start with) WE don't let them fix it (we veto everything bad about Israel, like we just did again).  And people here wonder why the rest of the world hates us.  Hmm.

So, we have a bunch of people sent in by an authority of questionable ability to re-take land that their forefathers took by force (repeatedly).  They have a religious goal, and they believe that their actions are 'blessed by God' (though the most they'll say is 'G-d').

If you recall, these are the same people who convinced the former landowners (the Caananites) of their good will, converted them, and then slaughtered them.

It's not like their track record is very good.  No 'Gandhi' coming out of that community, as far as I can tell.  The one they did produce they killed (and did so for religious grounds, if you recall, though they had to pretend he sought political power to get the Romans to do it for them).

So, when they got 'Israel' in the nineteen forties, the idea that they might repeat this behavior should have been pretty much a solid bet.  In fact, if you recall, a GREAT many of them had just escaped incarceration in the worst of all possible circumstances (so they were prepped, 'trained' you might even say--and by the same guys that WE used to set up that handy little torture academy, the former 'School of the Americas').  Really, if you are going to need a bunch of psychopath shrinks, the Germans do the best work (historically).

There are a number of initial atrocities that the original Israelis perpetrated upon the Arab population in order that they would run away.  Once they were safely over the border, the Israelis closed the border, and haven't let them back in since.

BTW, here's the actual 'map' (as the UN defined vs. the way it is currently):

240px-UN_Partition_Plan_For_Palestine_1947.pngnewisrael.png


Or didn't you ever wonder why the Palestinians, if they were in their own country, were 'refugees'?

They are refugees because they are the legitimate landowners of many 'Israeli' properties (some with deeds going back as far as the Byzantine Empire).

The Israelis, since G-d told them it was ok, just basically stole these people's land.

Kind of like we did with the Indians.

And Gaza is kind of like the Reservation.

Anyway, they are a bunch of nutjobs.  They don't have what other people might consider 'ethics' since their ethics is based first and foremost on a basic subdivision of the world into two types of people, 'human beings' (Jews) and 'goyim' (animals with human form).

At least our religious nutjobs over here don't go THAT far.  I think that the godhatesfags.com site gets close, but I don't believe that there's any underlying 'permission' to kill the unbelievers the same way that the whackos over in the middle-east do (not like the Jews are alone in this extremism).

We don't pay attention to the details as a nation.  We get caught up in the presentation.  We expect a blockbuster whenever we get any 'news'.

As a result, we get a lot of blockbuster news.

We need to really re-think this.  I mean, if we are so big on helping these people, why isn't there a 'build the third temple' committee, or a red-heifer contest (gotta have the magic cow to please G-d, He's picky).

If God really had 'chosen' them, he would have given them vowels so that they could have known to eat shellfish in the months with 'O' in it, instead of just telling them 'no'.

Not to be picking on them (actually, of all the home-temple concepts, I like theirs the best), but REALLY, somebody has to point these things out.

No, you're not 'chosen' (picked on a lot, but I don't see God doing most of that), at least, not anymore so than any of His others.  He likes them all.  And (apparently) He enjoys variety.

Apparently, He really enjoys comedy of the absurd, which is why he made so many morons.

He also seems to really enjoy belief, in almost every form.  He made so MANY, yano?

On the level of unbelievable things that a group of people believe, I'd have to say that many of the extreme concepts of Judaism are simply ridiculous.  Of course, the extreme ends of MOST religions are pretty funny, if you consider them.   I mean, Catholics think that Joseph married Mary and never had sex with her, and Xians in general actually believe that a human being came into existence with half of his DNA (the part that mom COULDN'T provide, given that he was male) provided somehow by God.

When you consider it, the idea that Mohammed (PBUH) was born circumcised is pretty tame.

Of course, killing your daughter because she has a boyfriend is pretty lame.  That takes either a whole lot of faith, or just really hating your daughter.

Some people just use religion as an excuse to do what they'd love to do anyway (terrorize  and hurt people and make them live in fear).  Some people use it as an excuse to take what they want anyway (other people's property, usually).  Some people simply use it in order to make other people do their will.

Very few people use religion for it's actual purpose (to know and love God and get closer to Him).

It's a hard call.  I don't think the Israelis are our 'friends' (or if they are, they express it pretty weirdly).  Jews in general are no more weird than any other religion, but Israelis are not a religion, they are a nation, and they are a nation (apparently) full of some of the nastiest people on earth, without souls that have capacity for compassion.

I mean, they've violated more UN resolutions than any other country.  They have waged a war of occupation since 1967 (remember, Jerusalem is NOT theirs, it's a UN free zone, or should be), and simply taken land that was supposed to have been 'neutral' prior to that.  They have put people off their family's ancestral land simply because they were Arab, and kept them and those families ancestral refugees since the forties.

They have secretly acquired nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, and have not signed any treaties regulating them.

And it appears that a number of the incidents that have gotten them positive media attention have been staged, while a number of the negative incidents have been misrepresented.

Like (for example) their attempt to sink a US Navy ship.  The multiple UN sanctions they ignore.

Oh, and that annoying little bit about how the Israeli (likely Mossad) company near the WTC had their employees told not to come to work the morning of 9/11.

Odigo says workers were warned of attack

Two employees of Odigo, Inc., an Israeli company, receive warnings of an imminent attack in New York City about two hours before the first plane hits the WTC. Odigo, one of the world's largest instant messaging companies, has its headquarters two blocks from the WTC.

The Odigo Research and Development offices where the warnings were received are located in Herzliyya, a suburb of Tel Aviv. Israeli security and the FBI were notified immediately after the 9/11 attacks began. The two employees claim not to know who sent the warnings.

"Odigo service includes a feature called People Finder that allows users to seek out and contact others based on certain interests or demographics. [Alex] Diamandis [Odigo vice president of sales and marketing] said it was possible that the attack warning was broadcast to other Odigo members, but the company has not received reports of other recipients of the message." Ha'aretz, 26 September 2001


Regardless of what kinds of things one might think, one can't 'think' that the Israelis didn't start this recent round of fighting (since they did, and we have it on record that while we were preoccupied with the election results they were battering Palestine to set it up for the big incursion after a few rockets were fired back in retaliation for their breaking the truce).

Now, you need to consider their goals here.  The first and foremost is to get the Palestinians to leave.  You might think otherwise, but that's the actual bottom-line.  They can't incorporate that territory while the Palestinians still stay there (since incorporation of that population would lead to an Arab majority).  All they can do is 'occupy' it, and slowly wheedle the population down.

Perhaps it's slipped your mind, but one of the 'big' news items a while back was that the 'settlers' were being evicted.

You might not have gathered what that meant.  'Settlers' are people who are empowered by the government to take land which didn't belong to them and start using it.  A great deal of 'Israel' is actually 'Palestine' (yard by yard).  That's one of the issues with the 'Wall' (that it's WAY over on the Palestine side).

If you give anyone 'carte blanche' to use at whimsey, they WILL (duh!).

This country has had our 'blessings' since it's inception.

We have ignored their brutal slaughter of the native population for the entire time.

It's time to pay attention.   These people are NOT our friends.  Even being associated with them risks our being tarred with the same brush (not hard, given that many of the items currently being shot at people over there are of US manufacture).

Our 'friends' should be the people across the world who want peaceful resolutions to problems.  That's how we used to think of ourselves.

Of course, that was a delusion, but it was at least a pleasant delusion.  We should try that one again.  It's a lot nicer than 'carrying a big stick' (or a mushroom cloud).

I said somewhat below that I stopped thinking anyone else was REMOTELY like me.

When I hear things like this happen, I go and research it myself because I'm curious, and I'M SURE THAT THE PRESS LIES TO ME.

Like they are doing right now (this morning's news) talking about how the Israeli 'response' is justified.

If you hit someone, and break their nose, and they hit you back, and you hit them back, your hitting them back is logically a 'response', but to call what you did anything other than 'starting a fight' is logically incorrect.

It requires leaving out the whole part about how you hit them first.

This situation just sucks, but moreover, it sucks the most for US, because we are being dragged along with a bunch of religious nutjobs who think that G-d is going to give them ALL OF THE WORLD (over time).

I kid you not.  Look into internal Israeli politics, and you will see that I'm not even beginning to stretch the truth the SLIGHTEST bit.

They even have their own kind of 'fatwah' (extrajudicial religious killing), just like the Muslims.

August 29, 2008

Religious Zionist Rabbi Accuses Peace Now Of "Mesira," Informing - Calls For Killing Peace Now Leaders

Orthodox Judaism in all its forms and democracy do not mix. There is no better proof of that assertion than what Rabbi...

...Yisrael Rozen just did.

Ynet reports:

Rabbi accuses Peace Now of grave sin 
Yisrael Rozen writes article blaming left-wing organization for tale-bearing. Quoting Maimonides, he says punishment for such behavior is death; Peace Now head threatens to press charges 
By Kobi Nahshoni 

Rabbi Yisrael Rozen, head of the orthodox-affiliated, non-profit Zomet Institute, has expressed perhaps the most strident censure possible in Judaism for Peace Now activists, who are fighting to uproot settlers from the Migron settlement. 

"Such tale-bearing is known in Hebrew as 'moser' (informer)... Individuals who have sunk to this lowest level of behavior were despised and shunned (in Jewish tradition). They are considered worse than 
heretics or apostates," wrote the rabbi in an article published in "Shabbat BeShabbato", a leaflet distributed in Israeli synagogues weekly. 

Rozen wrote that, according to halacha (Jewish law) the punishment of such tale-bearing was death. 

The rabbi quoted Maimonides, who wrote "a person who turns over a Jewish person or his property to Gentiles is a moser and has no part in the world to come... It is permissible to execute the moser even today when there is no capital punishment... it is permissible to kill the moser before he informs... If he has been told not to inform and insists on informing, then he who executes the moser first has great merit."

However, he immediately followed this statement with a warning against taking the law into one's own hands, stating that "the trial of capital offenses is the office of the court and it is not the duty of individuals to implement this particular halacha." 
Here's an article about whether or not it's ok (religiously) for Jews to testify about other Jews in American courts (not all votes are for testifying).

It's not a *new* thing, either (they were this bloodthirsty, even PRE-9/11).

Israeli rabbis call for killing the Arabs
Palestine-Israel, Politics, 7/28/2001

The Israeli rabbi Munir Lao haled the killing of Palestinian children and youth by the Israeli settlers. He explained that the Jewish ethnic group supports and backs the killing of the Palestinians. 

Earlier the Israeli rabbi Ovadia Youssef described the Arabs as snakes that should be killed. He said:" The Palestinians should be killed especially in Jerusalem because they are like ants and when the Masiah (Christ ) comes he will disperse the Arabs." 

Now, of course, I'm not talking about ALL of anyone here, certainly not Judaism as a religion on the whole, or even Israel as a whole.

But there ARE a significant number of religious nutjobs over there who need to be dealt with, and dealt with correctly (as in telling them that if G-d is going to provide for them, He damn well better get his ass down here and do it, since if it's up to us, we won't be providing the same services in the same fashion).

When it really comes down to it, we SUBSIDIZE this whole country (ever looked at our 'foreign aid' packages?  There's only one of note).  They--THEY have health insurance.  They have a positive cash-flow.  They have more arms per capita than ALMOST any other nation on earth (we do surpass them on that, but there are few others).

Really, peace only comes through understanding.  There is a significant number of the population of Israel who don't have that capacity, since they don't actually view the 'ants' as partners, but pests. 

Male Rape

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I was discussing rape earlier this month, and the issue of it being a 'female' issue was paramount to discussion.

I realized that by now there may be male resource pages.

I'd neglected to consider the other reason that it took so long.  Men have a double-whammy in that they experience the standard female emotions, but have that additional 'male' thing in that they 'should have been able to' stop it (that it happened means the man is 'weak').

Again, I have to point out that the physical trauma of the event doesn't approach the emotional trauma, and that is based almost entirely on a script of assumed 'should haves' that are (AFAIK) wholly unsubstantiated.

I'd not actually considered the 'guilt' of someone who was raped and experienced sexual gratification (I bet that's confusing).  

Still, these are STOCK things.  People need to be told in advance (in detail) about these eventualities.  If it happens, you are GOING to feel certain things, and think certain thoughts (and they are all wrong).

So here's a couple of links:

I've Been Raped

Straight boys, teens, and men never consider the possibility of being raped. It "doesn't happen".

But it does.

Almost always it is nothing to do with sex.

I'll repeat that. Almost always it is nothing to do with sex.

It has to do with power, not sex. Power. The rapist using the power of his body to impose his will on the person who is raped. Penetrating the victim's body with his penis is the ultimate power trip for the rapist. So is your distress, and the pain he is causing you.

If it were to do with sex, why would straight men rape gay boys when they beat them up? And yes, it's almost always a straight man carrying out the rape. And he's not ever going to be gay. A power trip. Ok, there are always exceptions. And if you were raped by a gay man, I know you were one of those exceptions. I said "almost always". There are gay rapists too.

From the UK:

Male Rape and Sexual Assault Within our society, men and boys can suffer appalling sexual assaults and humiliations, but rarely does a victim cry out for help. Such is his feeling of shame, he will often be as desperate to keep it a secret as his attacker is. Confusion, depression and a sense of inescapable isolation are common reactions. They can wreck a man's life. The effects of sexual abuse on men are in many ways similar to those on women, but the response of society is markedly different. Men are seen as strong protectors, capable of defending themselves and those that they care about. When rape occurs feelings of shame, guilt, bewilderment and disbelief often lead to a change of self-esteem. Frequently men feel unable to express their anger and rage at what has happened to them and turn it in on themselves. In a twist that doesn't occur in female rape, sometimes the perpetuator of male rape will arouse his victim sexually, leading him to ejaculation. This is a control move which leaves the victim totally confused as to his role in the rape - did he in fact contribute, by becoming aroused?


From OkCupid Blogs

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Things to say during sex:

diagramaconversacion.jpg
She was kind of cute, too (fishwithfeet)

Hope for a New Time

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From Ai:

Happy New Year Everyone! 

Lets try to leave the planet a little cleaner for 2009 - after all we've no where else to go if we mess this one up too much! 

1sky-ecard-2008-newyear-400x600px.jpg

Giant Flying Vegetables

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Now, you might not realize it, but hemp biodiesel is also burnable (but suffers the same issue regarding freezing).  Perhaps this oil will allow for a blend that is equivalent to A1.


NZ airline flies jetliner partly run on veggie oil

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- A passenger jet powered in part by vegetable oil successfully completed a two-hour flight Tuesday to test a biofuel that could lower airplane emissions and cut costs, Air New Zealand said.

One engine of a Boeing 747-400 airplane was powered by a 50-50 blend of oil from jatropha plants and standard A1 jet fuel.

This year has seen an unprecedented push for alternative fuels by airlines, which were slammed by skyrocketing oil prices earlier in 2008 and are now bracing for a falloff in air travel in the face of a global economic slowdown.

While Air New Zealand couldn't say whether the blend would be cheaper than standard jet fuel since jatropha is not yet produced on a commercial scale, the company expects the blend to be "cost competitive," according to company spokeswoman Tracy Mills.

Biofuels were once regarded as impractical for aviation because most freeze at the low temperatures encountered at cruising altitudes. But tests show jatropha, whose seeds yield an oil already used to produce fuels like biodiesel, has an even lower freezing point than jet fuel.


I suppose I should re-post 'Store Wars' (the other 'Giant Flying Vegetables' gag).  



Help us, Obi Wan Cannoli, you're our only hope!

On reflection (comparing animation techniques to South Park), this might be one of those low-budget Canadian productions.

;)

Of course, that video leads off into silly characters who make organic biodiesel (cleans out your fuel lines).


More Lying Females

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Gee, what women won't say in order to corral and harness a man:

Meagan McCormic of Miami

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1141321

Police have arrested a Miami mom who reported that her 6-month-old baby was kidnapped by a Massachusetts nanny and now they say that the 22-year-old woman made up the elaborate story to lure her ex-beau back into her arms.

Police say Meagan McCormic, who was arrested this morning, does not have a 6-month-old baby boy.

Miami police say she downloaded a photo of a baby with a blond mohawk from the Internet and told police that the boy, who had a fake anchor tattoo on his arm, had been taken by her nanny. The photo was widely circulated in Florida and an Amber Alert was issued after she reported the child missing on Wednesday.

Miami Police spokesman Willie Moreno said McCormic, when confronted with inconsistencies in her story, told police that she had a miscarriage six months ago, and that she used the fake baby story line to get close to her ex-boyfriend, John Buchness. Buchness is not charged.

"She wanted to have a true relationship with her boyfriend and apparently she used this tool to lure him in and make him feel that she needed him," Moreno said.

McCormic is charged with providing false information to police, a misdemeanor, but the police will ask the court system to require that she pay restitution for the manpower, Moreno said. She is expected to appear at a bond hearing today, according to the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office.

Florida police issued an Amber Alert for Riley this week and the child's photo was featured prominently on www.missingkids.com, the Web site for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. The photo has since been removed.

McCormic and Buchness made an emotional plea to the media this week asking their nanny to bring Riley back.

"What I don't understand is it's Christmas," John Buchness told the media, according to a story in The Miami Herald. "Please return him. That's all we ask. We just want our son."

The couple told The Miami Herald that they had moved to Florida from Boston in September and that the nanny, Camille, had babysat for Riley in Boston as well.

The couple told police that Camille was known to drive an Acura car with a Massachusetts license plate and had a thick French accent.

Arab Tenor-rists.

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These folks are set to land in Gaza shortly.

Gaza Timeline

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It's pretty simple.

In the summer, there was a truce.  Gaza kept the truce.  Israel invaded Gaza on election day (while we were busy with other news).  Here's a news story from when it started:

Israel invades Gaza again; Palestinian resistance continues

Nov 16, 2008

The Israeli Army invaded the Gaza Strip on Nov. 4 with tanks, helicopters and jet aircraft. The attack was an explicit violation of a five-month Egyptian-mediated truce between Israel and the Palestinian resistance groupings in Gaza. The elected Hamas government there had agreed to the cease-fire.

Nov. 4 was Election Day in the United States. Global attention was riveted on the deep enthusiasm here for the first African-American president and how the vote reflected a break with the reactionary policies of the Bush administration. The surprise Israeli attack went almost unnoted in the corporate media.

According to reports in the Palestinian media, Israeli soldiers and tanks accompanied by military helicopters firing flares and missiles invaded an area east of Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, while Israeli jets shelled an area east of Kahn Younis in the southern part of Gaza. The next day Israeli tanks moved into Beit Hanoun in the northern part of Gaza.

Seven Palestinian fighters from the Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, were killed attempting to repel the incursion. There were many injuries. At Deir al-Balah four Palestinian women were abducted, including one who was wounded.

Every piece of Israeli military equipment used in the attack was made possible by the billions of dollars in aid provided to the Zionist regime by Washington over the last 60 years.

When Palestinian forces defended themselves against the three-pronged Israeli invasion, Israel claimed it was the Palestinians who violated the cease-fire. It cut off fuel shipments to the Gaza City power plant.

Gaza residents are now experiencing sporadic blackouts. Cutting fuel affects not only electricity for lights and refrigeration of food and medicines but also, most seriously, it curtails pumping of water for drinking and sanitation.

Abu Obaida, a spokesperson for the Al Qassam Brigades of Hamas, speculated that the Israeli invasion might be part of a plan to foil the internal Palestinian dialogue scheduled for Cairo, Egypt, on Nov. 9. The meeting for an opening dialogue on reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas forces did not take place.

Israel's use of collective punishment

Three years ago, determined Palestinian resistance forced Israeli forces to withdraw from the densely populated and impoverished Gaza Strip. However, Israel continues to control all access by land, sea and air.

Farm produce and even essential medicines, electronic parts, repairs for sanitation and sewage are all blockaded. With all access to and from Gaza closed, Palestinian workers cannot travel to find work.

The result is huge increases in unemployment, poverty and malnutrition. Commerce is shut down.

Israeli gunboats routinely attack small Palestinian fishing boats with water cannon and machine-gun fire.

Two years ago the Palestinians overwhelmingly elected a government with a majority from Hamas--a Muslim force seen as more intransigent toward Israeli occupation. Both the United States and the European Union then imposed sanctions and withdrew aid.

In a further effort to break the resistance, Israel has confiscated hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes from Palestinians that, according to previous agreements, it is obliged to pass on.

The 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza now live in a blockaded and surrounded ghetto. But the determined population has shown incredibly creative and heroic resilience.

Tunnels have been dug from southern Gaza into Egypt to smuggle in the most essential supplies. Israel claimed that the purpose of its recent brutal offensive was to destroy the Palestinian tunnels. The tunnels can vary in length from 100 yards to half a mile. In the past three years hundreds of tunnels have been destroyed.

After each Israeli attack, the work begins again.

Breaking the siege of Gaza

Concerned about the dire conditions in Gaza and inspired by the heroic mass resistance, solidarity activists internationally have developed more serious challenges to the siege.

The SS Dignity arrived in Gaza harbor four days after the latest Israeli attack. The small ship, organized by the Free Gaza movement, brought parliamentarians from Britain, Italy and Switzerland, Arab leaders, human-rights activists and journalists. It was the fourth ship to get through in the last three months.

The solidarity delegation will visit some of the hardest-hit areas in the Gaza Strip, particularly the camps and hospitals. The ship also brought 1 metric ton of medicines, mostly pain killers and aspirin. These basic, inexpensive medicines are in desperately short supply and unavailable in local pharmacies.

Solidarity demonstrations around the world, including one organized by the Al-Awda Palestine Right to Return Coalition in New York on Nov. 7, have demanded that Israel lift the siege of Gaza. Demands have also been raised against the complicity of the Egyptian government, which has bowed to U.S. and Israeli pressure and helps to enforce the blockade at the Rafah crossing.

Israel attacks in the West Bank

In the same week, Israeli attacks escalated throughout the West Bank.

Israeli forces carried out 33 military incursions into Palestinian towns and villages and kidnapped 21 civilians, including two children.

In just the past year, Israel has abducted 2,111 Palestinian civilians.

Six Palestinians, including two children, were wounded by Israeli gunfire in al-Far'a refugee camp, south of Tubas. Three were wounded in the village of Dura, southwest of Hebron.

Another four Palestinians, including a child, and an international human-rights defender were wounded when Israeli troops attacked a peaceful, unarmed demonstration protesting the construction of the apartheid wall west of Ramallah.

Some 217 miles of the 450-mile wall have been completed, further isolating the Palestinian population into small ghettos. To build the wall and a network of walled Jewish-only roads, along with more than 630 roadblocks and checkpoints, Israel has dispossessed small farmers, plowing under and destroying thousands of acres of cropland.

Farmers can't get to their land, children can't get to school and workers can't leave their surrounded enclaves. Sick children, pregnant women and seniors have died at checkpoints after being blocked from reaching hospitals, even in emergencies. Free movement and all normal economic activity are impossible.

Increasingly, international and Israeli human-rights defenders are joining Palestinian demonstrations challenging this criminal policy.

In occupied East Jerusalem, Israel continues to expropriate and drive out the Palestinian residents. In the first week of November, the Israeli army bulldozed two homes and a wedding hall in Jerusalem. As Palestinians and supporters defied the bulldozers, 21 residents were wounded and many more were arrested.

Today massive Jewish-only settlements bisect the West Bank. Israeli demolitions, land seizures, settlement expansion, assassinations, armed incursions, segregated road-building and continued construction of the separation wall are all continuing.

Despite more than 15 years of talks and negotiations sponsored and supported by U.S. administrations, both Republican and Democratic, none of the issues of occupation have been addressed.

Ever since the 1993 Oslo Accords, despite every Israeli promise to recognize a Palestinian state and every agreement to cease new settlements, construction has continued. It is the endless and guaranteed stream of U.S. funding that enables the Israeli government to continue and expand its occupation of Palestinian lands.

Rahm Emanuel, a virulent Zionist, has just been appointed White House chief of staff in the upcoming U.S. administration. This is just another reason why international support and solidarity for Palestinian demands, including the right of all Palestinians to return to their expropriated homes, is more important than ever.

Addresses to keep

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All sorts of free audio news:

http://www.audioport.org

The local folks that want to bring the train here:

If The Blogs Are Any Indication

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The DA is going to have a hell of a time seating a jury for this guy's trial. 

Philadelphia, PA (AHN) - A man in Philadelphia, Pa. shot another man in the arm at a movie theater, presumably because the victim and his family were talking during the movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."

James Joseph Cialella, 29, was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and a weapons violation, according to a report from the Philadelphia Police Dept.


James Joseph Cialella was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons charges.

The incident happened on Christmas Day.

Cialella told the family to be quiet. When the family began to argue with him, Cialella approached the family from the left side of the aisle and pulled out a .380-caliber handgun. The father in the family stood between Cialella and the family, and Cialella shot the man in the arm, police say.


Wow! Talk about: "don't spoil the movie by adding your own soundtrack" pre-movie message that comes on before every presentation at the AMC theater chains. This guy also added his sound effects and the violence too! This guy, Cialella DID go way too far. But in this day and age most teenagers and even some older folks are pretty damn disrespectful of the movie going public. I, too came close to brawling with an incessant talker recently who didn't care for the surrounding shushing. Although, the messages and disclaimers appear before each movie, some people just don't give a sh*t. I particularly HATE the IDIOTS who sit down and answer their cell phones and actually carry out conversations while the film is playing. I just don't get it! STAY your asses at home if you need to talk to someone. I knew that sooner or later someone was bound to snap. I just hope we don't get any copy cats, especially in the upcoming summer movie season. I sure hope that peeps start to get a freakin clue and START RESPECTING!

Blue Silver on Dec 27, 2008

Arrested? What? give the guy a medal!

Sean on Dec 27, 2008

all i will say is..........it's about time !!! Cialella is my hero !!!!! oh and one more thing to add that has been missing from the above comments is this, if you have a fucking baby and can't procure a sitter for the evening DO NOT bring your yodeling brat to the movie i KNOW me and the other innocent patrons didn't willingly pay 7-10.00 dollars to hear you damn fools shush the crying brat for 10 min before FINALLY getting up and going to the bathroom/lobby before coming back and the kid start the crying process all over again !!!!!

arkdave on Dec 27, 2008

in huntsville, tx, if you are caught texting or talking on the phone during a movie, management escorts you out without a refund.

Mike McRorey on Dec 27, 2008

Garb-ish

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I'd mentioned Greta Garbo in an email.  The phrase, "I just want to be alone" apparently predated her forty year seclusion in the fifties (as Charlie Chaplin was making fun of it in The Great Dictator in the 1930s.

greta_garbo02.jpg

Anyway, I went searching for the phrase, and I came across this little tidbit.  I don't think anyone else has ever really captured despair quite so well (and of course, he's Irish).  It's only a 'gift' if the 'gab' is desired, yano?

Alone Again (Naturally), Gilbert O'Sullivan, 



You might want to check out http://www.garboforever.com

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

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Ok one has to look at this Santa killing as a portent, not just of potential futures, but of more effective delivery methods.

You see, Santa fucked up.  He killed himself, instead of heading off to Canada as was his plan (not like they'd have let a single man with cash strapped to him in, anyway--they gave me a serious going-over when I was up there for vacation/exploration in 2006).

If his plan had worked, however (the point of this post), it would have been devastating.  His plan for destruction followed my projection back in 2001, when all this nutty paranoid thought pattern stuff fruited (after it budded with Waco).  If you recall, I pointed out that I could cause perfectly appropriate destruction with simple items purchased at the grocery/hardware store, if I wanted to, and one can't have a highly technological culture w/o having a set of individuals educated well enough to be able to accomplish this destruction, should they wish.

In this case, the implement of destruction was apparently a 'FAX' (fuel-air explosive device).

Now, I don't know if you are familiar with fuel/air explosive devices, but (when they go off as planned) they are INCREDIBLY destructive.  In short, the theory is that you set up the kind of circumstance that makes houses blow up when they fill with gas and someone lights a match.  You seep the gas into the atmosphere until it's saturated, then you ignite it.

In the case of natural gas, which is a bit heavier than air, and after all, a gas, there's a somewhat lesser saturation capacity.  If, on the other hand, one was to aerosolize a liquid so that the atmosphere was a SUPER-saturated circumstance (more fuel than CAN be absorbed, and extra to boot), THEN, when you ignite it, you can (in certain circumstances) get an effect similar to an air-burst thermonuclear weapon.

From the Wiki:

In September 2007 Russia successfully exploded the largest vacuum bomb ever made, leveling a multi-story block of apartment buildings with a power greater than that of the smallest dial-a-yield nuclear weapons at their lowest settings.[22][23] 

Now, the guy had the right material (racing fuel).  He had a vaporization device, and he was killing people left and right while he set up the device.

He didn't count for the Xmas candles.  They pre-ignited the device.  If this had been, for example, Valentines' Day, the results might have been different.

If he had been successful in setting the device up and detonating it, they would be gathering the 'dental records' from potentially as far away as Los Angeles.  There would have been a significantly higher death-toll, too.  I can't really project the actual destruction radius, but I'm guessing it would have been significantly larger than just the size of the house that simply burned down.

If he'd merely used a stun-gun/tranquilizer to incapacitate the people inside, set the can up on the air inlet for the AC system, the detonator on a timer to allow long enough for one cycle of the AC (being SURE to turn off the heater), it likely would have taken out at least the entire house and damaged the surrounding houses, while leaving a bunch of dead body parts without any bullets in them, and he'd be in Canada (discussing his 'vacation plans' with the immigration folks, I'm certain).

So, again, I point out that one CAN'T stop this from the supply side.  I can STILL take out a whole block/high-rise any day of the week just using stuff you'd buy to clean your swimming pool (and leave all the buildings intact, just killing people).  It's likely that one could poison a whole city's water supply with simple chemicals that aren't scanned for/filtered out.  Almost anything that can be run as liquid through a pipe and burned can make one of these FAX bombs.  Any item filled with gunpowder and enclosed to allow the pressure to build up makes a lovely bomb, and if wrapped with nails, for example, becomes a handy grenade.

You have to stop nastiness from the demand side.  People have to WANT to be nice, and the culture has to support and nurture that behavior.  We don't.  Just look at TV.  We support and nurture bloodthirsty competition and winning at all costs, and if you are left behind, so be it.

It's a logical conclusion, therefore, that our culture and the behavior of it's inhabitants will reflect that mindset quite often.

So (experimenting with the supply side), we can just wait to find out how many different ways a capable engineer can devise to kill people.  Remember the Unabomber?  He even built the stuff himself.   

The alternative to trying to culture niceness is to live in a world that's like Terry Gilliam's 'Brazil' (which this world already resembles on an insanely laughable level).

I mean, when it comes down to it, gunpowder is what?  Charcoal, piss and sulphur.  

As Winston Churchill so poignantly noted, "You can count on the Americans to do the right thing, after they've exhausted all the alternatives."

Not Love Life

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I should add (to the below) that since the divorce, I've had a number (four) of rather bizarre non-sexual relationships with women who STILL lied through their teeth to my face (even though there was no real point to doing so, one would presume).

The only one who's been forthright in that relationship thing is 'Video Girl Ai', who is lovely and charming.  As Doc Savage (the Man of Bronze) put it, "You're a Brick!"

On the other hand (outside of my family and friends) I'm starting to suspect that many women lie simply for entertainment (somewhat like some men just get into fights for fun).

Like I said below, I stopped assuming that other people were even remotely like me, without constant proof of that (usually delusional) concept.

And I've got plenty of proof that some people just say stuff that not only isn't true, but obviously isn't true on even minimal examination.

I would have to conclude then, that if there are a lot of women who lie for fun, this is because there are a lot of men who aren't really paying a bit of attention to what they say.

People only repeat *constructive* behaviors.  I guess listening in some men, and reality in some women, is just not considered very constructive towards their ends.

Dunno what those ends are, but I can be sure they don't match mine.

My Love Life

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I thought I'd write it out, to be somewhat clear (sans names, of course).  I was describing the problem to one of my sisters, and it's a bit complex, so it's better all in one place:

My first *girlfriend* was a woman who lied to me about being divorced, then lied to me about wanting to be with me.  She got a bit of help moving.

My second girlfriend (fiancee), lied to me about fucking other men so that she wouldn't lose me.  She got a lot of lawn work and handyman stuff done for her.

My third *girlfriend* (as it were) picked me up at a party, then came down with the flu the next morning.  I took care of her, but she gave me the flu.  She took care of me.  Then we broke up.

My fourth girlfriend was a DJ at a radio station (I was her engineer).  She knew I wasn't trying to get into a relationship at that point, but still threatened to kill herself if I didn't stop seeing:

My fifth girlfriend (first wife), who stabbed herself with scissors and beat her head on tile walls to punctuate screaming fits intended to properly 'motivate' me, and who pushed me into a divorce by repeatedly beating me.

I should add in here my f*kbudy (what she called herself), who showed up for a month or so after I was on my own, but wouldn't commit to anything, and wanted to not commit to anything, and went away.  And there was a girl who I didn't do anything with on the first meeting (really, I mean, I JUST met her, right then) because that was a bit fast for me at that point, and she took it to be a real insult and never spoke to me again.

So, it all put me off into a funk for a while.  I had a kind of girlfriend, but it was supposedly very loose and open, yet she was also supposedly honest.  When a psycho cop busted into her house and cut her underwear up into little bits and left bullets in her bed, her explanation for his behaviors came up a mite short in my estimation, since he wasn't very 'open'.

So I ended up in Austin, hanging out with geeks, freaks, drug dealers, and strippers.  I was having a fine time of it, and yet one night I met this woman who seemed even more honest and forthright than any I'd met before (second wife).

It turned out (um, somewhat later) that one was just hanging with me because I was closer to the boyfriend she was trying to recover (stalking) at the time.  She hung with me for two decades before finally letting me in on the scam (and that, apparently only because she was ready to 'switch tracks' in her guestimation--oops).  Since then, I've realized any number of events which I took her at face value on that she is the ONLY witness of any note to, and which her 'testimony' tended to make the world a really weird place for me.

So, for the last year I've been in this weird 'Twilight Zone' sort of place, where I'm still trying to figure out what happened with her around that was ACTUALLY real, and what of it was stuff that she perpetrated in order to manipulate me (some seemingly just to fuck with my head, actually).

That reflection brought about a somewhat larger one.

All of these people objectified me, and tried to 'work with me' like I was some kind of trainable animal.  None of them actually ever tried to connect with me on a really human-to-human basis.  One came close, and I think we both regret our failures in that matter, now, but overall, none hit the mark.

And, yano, I objectified them at least as much as they did me, I'm sure.  This is partially because if you're not working with original material, it's hard to deduce.

I realized something else through this, too.  I tend to assume that other people are 'like me' inside, until proven different. 

That's really a stupid assumption, now that I've examined the data.  In fact, the assumption (at this age) that anyone is like me, even remotely, is really kind of dumb.  I'm so far out on the fringe right now that it's ridiculous to even think that I'd find someone 'like' me (maybe near, but certainly not 'like').

Anyway, it's at least a human-to-human thing I'm after.  Many of the people that I've ended up in bed with are little more than reptiles in the interaction that they had with me, in hindsight.

However, this last one was a shark.

I remember thinking that was one of the *admirable* points of that girl, when I met her.   All the 'hippie chicks' I'd been with before were a bit away from really being 'down-to-earth' (boy, was I wrong on that point).  I remember admiring her mercenary qualities (I still do).  I just didn't see the 'big picture' where that talent was concerned, but I caught on.

It was just before she left (she stayed for almost two weeks after 'splaining it all to me), and she'd called her mom (she hates her mom).  And she was so syrupy sweet with her on the phone, hit the button to hang up, and the shark-eyes came back, and she said, "Stupid bitch!" to her mom (no longer listening).

I realized that was what she'd been doing with me, and exactly in the same way, and THEN (almost immediately), she did it to me (got all syrupy to ask me for a favor--yano, at the first, before I'd realized exactly how DEEP the lies went, we were supposedly doing an 'amicable' divorce).

It was like a switch going on and off.

And I'd seen the EXACT same thing, just a bit earlier, on TV, on this 'Black Widow' special week on Discovery.  There were these 'Munchausen by Proxy' moms who poisoned their kids, and women who poisoned their husbands, and things, and they ALL would do that light-switch thing with their expressions between murderously insane and sickly sweet.

It was pretty creepy, regardless.

I like living alone a great deal.  I don't know I'll ever live with anyone again. 

From Alan

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Q:What did the kid in India get for Christmas?

A:Your Dad's job.

hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!


That one kills.
.....in India.

Vanilla Pop

If Gaza Falls . . .

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by Sara Roy

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/12/23-9


Israel's siege of Gaza began on 5 November, the day after an Israeli attack inside the strip, no doubt designed finally to undermine the truce between Israel and Hamas established last June. Although both sides had violated the agreement before, this incursion was on a different scale. Hamas responded by firing rockets into Israel and the violence has not abated since then. Israel's siege has two fundamental goals. One is to ensure that the Palestinians there are seen merely as a humanitarian problem, beggars who have no political identity and therefore can have no political claims. The second is to foist Gaza onto Egypt. That is why the Israelis tolerate the hundreds of tunnels between Gaza and Egypt around which an informal but increasingly regulated commercial sector has begun to form. The overwhelming majority of Gazans are impoverished and officially 49.1 per cent are unemployed. In fact the prospect of steady employment is rapidly disappearing for the majority of the population.

On 5 November the Israeli government sealed all the ways into and out of Gaza. Food, medicine, fuel, parts for water and sanitation systems, fertiliser, plastic sheeting, phones, paper, glue, shoes and even teacups are no longer getting through in sufficient quantities or at all. According to Oxfam only 137 trucks of food were allowed into Gaza in November. This means that an average of 4.6 trucks per day entered the strip compared to an average of 123 in October this year and 564 in December 2005. The two main food providers in Gaza are the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the World Food Programme (WFP). UNRWA alone feeds approximately 750,000 people in Gaza, and requires 15 trucks of food daily to do so. Between 5 November and 30 November, only 23 trucks arrived, around 6 per cent of the total needed; during the week of 30 November it received 12 trucks, or 11 per cent of what was required. There were three days in November when UNRWA ran out of food, with the result that on each of these days 20,000 people were unable to receive their scheduled supply. According to John Ging, the director of UNRWA in Gaza, most of the people who get food aid are entirely dependent on it. On 18 December UNRWA suspended all food distribution for both emergency and regular programmes because of the blockade.

Eric Idle: F*ck Xmas (xxXmas)

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festivus_wreath.jpg
My sister sent me what ended up being a Festivus Wreath Hanger some years back as a regular wreath hanger (w/ a wonderful smelly wreath hooked to it).  I decided it would be best as a redux in that genre.

I suppose sometime later will come the "Feats of Strength" but I guess we'll skip the "Airing of Grievances" (don't think I or anyone I know, since I know hardly anyone and haven't really grieved/been grieved by anyone around that I do know).

Should be short (unless I hold out to the end, which is unlikely).

I'm glad of that, at least.  I've got an Xmas in which there's nobody around me that's pissed off at me in any possible way (I think).

I thought about making a joke on an old George Strait song, but thought it was funnier not to, if you don't get it.



Just in case you need a pole.

Xanine Xmas

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Video Courtesy of KSL.com


Doggie nabs a bone w/o paying.

Slim Santa

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I guess this is a good way to point out that I've managed to rid myself of the single major item which caused me to gain weight (today, in fact, all done).

Amazing what a year of NOT eating a bag of chips a day will do, eh?


MyChing

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Ok, so I was on my own little iChing maker (for another reason than a fortune) but I noted that I got this reading more than once, so I thought I'd point it out (enhancements from paranormality.com): aether / mountain

#33: "Retiring" Other variations include "retreat" and "yielding". Its inner triagram is bound, and its outer triagram is force. THE THUN HEXAGRAM The General Meaning Thun indicates successful progress (in its circumstances). To a small extent it will (still) be advantageous to be firm and correct. Explanation of the separate lines 1. The first SIX, divided, shows a retiring tail. The position is perilous. No movement in any direction should be made. 2. The second SIX, divided, shows its subject holding (his purpose) fast as if by a (thong made from the) hide of a yellow ox, which cannot be broken. 3. The third NINE, undivided, shows one retiring but bound,--to his distress and peril. (If he were to deal with his binders as in) nourishing a servant or concubine, it would be fortunate for him. 4. The fourth NINE, undivided, shows its subject retiring notwithstanding his likings. In a superior man this will lead to good fortune; a small man cannot attain to this. 5. The fifth NINE, undivided, shows its subject retiring in an admirable way. With firm correctness there will be good fortune. 6. The sixth NINE, undivided, shows its subject retiring in a noble way. It will be advantageous in every respect. The 'changes' (red lines) change to: aether / wind #44: "Coupling" Other variations include "coming to meet" and "meeting". Its inner triagram is ground, and its outer triagram is force. THE KÂU HEXAGRAM The General Meaning Kâu shows a female who is bold and strong. It will not be good to marry (such) a female. Explanation of the separate lines 1. The first SIX, divided, shows how its subject should be kept (like a carriage) tied and fastened to a metal drag, in which case with firm correctness there will be good fortune. (But) if he move in any direction, evil will appear. He will be (like) a lean pig, which is sure to keep jumping about. 2. The second NINE, undivided, shows its subject with a wallet of fish. There will be no error. But it will not be well to let (the subject of the first line) go forward to the guests. 3. The third NINE, undivided, shows one from whose buttocks the skin has been stripped so that he walks with difficulty. The position is perilous, but there will be no great error. 4. The fourth NINE, undivided, shows its subject with his wallet, but no fish in it. This will give rise to evil. 5. The fifth NINE, undivided, (shows its subject as) a medlar tree overspreading the gourd (beneath it). If he keep his brilliant qualities concealed, (a good issue) will descend (as) from Heaven. 6. The sixth NINE, undivided, shows its subject receiving others on his horns. There will be occasion for regret, but there will be no error.

Stan/Thank You

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Chorus: Dido
My tea's gone cold I'm wondering why I..
got out of bed at all
The morning rain clouds up my window..
and I can't see at all
And even if I could it'd all be gray,
but your picture on my wall
It reminds me, that it's not so bad,
it's not so bad..

1st Chorus: volume gradually grows over raindrop background
2nd Chorus: full volume with beat right after "thunder" noise

[Eminem as 'Stan']
Dear Slim, I wrote but you still ain't callin
I left my cell, my pager, and my home phone at the bottom
I sent two letters back in autumn, you must not-a got him
There probably was a problem at the post office or something
Sometimes I scribble addresses too sloppy when I jot him
but anyways; fuck it, what's been up? Man how's your daughter?
My girlfriend's pregnant too, I'm bout to be a father
If I have a daughter, guess what I'ma call her?
I'ma name her Bonnie
I read about your Uncle Ronnie too I'm sorry
I had a friend kill himself over some bitch who didn't want him
I know you probably hear this everyday, but I'm your biggest fan
I even got the underground shit that you did with Skam
I got a room full of your posters and your pictures man
I like the shit you did with Ruckus too, that shit was phat
Anyways, I hope you get this man, hit me back,
just to chat, truly yours, your biggest fan
This is Stan

{Chorus: Dido

[Eminem as 'Stan']
Dear Slim, you still ain't called or wrote, I hope you have a chance
I ain't mad - I just think it's FUCKED UP you don't answer fans
If you didn't wanna talk to me outside your concert
you didn't have to, but you coulda signed an autograph for Matthew
That's my little brother man, he's only six years old
We waited in the blistering cold for you,
four hours and you just said, "No."
That's pretty shitty man - you're like his fucking idol
He wants to be just like you man, he likes you more than I do
I ain't that mad though, I just don't like being lied to
Remember when we met in Denver - you said if I'd write you
you would write back - see I'm just like you in a way
I never knew my father neither;
he used to always cheat on my mom and beat her
I can relate to what you're saying in your songs
so when I have a shitty day, I drift away and put 'em on
cause I don't really got shit else so that shit helps when I'm depressed
I even got a tattoo of your name across the chest
Sometimes I even cut myself to see how much it bleeds
It's like adrenaline, the pain is such a sudden rush for me
See everything you say is real, and I respect you cause you tell it
My girlfriend's jealous cause I talk about you 24/7
But she don't know you like I know you Slim, no one does
She don't know what it was like for people like us growin up
You gotta call me man, I'll be the biggest fan you'll ever lose
Sincerely yours, Stan -- P.S.
We should be together too

{Chorus: Dido

[Eminem as 'Stan']
Dear Mister-I'm-Too-Good-To-Call-Or-Write-My-Fans,
this'll be the last package I ever send your ass
It's been six months and still no word - I don't deserve it?
I know you got my last two letters;
I wrote the addresses on 'em perfect
So this is my cassette I'm sending you, I hope you hear it
I'm in the car right now, I'm doing 90 on the freeway
Hey Slim, I drank a fifth of vodka, you dare me to drive?
You know the song by Phil Collins, "In the Air of the Night"
about that guy who coulda saved that other guy from drowning
but didn't, then Phil saw it all, then at a show he found him?
That's kinda how this is, you coulda rescued me from drowning
Now it's too late - I'm on a 1000 downers now, I'm drowsy
and all I wanted was a lousy letter or a call
I hope you know I ripped ALL of your pictures off the wall
I love you Slim, we coulda been together, think about it
You ruined it now, I hope you can't sleep and you dream about it
And when you dream I hope you can't sleep and you SCREAM about it
I hope your conscience EATS AT YOU and you can't BREATHE without me
See Slim; {*screaming* 
Shut up bitch! I'm trying to talk!
Hey Slim, that's my girlfriend screamin in the trunk
but I didn't slit her throat, I just tied her up, see I ain't like you
cause if she suffocates she'll suffer more, and then she'll die too
Well, gotta go, I'm almost at the bridge now
Oh shit, I forgot, how am I supposed to send this shit out?

{Chorus: Dido

[Eminem]
Dear Stan, I meant to write you sooner but I just been busy
You said your girlfriend's pregnant now, how far along is she?
Look, I'm really flattered you would call your daughter that
and here's an autograph for your brother,
I wrote it on the Starter cap
I'm sorry I didn't see you at the show, I musta missed you
Don't think I did that shit intentionally just to diss you
But what's this shit you said about you like to cut your wrists too?
I say that shit just clowning dog,
c'mon - how fucked up is you?
You got some issues Stan, I think you need some counseling
to help your ass from bouncing off the walls when you get down some
And what's this shit about us meant to be together?
That type of shit'll make me not want us to meet each other
I really think you and your girlfriend need each other
or maybe you just need to treat her better
I hope you get to read this letter, I just hope it reaches you in time
before you hurt yourself, I think that you'll be doin just fine
if you relax a little, I'm glad I inspire you but Stan
why are you so mad? Try to understand, that I do want you as a fan
I just don't want you to do some crazy shit
I seen this one shit on the news a couple weeks ago that made me sick
Some dude was drunk and drove his car over a bridge
and had his girlfriend in the trunk, and she was pregnant with his kid
and in the car they found a tape, but they didn't say who it was to
Come to think about, his name was.. it was you
Damn! 




My tea's gone cold, I'm wondering why 
I got out of bed at all 
The morning rain clouds up my window 
and I can't see at all 
And even if I could it'd all be grey, 
but your picture on my wall 
It reminds me that it's not so bad, 
it's not so bad 

I drank too much last night, got bills to pay, 
my head just feels in pain 
I missed the bus and there'll be hell today, 
I'm late for work again 
And even if I'm there, they'll all imply 
that I might not last the day 
And then you call me and it's not so bad, 
it's not so bad and 

I want to thank you 
for giving me the best day of my life 
Oh just to be with you 
is having the best day of my life 

Push the door, I'm home at last 
and I'm soaking through and through 
Then you hand me a towel 
and all I see is you 
And even if my house falls down, 
I wouldn't have a clue 
Because you're near me and 

I want to thank you 
for giving me the best day of my life 
Oh just to be with you 
is having the best day of my life 

Liz Seems to Have Been There

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I bet it makes you laugh
Watching me work so hard to reach you
You never gave a damn
About all of those things I did to please you

All that you wanted, you found somewhere else
And nothing could drag you away from yourself

Do you really know me at all?
Would you take the time to catch me if I fall?
Are you ever gonna be that real to me?
Everything to me

Lucky I've been through hell
Backroads and shortcuts I know them well
Baby just stick with me
We'll make it together, just wait and see

Do you really know me at all?
Would you take the time to catch me if I fall?
Are you ever gonna be that real to me?
Everything to me

The walls they close in
The air it goes out
We're left with nothing but a shadow of doubt
Nobody talks, no one is here
It's just you and me

Do you really know me at all?
Would you take the time to catch me if I fall?
Are you ever gonna be that real to me?
Everything to me

Do you really know me at all?
Would you take the time to catch me if I fall?
Are you ever gonna be that real to me?
Everything to me

I bet it makes you laugh
Watching me work so hard to reach you

Nicolas Chamfort Quotes

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So, you might recall that I was pushing a bit for re-inclusion of this religious symbol for a few years now (thinking that it's too bad that the Nazis used it, but that's no more sense for punishing the Asians and Native Americans that use it, than taking Palestine from the Palestinians is punishing the Germans).  

Seems to be a lot of confusion about which way is the 'good luck' way to point it.  I would suggest that answer is obvious.  NOT the Nazi way.  They didn't generate any good luck with that orientation.   The article I read on it some years back referred to the Nazi symbol as a 'sauwastika' (it looks as if it's turning counter-clockwise). 

Anyway, I'm a bit ahead, but I didn't go to the trouble to make a web site dedicated to it.  Here's one: 

http://reclaimtheswastika.com

ReclaimTheSwastika

The spiritual swastika flag held high

The swastika is an ancient symbol present in numerous and diverse cultures around the world, including the cultures of India, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America.

In India, the swastika has thousands of years of history and still retains its place of pre-eminence among the sub-continent's spiritual symbols. It remains one of the most prominent spiritual symbols in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, and is found adorning temples and religious shrines throughout Asia.

After its misuse by the Nazis, it became associated with murder and oppression on a scale never before witnessed on this earth. For this reason, in Europe, for many millions, the swastika came to symbolise evil. There arose, as a result of this, a move to ban the swastika.

Salient Text

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Rather than force you to go look at the Northwoods Document OCR version (which admittedly looks awful as the OCR process, while making it searchable, also renders some odd font choices), I decided to just put the salient parts here:

ANNEX TO APPENDIX TO ENCLOSURE A 

PRETEXTS TO JUSTIFY US MILITARY INTERVENTION IN CUBA 

(Note: The courses of action which follow are a preliminary submission suitable only for planning purposes. They are arranged neither chronologically nor in ascending order. 

Together with similar inputs from other agencies, they are intended to provide a point of departure for the development of a single, integrated, time-phased plan. Such a plan would permit the evaluation of individual projects within the context of cumulative, correlated actions designed to lead inexorably to the objective of adequate justification for US military intervention in Cuba), 

1. Since it would seem desirable to use legitimate provocation as the basis for US military intervention in Cuba a cover and deception plan, to include requisite preliminary actions such as has been developed in response to Task 33c, could be executed as an initial effort to provoke Cuban reactions. Harassment plus deceptive actions to convince the Cubans of imminent invasion would be emphasized. Our military posture throughout execution of the plan will allow a rapid change from exercise to intervention if Cuban response justifies. 

2. A series of well coordinated incidents will be planned to take place in and around Guantanamo to give genuine appearance of being done by hostile Cuban forces. a. Incidents to establish a credible attack (not in chronological order): 

(1) Start rumors (many). Use clandestine radio. 

(2) Land friendly Cubans in uniform "over-the-fence" to stage attack on base. 

(3) Capture Cuban (friendly) saboteurs inside the base. 

(4) Start riots near the base main gate (friendly Cubans). 

(5) Blow up ammunition base; start fires. 

(6) Burn aircraft on air base (sabotage). 

(7) Lob mortar shells from outside of base into base. Some damage to installations. 

(8) Capture assault teams approaching from the sea or vicinity Of Guantanamo city. 

(9) Capture militia group which storms the base. 

(10) Sabotage ship in harbor; large fires -- napthalene. 

(11) Sink ship near harbor entmnce. Conduct funerals for mock-victims (may be lieu of (10)). 

b. United States would respond by executing offensive operations to secure water and power supplies, destroying artillery and mortar emplacements which threaten the base. 

c. Commence large scale United States military operations. 

3. A "Remember the Maine" incident could be arranged in several forma: 

a. We could blow up a US ship in Guantanamo Bay and blame Cuba. 

b. We could blow up a drone (unmanned) vessel anywhere in the Cuban waters. We could arrange to cause such incident in the vicinity of Havana or Santiago as a spectacular result of Cuban attack from the air or sea, or both. The presence of Cuban planes or ships merely investigating the intent of the vessel could be fairly compelling evidence that the ship was taken under attack, The nearness to Havana or Santiago would add credibility especially to those people that might have heard the blast or have seen the fire. The US could follow up with an air/sea rescue operation covered by US fighters to "evacuate" remaining members of the non-existent mew. Casualty lists in US newspapers would cause a helpful wave of national indignation. 

4. We could develop a Communist Cuban terror campaign in the Miami area, in other Florida cities and even in Washington. 

The terror campaign could be pointed at Cuban refugees seeking haven in the United States. We could sink a boatload of Cubans enroute to Florida (real or simulated). We could foster attempts on lives of Cuban refugees in the United States even to the extent of wounding in instances to be widely publicized. Exploding a few plastic bombs in carefully chosen spots, the arrest of Cuban agents and the release of prepared documents substantiating Cuban involvement also would be helpful in projecting the idea of an irresponsible government. 

5. A "Cuban-based, Castro-supported" filibuster could be simulated against a neighboring Caribbean nation (In the vein of the 14th of June invasion of the Dominican Republic). We know that Castro is backing subversive efforts clandestinely against Haiti, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Nicaragua at Present and possible others, These efforts can be magnified and additional ones contrived for exposure. For example, advantage can be taken of the sensitivity of the Dominican Air Force to intrusions within their national air space. "Cuban" B-26 or C-46 type aircraft could make cane-burning raids at night. Soviet Bloc incendiaries could be found. This could be coupled with "Cuban" messages to the Communist underground in the Dominican Republic and "Cuban" shipments of arms which would be found, or intercepted on the beach." 

6. Use of MIG type aircraft by US pilots could provide additional provocation. Harassment of civil air, attacks on surface shipping and destruction of US military drone aircraft by MIG type Planes would be useful as complementary actions. An F-86 properly painted would convince air passengers that they saw a Cuban MIG, especially if the pilot of the transport were to announce such fact. The primary drawback to this suggestion appears to be the security risk inherent in obtaining or modifying an aircraft. However, reasonable copies of the MIG could be produced from US resources in about three months. 

7. Hijacking attempts against civil air and surface craft should appear to continue as harassing measures condoned by the government of Cuba. Concurrently, genuine defections of Cuban civil and military air and surface craft should be encouraged. 

8. It is possible to create an incident which will demonstrate convincingly that a Cuban aircraft has attacked and shot down a chartered civil airliner enroute from the United States to Jamaica, Guatemala, Panama or Venezuela. The destination would be chosen only to cause the flight plan route to cross Cuba, The passengers could be a group of college students off on a holiday or any grouping of persons with a common Interest to support chartering a non-scheduled flight. 

a. An aircraft at Eglin AFB would be painted and numbered as an exact duplicate for a civil registered aircraft belonging to a CIA proprietary organization in the Miami area. At a designated time the duplicate would be substituted for the actual civil aircraft and would be loaded with the selected passengers, all boarded under carefully prepared aliases. The actual registered aircraft would be converted to a drone. 

b. Take off times of the drone aircraft and the actual aircraft will be scheduled to allow a rendezvous south of Florida. From the rendezvous point the passenger-carrying aircraft will descend to minimum altitude and go directly into an auxiliary field at Eglin AFD where arrangements will have been made to evacuate the passengers and return the aircraft to its original status. The drone aircraft meanwhile will continue to fly the filed flight plan. when over Cuba the drone will being transmitting on the inter- national distress frequency a "MAY DAY" message stating he is under attack by Cuban MIG aircraft The transmission will be interrupted by destruction of the aircraft which will be triggered by radio signal. This will allow ICAO radio stations in the Western Hemisphere to tell the US what has happened to the aircraft instead of the us trying to "sell" the incident. 

9. It is possible to create an incident which will make it appear that Communist Cuban MIGs have destroyed a USAF aircraft over international waters in an unprovoked attack, in trail from Homestead AFB, Florida, to the vicinity of Cuba Their mission will be to reverse course and simulate fakir aircraft for an air defense exercise in southern Florida, These aircraft would conduct variations of these flights at frequent intervals. Crews would be briefed to remain at least 12 tiles off the Cuban coast; however, they would be required to carry live ammunition in the event that hostile actions were taken by the Cuban MIGs. 

a. Approximately 4 or 5 F-101 aircraft will be dispatched 

b. On one such flight, a pre-briefed pilot would fly tail-end Charley at considerable interval between aircraft. While near the Cuban Island this pilot would broadcast that he had been jumped by MIGs and was going down. NC other calls would be made. The pilot would then fly directly west at extremely low altitude and land at a secure base, an Eglin auxiliary. The aircraft would be met by the proper people, quickly stored and given a new tail number. The Pilot who had performed the mission under an alias, would resume his proper identity and return to his normal place of business. The pilot and aircraft would then have disappeared. 

c. At precisely the same time that the aircraft was presumably shot down a submarine or small surface craft would disburse F-101 parts, parachute, etc., at approximately 15 to 20 miles off the Cuban coast and depart. The pilots returning to Homestead would have a true story as far as they knew. Search ships and aircraft could be dispatched and parts of aircraft found. 

1. The Joint Chiefs of Staff have previously stated* that US unilateral military intervention in Cuba can be undertaken in the event that the Cuban regime commits hostile acts against US forces or property which would serve as an incident upon which to base overt intervention. 

2. The need for positive action in the event that current covert efforts to foster an Internal Cuban rebellion are unsuccessful wasindicated** by the Joint Chiefs of Staff on 7 March 1962, as follows: 

" - - - determination that a credible internal revolt is impossible of attainment during the next 9-10 months will require a decision by the United States to develop a Cuban "provocation" as justification for positive US military action." 

3. It is understood that the Department of State also is preparing suggested courses of action to develop justification for US military intervention in Cuba. 

* JCS 1969/303 ** JCS 1969/313 

Tying Up Loose Ends

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So I get an email from the hatemongers at Human Events, this time from choirboy Pat Buchanan.

Now, he starts out sounding almost nice, saying, "De mortuis nil nisi bonum." Of the dead, nothing but good."

However, he goes off into the standard ill-speak of those who can no longer defend their own honor.

Not that Mark Felt (Deep Throat) had much of that.  You see, it was HIM (personally) that was convicted of violating the civil rights of the Weathermen by doing what were then called 'Black Bag' ops (now called 'Sneak and Peek' searches).  Reagan pardoned him, but he wasn't a 'good guy' (at least by my definition of the term).

And the reasoning was identical to the current reasoning, too.  It's just that the 'mushroom cloud' was a lot smaller (Weathermen used dynamite instead of nukes).  It should be noted, too that the Weathermen only bombed empty buildings (the one set of fatalities was them accidentally blowing THEMSELVES up).

Now, the REAL problem is laid out by Mr. Buchanan in a nutshell later in the article:

Do we really want, here in America, our premier investigative and police agency to get the truth out that it decides to get out?

Would it have been right for Hoover to get the "whole truth out" on JFK's liaisons with suspected German spies, Mafia molls and Marilyn Monroe, and destroy his presidency? Would it have been right for the FBI to get the "whole truth out" of Hoover's secret files, and ruin all the public careers the FBI could have destroyed?

Well, IMHO, yes, it would have been 'right'.  It would have been 'right' to release the info that we had an active group of terrorists WORKING FOR US, blowing up Vietnamese, Thais, Laotians, Cambodians, Cubans, and Venezuelans (at a minimum), and that we tortured and murdered Indochinese with the same abandon we currently use on Iraqis and Afghans.

I guess what Mr. Buchanan finds 'right' is the continued delusion that the people in charge are the 'good guys'.

I don't think that's a logical conclusion.  It seems far more likely, for example, that 'bad guys' who cover for other 'bad guys' will be retained in power.  In fact, that seems to be Pat's point (other than the obvious one on the top of his head).

In a situation where 'good guys' get the upper hand, wouldn't it be logical to assume that Bill Moyers would be in an equivalent position to Pat Buchanan?  I mean, they're both former White House Press Secretaries, they both were involved in major historical moments both in the White House and subsequent to that tenure, and both have been involved in the news industry since (true, Moyers is a journalist and Buchanan a pundit, but still, both are available).

Yet I can tune in and see Pat damn near any day of the week, and almost any time of the day, while I don't see Bill much at all.

Of course, Bill came out with the 'truth' about the original assholes right after they got caught with their hands in the cookie jar.  

At least he survived the attempt to oust him from PBS.


Here's the original Secret Government video (90 mins):


So it's really a simple question, when it comes down to it.  If Black Bag ops were used to convince us that we were under attack, which 'good guys' would you be waiting for to spill the beans?

It's kind of a trick question, though, since we know that the current assholes lied us into the last two wars, and they still are getting plenty of help covering up that, the torture we've done, the innocents we've massacred, etc.

It will be a bellweather though, to see the new administration go in.  If the old one doesn't go to jail w/o passing 'Go' first, Obama's just another hack like the rest.

As long as you folks want to live in a world like '24' you will, you know?

On the other hand, opening up the books and doing a little self-examination never hurts.

One of the first places I'd go to look would be those snuff-flicks that the 'Muslims' kept sending (people being decapitated, etc.).  

There are two obvious issues with this.  First, is that de-escalation of a situation rarely occurs on its own, so that the idea they would START by cutting people to bits and then mellow out is irrational.

The second is the setting (a number of the films appeared to have been set inside Abu Gharib), and the characters (Muslim men don't wear gold rings, it's against 'Gods Law'), plus, the 'arabs' looked a mite pale for that set.

Now, we HAVE the Joint Chiefs' report on blowing up Americans and blaming it on communists (to instigate a war on Cuba).  

The real question then, isn't "How could anyone suspect this would happen?"

The real question is: "How could any rational being suspect this would ever STOP happening?"

It's not like they have some moral compulsion against killing Americans.  They've already proven that they are quite willing to kill some of us to *protect* us (Americans just won't wage war unless they are provoked, yano?)

The question is, "How many of the recent dead are actually dead at the hands of our enemies, and how many fell at the hands of their *friends*?"

If you doubt that, you are wrong.

If you read the Joint Chiefs suggestions (including the admission that the 'Maine' explosion that set off the Spanish-American war was JUST this same kind of event), and you STILL doubt it, you aren't wrong.

You are stupid.  

Maybe if you watch the video by Moyers you will be able to read the Northwoods Document for content.

Variations on a Theme

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I got mail from Andres a little bit back, and I thought I should preface it with a simple statement:

Politicians lie.

I know House says, "Everyone lies," but in the case of 'everyone' they aren't doing it all the time like breathing.

For example, when that Oreo was submitted to the Supreme Court as a 'black' judge to replace the outgoing Thurgood Marshall, a law clerk he had once employed and harassed sexually, Anita Hill, brought it to the attention of the public.

A number of fictitious news articles were printed (then retracted) so that a man named David Brock could write 'The REAL Anita Hill' to discredit her.

And how do we know this?  Because David Brock decided that (being gay) he couldn't really stay on that side, and he came out both as a homosexual and as a liar, writing "The Republican Noise Machine", and bringing the Media Matters for America website to life.

And we know that Kerry was 'Swift Boated' with lies about his military service.  Crap, in this last election we had the bizarre message that Obama is a Muslim.

Now, as long as this situation remains unchanged (as long as people can lie w/o penalty) it's NOT going to stop (not even slow down, IMHO).

So, again, I suggest that we need to make THIS issue the major issue, so that when some bought-off publisher plants a false news story, there are CONSEQUENCES.

It would be nice to get to that point before we actually invade Venezuela.

Actually, it would just be nice if our own government turned Luis Posada Carriles over to them, as a start (he's a terrorist, but he's OUR terrorist, yano, he blows up *bad guys* like planeloads of Venezuelans).

So, that said, I'm going to post the beginnings of this article that Andres just forwarded me, because it's the SAME shit going down here.

The only 'human rights' being denied in Venezuela is the 'right' to lie.  As their lying media come due for renewal, the ones that lied to the public about the coup that our government supported are being denied renewals of their licenses.

And Hugo STILL has well over sixty percent support of the Venezuelans, overall (just not that top 1% that own things like newspapers, radio and TV stations).


In an open letter to the Board of Directors of Human Rights Watch, over 100 experts on Latin America criticized the organization's recent report on Venezuela, A Decade Under Chávez: Political Intolerance and Lost Opportunities for Advancing Human Rights in Venezuela, saying that it "does not meet even the most minimal standards of scholarship, impartiality, accuracy, or credibility." The signers include leading academic specialists from universities in the United States, including Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and a number of state universities, and academic institutions in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, México, the U.K., Venezuela and other countries. The letter cites Jose Miguel Vivanco, lead author of the report, saying "We did the report because we wanted to demonstrate to the world that Venezuela is not a model for anyone..."[1], as evidence of its political agenda. The letter also criticizes the report for making unsubstantiated allegations, and that some of the sources that Human Rights Watch relied on in the report are not credible.

"By publishing such a grossly flawed report, and acknowledging a political motivation in doing so, Mr. Vivanco has undermined the credibility of an important human rights organization," the letter states.

The letter notes that numerous sources cited in the report - including opposition newspapers El Universal and El Nacional, opposition group Súmate, and a mentally unstable opposition blogger - have been known to fabricate information, making it "difficult for most readers to know which parts of the report are true and which aren't." The letter also argues that the Human Rights Watch report makes sweeping allegations based on scant evidence. For example, its allegation of discrimination in government services is based on just one person whose nephew claimed she was denied medicine from a government program.


Got a Bad one

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A good one, but a bad one, nonetheless.

If you should get this picture in email, it's photoshopped:

northpowl.jpeg
It's a great work of art, but it defies one of the simple rules of this place (the sun and the moon are the same apparent size, everywhere).

Of course, that's one of the points I use to disprove that this place is real at all (ever considered the ODDS of that *fact*?).

But regardless, it's a fact.  The photo's a fake, so pass it on, but pass this story on instead of the trite fiction that comes with it:

This is the sunset at the North Pole with the moon at its closest point. 

A scene you will probably never get to see in person, so take a moment and enjoy God at work at the North Pole. 

And, you also see the sun below the moon. 

An amazing photo and not one easily duplicated. You may want to pass it on to others so they can enjoy it. 

The Chinese have a saying that goes something like this: 

'When someone shares with you something of value, you have an obligation to share it with others!' 

I just did. Your turn. - 

Bond, um, Jimbo Bond ...

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Hidden Camera Detector
 Hidden Spy Camera Finder 
 
 
Our Price: $479.00


Product Code: HCD-1


DescriptionTechnical Specs
 

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This camera detector quickly finds single or multiple hidden wireless spy cameras and shows you what they see. The 2.5" color high resolution monitor displays the video image while the LCD window shows the frequency of the transmission. The scan takes less than 5 seconds and locks in on any video camera transmitter then sounds an audible alarm tone.

Selectable antenna sensitivity allows sources up to 500 of feet away.

Our Hidden Camera Detector and Camera Finder features a scan range of 900MHz to 2520MHz. It sports a built-in 2.5" LCD screen which makes it ideal for ensuring personal privacy, mobile wireless video applications, law enforcement, video counter surveillance, hidden wireless camera detection, or RC applications.

Hans Rings In (a bit late)

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I got this from 'Hans' this evening.  He was up to the Ouique, Volume 1, #3.  Here's a review from the IMDB page:

Absolutely worth seeing!!!! I would watch it a hundred times over just for Nimbus the Elder and Frogman!!!! All the factual information pertaining to the drug war is also quite interesting, if not mind-blowing! Soling is one the rare filmmakers of our era who pushes the limit of what should or shouldn't be said and/or filmed. I hope to see many more films from him and his company in the future. No one makes stuff like this. We as 'movie-viewers' owe it to the producers of these independent films for not being afraid to create the art that they believe in. I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I sat down to watch "the War on the War on Drugs"; please pardon the cliché, but all movies I see will now be referred as Pre-War on Drugs, and Post-War on drugs. And of the course I shouldn't fail to mention that the film is overall, just plain hilarious!! I can't wait to own the DVD!!



The web site is pretty trippy, too:

Last Minute Xmas Present?

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A laser pointer with perhaps a bit more juice than most.  Here, it's cutting through some tape and lighting things on fire:

¿Alternate Reality?

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Ok, I'm lost.  I must have wandered into this place from a dream that I never woke up from.

Right?

Otherwise, explain this (see cut #14).

View Larger Map  

If you zoom in a little further and walk down the street, you'll see a guy keeping his dogs from humping on camera.

I. There are approximately two billion children (persons under 18) in the world. However, since Santa does not visit children of some religions, this reduces the workload for Christmas night to 15% of the total, or 378 million (according to the Population Reference Bureau).

At an average (census) rate of 3.5 children per household, that comes to 108 million homes, presuming that there is at least one good child in each.

II. Santa has about 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 967.7 visits per second. This is to say that for each Christian household with a good child, Santa has around 1/1000th of a second to park the sleigh, hop out, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left for him, get back up the chimney, jump into the sleigh and get on to the next house.

Assuming that each of these 108 million stops is evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course, we know to be false, but will accept for the purposes of our calculations), we are now talking about 0.78 miles per household; a total trip of 75.5 million miles, not counting bathroom stops or breaks. This means Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second---3,000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second, and a conventional reindeer can run (at best) 15 miles per hour.

III. The payload of the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium sized Lego set (two pounds), the sleigh is carrying over 500 thousand tons, not counting Santa himself. On land, a conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting that the "flying" reindeer could pull ten times the normal amount, the job can't be done with eight or even nine of them--- Santa would need 360,000 of them. This increases the payload, not counting the weight of the sleigh, another 54,000 tons, or roughly seven times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth (the ship, not the monarch).

IV. 600,000 tons traveling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance---this would heat up the reindeer in the same fashion as a spacecraft re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer would absorb 14.3 quintillion joules of energy per second each. In short, they would burst into flames almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them and creating deafening sonic booms in their wake.

The entire reindeer team would be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second, or right about the time Santa reached the fifth house on his trip.

Not that it matters, however, since Santa, as a result of accelerating from a dead stop to 650 m.p.s. in .001 seconds, would be subjected to centrifugal forces of 17,500 g's. A 250 pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of the sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force, instantly crushing his bones and organs and reducing him to a quivering blob of pink goo.

Therefore, if Santa did exist, he's dead now.

Via Stefan Glock

Lili St. Cyr

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If you don't know why god blesses Lili St. Cyr, I probably shouldn't let you in on it.  



It's beyond me.


Help me, mommy!

On Teamwork

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I'm ok with being on a 'team' if there's a decent coach on the team.

By this, I mean, for example, if I was a running back, and I said to the coach, "I think you should replace the quarterback, since when I run upfield, he throws the ball into the seats."

Now, the coach can make his call, but if he keeps the QB, it's going to be very difficult to motivate me to run upfield, since I know there's no point to the exercise.

It gets more difficult if the voice-over in the stadium is remarking on how I didn't catch the ball, rather than pointing out that the ball went into the crowd, too.

Some coaches are really just insane, when it comes down to it.

Cars

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This little cartoon caused me more grief than any ten other items.

It has to do with truth.

It has to do with living in podunk places.  It has to do with having friends.

I've lived in the *boonies* for a LONG time.

I've hated it the whole time.

I really am a city boy.

I want mass transit that takes me directly from my residence to the grocery, the party district, and the employment matrix.  I want to go to the IMAX.

I had that, sometime back, in Austin.

While I've not enjoyed rural life in the least, I was at least copacetic with the reality.

And mostly, I realized what it means to be a member of a local community.

Though I might not personally enjoy the edges of the universe, I'm not out to make it a miserable place for anyone else.

And I DO make a point of buying things from my friends.

And I make a point of teamwork (when it happens).

About the only thing in that movie I thought of as 'fiction' was the spectacular SW landscape.  It's nowhere near that breathtaking in real-life.  There are views like in the movie, just spread out over about six hundred more miles.  It looks MUCH nicer in the movies than it does in person.

In person, it looks a shitload better in the rear-view mirror, and entirely better as a memory seen through bay-area fog.  Some people have more of an enhanced appreciation for light, shadow, rock, and dust than I.

The rest of the movie was kind of 'fact' except that it was only factual from my point of view.

I was watching it with a lying prima-donna who had disdain for the local yokels (and me, though I was still pretty clueless about that part at that time).

She had dragged me to the smallest town I'd ever even thought about living in, and I was watching her run out of gas bitching about living in the boonies, while simultaneously ensuring that we continued to be stuck here.

If I'd just been clued in that she was lying and not crazy, I'd have been in much better straits.

Anyway, I cried for almost a solid hour (the whole last hour of the movie).  It went overboard about the time that the Ferrari showed up at Luigi's.

Now, I have the faith to doubt love.  I don't know it's an *enhancement*, but it's definitely a very different experience than before.

I don't know that it will protect me from falling, but at least if I fall in the future I won't hit unknown terrain when I land.

At least I hope to be able to see the disconnect between what someone *says* is important, and what they evidence as important by their actions.

Actions speak louder than words.  In fact, actions speak, while words are mute.

Xmas Boop

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A large factory complex struggles to produce a single package, which is rushed to a toy store. The box opens, and out steps a Betty Boop doll. The other toys come to life, parade around to the music of March of the Toys and crown her their queen. But there's a big stuffed toy of King Kong who begins breaking things up. Eventually, the big ape is defeated, and the (somewhat damaged) toys resume their parade.

[edit]

Another Notable Charity

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Dear Friends,

We hope this message finds you well.

In these uncertain times we hope you are staying 'wiggly' as Alan would say, and connected with the best things in life.

We have been very busy keeping the Alan Watts legacy alive and growing, with a new radio series, the opening of the Ecozen Mountain Center, and production of an Alan Watts film all in the works.

The newly named Alan Watts Ecozen Mountain Center will include buildings for for media production, study, and retreat as each phase comes to fruition.

We have now entered the finishing phase of the library and media building, with the study center and retreat housing proceeding along as well.

Any donation made to the project, large or small, would be well appreciated and help bring opening day at the Ecozen Center closer.

So far the project has been a labor of love sustained primarily by publishing funds and a few key donations, and here in the final stretch a little extra help will make the difference.

Thank you, and all the best,

Mark Watts

PS  all donations are fully tax-deductible [501(c)3 educational organization], and may be mailed to:

Electronic Educational Programs Inc.
Post Office Box 2309
San Anselmo, CA  94979

http://www.alanwatts.org/Alan-Watts-Mountain-Center

Yusuf

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I figured I'd put his other stuff up, so I should put something current up too. 



ا ‎  A' is for Allah, nothing but Allah; 
ب Ba is the beginning of Bismillah; ت‎ Ta is for Taqwa, bewaring of Allah; ث‎ and Tha is for Thawab, a reward; ج‎ Ja is for Janna, the Garden of Paradise; ح‎ Ha is for Hajj, the blessed pilgrimage; خ‎ Kha is for Khaatem, the seal of the prophethood given to the Prophet, Muhammed (SAW); د‎ Da is for Deen, Al-Islam, religion with Allah since time began; ذ‎ Dha is for dhikr, remembering Allah; ر‎ and Ra is for the month of Ramadhan, ohh Ramadhan; ز‎ Za is for Zakat to pure our greed, when we give our money to those in need; س‎ Sa is for Salamu alaikum, peace be with you wa'alaikum assalam; ش‎ Sha is for shams, the shining sun, which Allah placed for everyone; ص‎ and Sua is for salat, for when we pray facing him, everyday, facing him, till we meet our lord;
Allah there's only one God 
and Muhammed is his Messenger. 
Allah, La ilaha illa'allah; ض‎ Dua is for duha, the morning light, the sun has turned from red to white; ط‎ Tua is for tareeq, the path to walk upon; ظ‎ and Dhua is for dhil, a shadow; ع‎ and Aa is for ilm, the thing to know, to make our knowledge grow, in Islam; غ‎ Gha is for ghaib, a world unseen and that we know is not a dream; ف‎ Fa is for, the Opening, Al-Fatiha; ق‎ and Qua for the Qur'an, the book of God; ك‎ and Ka is for kalima, a word we're taught to teach us what is good and what is not; ل‎ and La is for the beginning of La ilaha illa'allah; م‎ Ma is for the Messenger Muhammed-ur-Rasoolillah. La ilaha illa'allah, Muhammed-ur-Rasulilllah;
Allah, there's only one God 
and Muhammed is his Messenger. 
Allah, la ilaha illa'allah;
ن  Na is for nawm, the sleep God gave to give us rest after the day;
 ه Ha is for the Hijra, the journey that, the Prophet made; و‎ and Wa for wudu before we pray to help us wash our sins away;
 ي And Ya for Yawm-mid-Deen; 

Allah, there's only one God 
and Muhammed is his Messenger. 
Allah, La ilaha illa'allah; 

Allah, there's only one God 
and Jesus was his Messenger. 
Allah, La ilaha illa'allah; 

Allah, there's only one God 
and Moses was his Messenger. 
Allah, La ilaha illa'allah; 

Allah, there's only one God 
and Abraham was his Messenger. 
Allah, La ilaha illa'allah; 

Allah, there's only one God 
and Noah was his Messenger. 
Allah, La ilaha illa'allah; 

Allah, there's only one God 
and he created Adam, and we are the children of Adam. 
Allah,La ilaha illa'allah; 

Allah, there's only one God 
and Muhammed is his Messenger. 
Allah, La ilaha illa'allah. 

And now, for something completely different ...

The First Cut is the Deepest

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I would have given you all of my heart 

but there's someone who's torn it apart 

and she's taken almost all that I've got 

but if you want, I'll try to love again 

baby I'll try to love again but I know 


The first cut is the deepest, baby I know 

The first cut is the deepest 

'cause when it comes to being lucky she's cursed 

when it comes to lovin' me she's worst 

but when it comes to being loved she's first 

that's how I know 


The first cut is the deepest, baby I know 

The first cut is the deepest 


I still want you by my side 

just to help me dry the tears that I've cried 

cause I'm sure gonna give you a try 

and if you want, I'll try to love again 

but baby, I'll try to love again, but I know 


The first cut is the deepest, baby I know 

The first cut is the deepest 


'Cause when it comes to being lucky she's cursed 

when it comes to lovin' me she's worst 

but when it comes to being loved she's first 

that's how I know 


The first cut is the deepest, baby I know 

The first cut is the deepest 

Yet Another Clue

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Since I ran across that National Geographic article about Neanderthals, I've been really correlating things in my head, and Rev. B sent a note about historical pot in graves in China (very interesting in general), but it had in it a tiny additional link that I thought I should mention.

BTW, here's the correlations so far:

Neanderthal died out in the mountains of Europe.  Their last strongholds were the Pyrenees, the Alps, and the Caucasus.

They had some genetics which we have as well (well, some of us do).  It's a gene for speech that seems to have crossed over into us from them.  People who have this gene have enhanced understanding of and ability to use words.

Now, I mention this because in the article today it mentioned yet another link that I'd overlooked.

You see, there were three ancient language families that are somewhat 'related' (in a way).  They are Celtic, Italic, and Anatolic.

The original stronghold of the Celts was the Pyrenees, the Italics the Alps, and the Anatolic the Caucasus.

All three groups show a line of genetics which includes the *other* main observable Neanderthal trait, red hair (the 'Mark of Cain').

In the Celtic line, the genetic trait for speech might be titled the 'gift of gab'.

When the English came over to kill off all the Irish nobility, they escaped to their relatives' houses in Italy.
Yeah, we can all *feel good* about wanting healthcare for everyone, but are YOU willing to pay for insurance companies annual profit in order to achieve it?

Read more at: http://november5.org/

Liar Unlimited

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I was mentioning this to my neighbor last night, but it's worth mentioning here.

This place is full of shit.  There are more lying assholes per unit human here than most places I've ever run across.

But few even approach the caliber of the guy who first attracted my attention to this locale, Bruce Anderson, of the Anderson Valley Advertiser.

Here's what Judi Bari's husband has to say about him.

Here's some more.

Here's a memorial site for Judi.

Here's the AVA online.
by Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
December 20, 2008

Michael Connell, the crucial techno- lynch pin in the theft of the 2004 election, and much more, is dead at the age of 45. His unnatural, suspicious death raises serious questions about the corruption of the American electoral process that now may never be answered. 

Connell died Friday, December 19 when his Piper Saratoga plane crashed near his northern Ohio home. He was flying himself home from the College Park, Maryland airport. An accomplished pilot, flying in unremarkable weather, his death cuts off a critical path to much of what may never be known about how the 2004 election was shifted from John Kerry to George W. Bush in the wee hours of November 2. His plane crashed between two houses in an upscale neighborhood, one vacant, just 2.5 miles from the Akron-Canton airport. 

A long-time, outspokenly loyal associate of the Bush family, Connell created the Bush-Cheney website for their 2000 presidential campaign. Connell may have played a role in various computer malfunctions that helped the GOP claim the presidency in 2000. As a chief IT consultant and operative for Karl Rove, Connell was a devout Catholic and the father of four children. In various interviews and depositions Connell cited his belief that abortion is murder as a primary motivating factor in his work for the Republican Party. 

Connell recently wrote the following in his New Media Communications newsletter, regarding Barack Obama's election: "In our 230 year history, our democracy has suffered worse fates. It's just that none come to mind right now." Connell wrote: "This is just a moment in time and this too shall pass. Enduring is the fact that 2000 years ago, a babe was born in Bethlehem. When our Lord God sent his only Son for our salvation,...In spite of the current economic and political conditions, salvation is eternal." 

Ohio Republican Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell hired Connell in 2004 to create a real-time computer data compilation for counting Ohio's votes. Under Connell's supervision, Ohio's presidential vote count was transmitted to private, partisan computer servers owned by SmartTech housed in the basement of the Old Pioneer Bank building in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Connell's company, New Media Communications worked closely with SmartTech in building Republican and right-wing websites that were hosted on SmartTech servers. Among Connell's clients were the Republican National Committee, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and gwb43.com, that housed at one point Karl Rove's missing emails. Rove's email files have since mysteriously disappeared despite repeated court-sanctioned attempts to review them. 

In 2001, Michael Connell's GovTech Solutions, LLC was selected to reorganize the Capitol Hill IT network, the only private-sector company to gain permission from HIR [House Information Resources] to place its server behind the firewall, he bragged. 

Read more?

The Free Press: Speaking Truth to Power

Iraq reconstruction 'a failure'

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The report quotes Powell as alleging that Iraqi troop numbers were inflated by defence officials [AFP]

The US-led coalition's $100bn effort to rebuild Iraq has failed amid bureaucratic quarrels, ignorance of Iraqi society and violence in the country, the New York Times has quoted a US government report as saying.

The newspaper said on its website on Saturday that it had obtained a draft copy of Hard Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experience, which is circulating among senior officials.

Compiled by the Office of the Special Inspector-General for Iraq Reconstruction, led by Stuart Bowen Jr, a Republican lawyer, the draft text concluded that the US defence department issued false reports to cover up poor progress of the reconstruction effort.

Colin Powell, the former US secretary of state, is quoted as saying that the Pentagon gave inflated figures on the number of Iraqi security forces on the ground.

Figures 'invented'

The defence department "kept inventing numbers of Iraqi security forces - the number would jump 20,000 a week! We now have 80,000, we now have 100,000, we now have 120,000", he is quoted as saying.

The report says that Powell's view was supported by Lieutenant-General Ricardo Sanchez, the most senior ground troops officer in Iraq, and Paul Bremer, the civilian administrator before the Iraqi government takeover in June 2004.

It concluded that the US government did not have the policies nor the organisational structure required to put the largest reconstruction programme since the Marshall Plan into place, the newspaper reported.

The work did not go beyond restoring what was destroyed during the invasion and its immediate aftermath, it said.

By mid-2008 $117bn had been spent on the reconstruction of Iraq, including about $50bn in US taxpayer money, according to the report.

'Corrupt officials'

Ahmed Rushdi, an Iraqi journalist, told Al Jazeera the money had been squandered or taken by corrupt officials.

"When you are talking about $117 billion, you are talking about stolen money, misused money, and poor planning. But the Americans and the Iraqis said that these monies were being spent on security," he said.

Iraq's reconstruction has foundered amid the tense security situation in the country [AFP]
"I think Americans and some Iraqis have got very rich [off the funds] and they decided to get rid of all their documents which would show that something was wrong, particularly in Paul Bremer's administration."

"We must make a rule on how to charge these people with crimes."

In one example, an official at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) was given four hours to work out how many miles of Iraqi roads needed to be repaired, the Times said.

The official's estimate came from documents in USAID's library and was then submitted into a master plan.

Furthermore, funding for a large amount of Iraqi reconstruction projects was divided up among local politicians and tribal leaders, the New York Times reported.

"Our district council chairman has become the Tony Soprano of Rasheed, in terms of controlling resources," it quotes one US embassy official in Baghdad as saying.

"You will use my contractor or the work will not get done.'"

Political lobbying

The report also pointed to political manoeuvring in the US, highlighting an example where a Republican lobbyist working for the US occupation authority called on the Office of Management and Budget to fund $20bn in new reconstruction money in August 2003.

"To delay getting our funds would be a political disaster for the president [George Bush]," Tom Korologos, the lobbyist, said, according the report.

"[Bush's] election will hang for a large part on show of progress in Iraq and without the funding this year, progress will grind to a halt," the draft quoted Korologos as saying.

The Bush administration supported Korologos' request and the US congress allocated the money later that year.

The report was based on about 500 interviews and more than 600 audits, inspections and investigations undertaken in Iraq over several years.

News of it comes amid continued scrutiny over the role of the US military in Iraq and the timetable for its withdrawal from the country.


From Al Jazeera

Fearful Hatred

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The hatemongers at Human Events sent me a FUNNY!

From mAnn Coulter:

Last night, I had a horrible dream... and no, this isn't the famous "I Had a Dream" speech. Frankly, I think that one could use a rest.

No, in my dream it was 12 noon, so naturally I tuned in for my daily dose of conservative news and commentary from the greatest political talk show host in the history of radio.

As I imagined one half of a giant brain being tied behind a familiar back, just to make it fair, the familiar bass notes from "My City Was Gone" throbbed, and the announcer's voice boomed...

"Ladies and gentleman... in accordance with Fairness Doctrine broadcasting regulations... here's AL FRANKEN!"

I woke up screaming. But then I realized it was just a bad dream.


The funny part is that it's not necessarily a 'dream'.

Al's ahead in the race.

Ladies and gentlemen, in accordance with the laws of the United States, and the Great State of Minnesota, here's:

SENATOR Al Franken.

Merry 8mas

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ComputeHer put a new album up.  Here's "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen":

Other News

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Yeah, it takes the Russians to accurately report this news on TV.  We won't let Americans know that the TOP question on Americans' minds is "Legalize Pot?":

The Top 10 Questions Americans are Asking Barack Obama

"Will you consider legalizing marijuana so that the government can regulate it, tax it, put age limits on it, and create millions of new jobs and create a billion dollar industry right here in the U.S.?"
 
"What will you do as President to restore the Constitutional protections that have been subverted by the Bush Administration and how will you ensure that our system of checks and balances is renewed?"
 
 
"What will you do to establish transparency and safeguards against waste with the rest of the Wall Street bailout money?"
 
 
"Will you lift the ban on Stem Cell research in your first 100 days in office?"
 
 
"What will you do to promote science and mathematics education to Elementary and Middle School students?"
 
 
"Will you appoint a Special Prosecutor - ideally Patrick Fitzgerald - to independently investigate the gravest crimes of the Bush Administration, including torture and warrantless wiretapping?"
 
 
"13 states have compassionate use programs for medial Marijuana, yet the federal gov't continues to prosecute sick and dying people. Isn't it time for the federal gov't to step out of the way and let doctors and families decide what is appropriate?"
 
 
"What do you plan to do to our food industry to make it more sustainable? Will there be changes to our farming policies?"
 
 
"What will you do to end the use of mercenary forces (ie Blackwater) by our military?"
 
 
"What will you do first to reduce pollution/waste and incentivize greener behavior across the country?"
 
 


Go to see the results yourself.

Unicode test: Greek

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ΚΑΤΑ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΝ 1

(The Gospel of John, 1:1-5)

 1εν αρχη ην ο λογος και ο λογος ην προς τον θεον και θεος ην ο λογος

    2ουτος ην εν αρχη προς τον θεον

In the beginning was the understanding, and the understanding was god, and the understanding was of god.

    3παντα δι αυτου εγενετο και χωρις αυτου εγενετο ουδε εν ο γεγονεν

It was always this way from the beginning, and apart from this, nothing was created.

    4εν αυτω ζωη ην και η ζωη ην το φως των ανθρωπων

In the understanding was life, and in life, the understanding that is light to men.

    5και το φως εν τη σκοτια φαινει και η σκοτια αυτο ου κατελαβεν

And this light shines in the void, but nothing itself is incapable of comprehension.

Frank S.ent a Xmas Song, before

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He sent it, but by the time the Ouique rolled around, the place it was hosted had taken it down and mistakenly given a bad link to this video:

On the Bailout

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On legislation of intelligence in general (seems to be a theme of late).

If we make it illegal to be dumb, only criminals will be stupid.

Right?

On that note, from Ai:

Subject: Fwd: Ford vs. Toyota 

A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (Ford Motors) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race. 

On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile. 

The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action. 

Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 7 people steering and 2 people rowing. 

Feeling a deeper study was in order; American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion. 

They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing. 

Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 2 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager. 

They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 2 people rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the 'Rowing Team Quality First Program,' with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rowers. 

There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses. The pension program was trimmed to 'equal the competition' and some of the resultant savings were channeled into morale boosting programs and teamwork posters. 

The next year the Japanese won by two miles. 

Humiliated, the American management laid-off one rower, halted development of a new canoe, sold all the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses. 

The next year, try as he might, the lone designated rower was unable to even finish the race (having no paddles,) so he was laid off for unacceptable performance, all canoe equipment was sold and the next year's racing team was out-sourced to India. 

Sadly, the End. 

Here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the US, claiming they can't make money paying American wages. 

TOYOTA has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the US. The last quarter's results: TOYOTA makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in losses. 

Ford folks are still scratching their heads, and collecting bonuses ... and now wants the Government to 'bail them out'. 

IF THIS WEREN'T SO TRUE IT MIGHT BE FUNNY


And on that note, from Stefan Glock:


youwouldntbuyour.jpg

Troll sends Sad Yule Tidings

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NEW YORK (AP) - Majel Barrett Roddenberry, the widow of ``Star Trek'' creator Gene Roddenberry, has died. She was 76. Roddenberry, an actress who appeared in numerous ``Star Trek'' TV shows and movies, died Thursday of leukemia at her home in Bel-Air, Calif., her representative said. 

At Roddenberry's side were family friends and her only son, Eugene Roddenberry Jr. Gene Roddenberry died in 1991. 

Her romance with Roddenberry earned her the title ``The First Lady of Star Trek.'' A fixture in the ``Star Trek'' franchise, her roles included Nurse Christine Chapel in the original ``Star Trek,''


majel_barrett.jpg

Lwaxana Troi in ``Star Trek: The Next Generation''


and the voice of the USS Enterprise computer in almost every spin-off of the 1966 cult series.


 


She recently reprised the voice role in the upcoming ``Star Trek'' film directed by J.J. Abrams. 


From L.E.A.P.

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ProhibitionRepealPoster.jpg


We Can Do It Again: Repealing Today's Failed Prohibition -- TAKE ACTION!

December, 2008 marks the 75th anniversary of the end of alcohol prohibition. You can help teach a lesson from history by asking your representatives to repeal today's failed prohibition of drugs.

When America's leaders repealed alcohol prohibition,it wasn't because they suddenly decided that liquor was safe and that everyone should drink. Rather, it was because they were tired of gangsters raking in rich illegal profits and terrorizing neighborhoods. And we simply could not afford to keep enforcing the failed prohibition during the Great Depression, our nation's worst economic crisis.

Today, America is in the grip of a new economic crisis, but we keep paying for an even more devastating prohibition, the "war on drugs."

If you're tired of paying for laws that only make our streets more dangerous, take one minute to let your federal and state elected officials know how you feel by adapting our pre-written letter below.  We can do it again!


repeal.png

Old_Forester_Repeal200-w.jpgOld Forester will release Old Forester Repeal Bourbon, a new, one-time, limited-release bourbon expression celebrating the 75th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition. Old Forester Repeal Bourbon will come in a mock circa-1933 375ml bottle and carry an Old Forester replica label from that era. Bottles are expected to arrive in stores nationwide in early December.

Old Forester became America's first bottled bourbon in 1870 when Louisville-native George Garvin Brown recognized the need for a bourbon of consistent high quality and began putting Old Forester in glass bottles.

Brown, a pharmaceutical salesman, was so sure of the quality of Old Forester that he put his hand-written guarantee on each bottle - a practice continued today. Old Forester is the only bourbon in existence today that has been sold continuously for over a century, including between the Prohibition years of 1920 and 1933 when it received one of only ten government permits to produce bourbon for medicinal purposes when alcohol sales were otherwise illegal in the United States. No other bourbon sold in the U.S. today can make that claim.


http://www.avenuevine.com/archives/cat_liquor_news.html

Prëtënsïöüsnëss

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I ran across an article on the Wiki about the Metal Umlaut:

metal umlaut is an umlaut that is sometimes used gratuitously or decoratively over letters in the names of heavy metal bands, such as in Mötley Crüe or Motörhead. Among English speakers, the use of umlauts and other diacritics with a blackletter style typeface is a form of foreign branding intended to give a band's logo a Teutonic quality. It is a form of marketing that evokes stereotypes of boldness and strength commonly attributed to peoples such as the Vikings; author Reebee Garofalo has attributed its use to a desire for a "Gothic horror" feel.[1] The metal umlaut is never referred to by the term diaeresis in this usage, nor is it generally intended to affect the pronunciation of the band's name.

These decorative umlauts have been parodied in film and fiction. In the mockumentary film This Is Spıal Tap(spelled with an umlaut over the n), fictional rocker David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) says, "It's like a pair of eyes. You're looking at the umlaut, and it's looking at you." In 2002, Spin magazine referred to the metal umlaut as "the diacritical mark of the beast."[citation needed]


Upgrades

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Ok, this should be arriving now in UTF-8 format, so that I don't have to mess with that encoding stuff.

This is because Dr. X posted a neat article about the recreation of the original computer from the artifact found at  Antikythera.  Note, this predates Babbage's engine by two millennia.



http://decodingtheheavens.com/


World's First Computer Rebuilt, Rebooted After 2,000 Years

By Charlie Sorrel EmailDecember 16, 2008 | 7:13:12 AMCategories: Retro  

Detail of the Antikythera mechanism

A British museum curator has built a working replica of a 2,000-year-old Greek machine that has been called the world's first computer.

A dictionary-size assemblage of 37 interlocking dials crafted with the precision and complexity of a 19th-century Swiss clock, the Antikythera mechanism was used for modeling and predicting the movements of the heavenly bodies as well as the dates and locations of upcoming Olympic games.

The original 81 shards of the Antikythera were recovered from under the sea (near the Greek island of Antikythera) in 1902, rusted and clumped together in a nearly indecipherable mass. Scientists dated it to 150 B.C. Such craftsmanship wouldn't be seen for another 1,000 years -- but its purpose was a mystery for decades. 


And more:

And more:

And more:

And more:

And more (great vids here):

Or just order one and play with it at home.

Unicode Test: Hindi

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rab ne आदित्य चोपड़ा निर्देशित रब ने बना दी जोड़ी अब ऑस्कर की लाइब्रेरी में रखी जाएगी। द एकेडमी ऑफ मोशन पिक्चर्स आर्टस एंड साइंसेज ने यशराज फिल्मस से अनुरोध किया है कि वे इस फिल्म की स्क्रिप्ट की एक प्रति ऑस्कर को भेज दें। रब ने बना दी जोड़ी की स्क्रिप्ट ऑस्कर के स्थाई कलेक्शन के रूप में रखी जाएगी। यशराज फिल्मस के प्रवक्ता क ा कहना है कि ऑस्कर की ओर से इस फिल्म की स्क्रिप्ट मंगवाने के बाद यह साबित हो गया है कि इसकी स्क्रिनप्ले विश्वस्तरीय 

Unicode Test: Russian

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Мир

Зачем сенаторы охмуряют Обаму и какой России от этого прок


Американские сенаторы направили Бараку Обаме письмо, предупредив его об укреплении военно-морского флота России и призвав поддержать программу строительства новых военных кораблей в США. Заслуженный российский подводник, бывший командир стратегического подводного ракетоносца, так прокомментировал это событие: «Да пусть охмуряют. Авось, озираясь на Америку, и


Unicode Test: Hebrew

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חמאס הודיע רשמית: הרגיעה תמה
18.12.08 | 19:35
אבי יששכרוף וסוכנויות הידיעות
הארגון הודיע רשמית כי לא ימשיך את הפסקת האש עם ישראל ברצועת עזה; "האויב לא עמד בהתחייבויותיו", אמר בכיר בארגון
תגיות: רצועת עזה,חמאסרגיעהעזה
תקיפת צה
תקיפת צה"ל ברצועה, היום. תצלום: אליהו בן יגאל / ג'יני

Unicode Test: Japanese

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◆最新タイトル   (2008.12.17更新)

  • 【生きたニュースを耳で聞く:News You Can Use】  DMZ Village Offers Tense Life With Barbed Wire Walls/韓国:非武装地帯で厳格な暮らしを営む人々
  • 【生きたニュースを耳で聞く:News You Can Use】  Hundreds Protest U.S. Flattop's Arrival in Japan/米原子力空母ジョージ・ワシントン、横須賀配備

Unicode Test: Chinese

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Unicode Test: Korean

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<위대한 수령님을 영원히 높이 모시고 수령님의 위업을 끝까지 완성하자>
조선로동당 중앙위원회 책임일군들과 한 담화(1994년 10월 16일)
-1997년 7월 3일부 <로동신문>이 단행본으로 출판되였다고 보도-

<사회주의는 과학이다>
(1994년 11월 1일)
-11월 4일부 <로동신문>에 게재-

<재일조선인운동을 새로운 높은 단계에로 발전시킬데 대하여>

재일본조선인총련합회결성 40돐에 즈음하여 총련과 재일동포들에게 보낸 서한(1995년 5월 24일)
-5월 25일부 <로동신문>에 게재-

<사상사업을 앞세우는것은 사회주의위업수행의 필수적요구이다>
(1995년 6월 19일)
-6월 21일부 <로동신문>에 게재-

Unicode Test: Farsi

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Unicode Test: Ethiopian

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የአለም ባንክ የትምህርትን ጥራትን ለማሻሻል የሚውል የ50 ሚልየን ዶላር ብድር ሰጠ    PDF    Print    E-mail

Thursday, 18 December 2008


አዲስ አበባ፤ ታሕሳስ 9/2001/ዋኢማ/ በኢትዮጵያ አጠቃላይ የትምህርትን ጥራትን ለማሻሻል እንዲቻል የአለም ባንክ 50 ሚልየን ዶላር ብድር መስጠቱን አስታወቀ።

Read more...

 

የጃፓን መንግስት የተለያዩ የትምህርት ተቋማት ግንባታና የማስፋፊያ ስራ ማከናወኑን አስታወቀ PDF Print E-mail

Thursday, 18 December 2008


አዲስ አበባ፤ ታህሳስ 8/2001/ዋኢማ/ የጃፓን መንግስት ከ2 ነጥብ 5 ሚሊየን ብር በላይ በሆነ ወጪ የተለያዩ የትምህርት ተቋማት ግንባታና የማስፋፊያ ስራ ማከናወኑን አስታወቀ።

Read more...


Looks good.  I wish Ethiopian were a bit more unicoded.


If you didn't see that show up, here's a link:


Download Amharic font here


Jesus!

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Yes, Jesus.  Remember him?  Before the Santa stuff?

Frontline is on the Web with a full show about him.

I don't recall seeing any elves.

grand-illusions.com

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Perfect for someone's eighth birthday, if you order in advance:


Or someone's eightieth (if they like single-surface items):



Just a fun looking place, overall.  http://www.grand-illusions.com

From Ramseys

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A Christmas Story for People having a bad day.

When four of santa's elves got sick, the trainee elves did not produce toys as fast as the regular ones, and Santa began to feel the Pre-Crhistmas pressure.

Then Mrs Claus told Santa her mother was coming to visit, which stressed out Santa even more.

When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two others had jumped the fence and were out, Heaven knows where.

Then when he began to load the sleigh, one of the floorboards cracked, the toy bag fell to the ground and all the toys were scattered.

Frustrated, Santa went in the house for a cup of apple cider and a shot of rum. When he went to the cupboard, he discovered the elves had drank all of the cider and hidden the rum. In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the cider jug, and it broke into hundreds of little glass pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom and found the mice had eaten all the straw off the end of the broom.

Just then the doorbell rang, and irritated Santa marched to the door, yanked it open, and there stood a little angel with a great big Christmas tree.

The angel said very cheerfully, Merry Christmas Santa. Isn't this a lovely day ? I have a beautiful tree for you. Where would you like me to stick it ?

And so began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree........

This has always been one of my favorite Christmas stories.

Happy Hollidays from Ramseys and Chicano TV

Viral Infestations

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I started coming down with something yesterday afternoon and was sick most of the night.

I realized that one of the notes I made last year was accurate again.

Before I got really sick, I was driven to go out and DO things.  I even considered going to a movie at the local theater (highly abnormal, since the screen there is barely larger than the one in my living room).

Now, part of it was merely errands, but the movie part stuck in my head.  I actually considered pulling in there and going to the movie, not just once, but twice.

BTW, don't eat any xylitol if you are getting sick unless you want to clean your insides out like you stuck a fire hose down your throat.

From Andres

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لة لجمع 50000 توقيع لإطلاق سراح البطل منتظر الزيدي

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

 

         لإطلاق سراح الصحفي العراقي البطل منتظر الزيدي الذي ضرب مجرم الحرب جورج بوش بحذائيه يوم 2008.12.14 في بغداد ردّا على غزوه غير الأخلاقي للعراق وجرائم الحرب التي ارتكبتها قواته الغازية بالتعاون مع تجار الحروب المحليين من ذوي الولاءات المتعددة ، نحن الموقعون ادناه نطالب بإطلاق سراح الصحفي العراقي البطل فورا وبدون اي قيد او شرط ونحمل حكومتي المالكي وبوش مسؤولية الحفاظ على حياته وكرامته .

 

The 50,000 Signatures Campaign for the release of Muntadhar Al-Zaydi

 

This signature campaign demands of the release of the Iraqi Journalist, Montadhar Al-Zaydi who hurled a pair of shoes at George Bush on 12/14/2008 in Baghdad in reaction to Bush's immoral invasion of Iraq and the war-crimes committed by the occupying forces with the aid of local warlords.

 

We hereby sign below to demand the immediate release of the Journalist Montadhar Al-Zaydi, without any constraints or conditions.  We also hold Al-Maliki'sgovernment and the Bush administration accountable and responsible for his life, dignity, and well-being.

 

للتوقيع اضغط على الرابط ادناه  To add your signature, click on below link

ــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/iwffomuntatharalzaidi

 

 

 

Xmas Show-off

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I bet this guys neighbors love him.  Troll sent it.

It made me think of The Bobs' "50 Kilowatt Tree" (here's a cover):

Frank S.ent a Xmas Song

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Merry Christmas

This rendition of White Christmas was recorded by Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters in 1953.  It was #2 on the charts in 1954.  Animation is by Joshua Held in 2002.


White Christmas was written by Irving Berlin for the Movie "Holiday Inn" and recorded by Bing Crosby in 1942, and received the Academy Award in that year.  Crosby recorded it again in 1947, and that recording has become the standard.  It was also featured in the 1954 movie White Christmas with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen.


White Christmas is the biggest selling Christmas song of all time. 


Neo Con Man

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Sock & Awe

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See how many times you can hit Bush in the face with a shoe.

It's terribly cathartic.


sockandawe.png

An armed hooded robber bursts into the Bank of Ireland and forces the 
tellers to load a  sack full of cash.  

On his way out the door with the loot one brave  Irish customer grabs the hood and pulls it off revealing the robber's  face.  The robber shoots the guy without hesitation! 

He then looks around the bank to see if anyone else has seen him.  One of the tellers  is looking straight at him and the robber shoots him also.

Everyone by  now is very scared and looking down at the floor.  "Did anyone else see  my face?" yells the robber.  There are a few moments silence, then one  elderly Irish gent, looking down, tentatively raises his hand and says:

"I  think me wife may have caught a  glimpse..."

 

Banananananana Ramamama

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There's really very little one can say about chase scenes in SF, except they all seem to work just fine.  It's got to be one of the most photogenic cities on earth:


 

From Troll

I'm a Mac

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Well, she's a Wii:


And these guys aren't really PCs (or PC, for that matter):


But these (actual) British Mac ads are real.  

Tales of the Dark Side

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Andres sent me an awful article:

The Abduction, Secret Detention, Torture, and Repeated Raping of Aafia Siddiqui

 

Post-9/11, the "war on terror" has been a jihad against Islam, the colonizers v. the colonized, or what Edward Said called "the familiar (America, Europe, us) and the strange (the Orient, East, them)." Dr. Aafia Siddiqui is one of its most tragic, aggrieved, and ravaged victims. Her ordeal continues horrifically.

Boston Magazine's Katherine Oxment asked: "Who's afraid of Aafia Siddiqui? She went to MIT and Brandeis, married a (physician, lived in Boston), cared for her children... raised money for charities... did other volunteer work, hosted play groups in her apartment, (is) deeply religious... distribute(d) Korans to inmates in area prisons," and did nothing out of the ordinary. (She) "was a normal woman living a normal American life. Until the FBI called her a terrorist... a high-profile Al Qaeda operative," but we've seen these charges before, and each time they were bogus.

Rube Goldberg Machine

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This might be the 'other' most famous commercial in 'teh world' (the first being the 1984 Macintosh ad).  This is a two minute work of absolute art, and it's REAL (no CG).  It took 606 takes.  I found it looking for a link to Rube for Molly's video further down.

Frank S.ent Jokes

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Letterman last night, speaking about the Iraq shoe incident: 

'...George Bush hasn't dodged anything that well since the Viet Nam draft...' 


Question: Why did the chicken cross the road ?
 
Answer:  To join the Texas Air National Guard.
Taxi To The Dark Side

Over One Hundred prisoners have died in suspicious circumstances in U.S. custody during the war on terror. "Taxi to the Dark Side" takes an in-depth look at one case: an Afghan taxi driver called Dilawar who was considered an honest and kind man by the people of his rustic village. So when he was detained by the U.S military one afternoon, after picking up three passengers, denizens wondered why. Why was this man randomly chosen to be held in prison, and, especially, without trial? Five days after his arrest, Dilawar mysteriously died in his Bagram prison cell. His death came within a week of another mysterious death of a detainee at Bagram. The conclusion, with autopsy evidence, was that the former taxi driver and the detainee who passed away before him, had died due to sustained injuries inflicted at the prison by U.S. soldiers.

The documentary, by award-winning producer Alex Gibney ("ENRON: The Smartest Guys in the Room"), carefully develops the last weeks of Dilawar's life and shows how decisions taken at the pinnacle of power in the Bush Administration led directly to Dilawar's brutal death showing how Rumsfeld, together with the White House legal team, were able to convince congress to approve the use of torture against Prisoners of War.

This is the definitive exploration of the introduction of torture as an interrogation technique in U.S. facilities, and the role played by key figures of the Bush Administration in the process.


God Hates FagSantas the Most

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The Westboro Baptist Church really hates almost everyone, it seems.  They are the people who go and mess with funerals for soldiers, who (unwittingly) are fighting for fag santas to take over the world, or something like that.

Some people give God a bad name, saying they work for him.  At least these guys ended up inspiring people (the Landover Baptist Church, for example).





Stefan Glock sent me the story, he didn't know there was a music video to go with (or the nifty poster art, either).


santa-claus-will-take-you-to-hell.jpg

Church wants to post "Santa Claus will take you to Hell" at Capitol

By Brad Shannon | The Olympian • Published December 11, 2008

A Kansas-based church that has blamed deaths in Iraq on U.S. tolerance of homosexuality has asked Gov. Chris Gregoire's office to approve a "Santa Claus will take you to Hell" message to display among other religious statements in the Capitol's third-floor hallway.

The Westboro Baptist Church's message would be near a Nativity set, three signs mocking atheism, and an atheists' sign that celebrates the winter solstice, while also taking a shot at religion as "myth and superstition" that enslaves minds, all in the state Capitol's third-floor hallway.

The first part of Westboro's proposed message, according to Spokesman-Review reporter Rich Roesler:

"You'd better watch out, get ready to cry, You'd better go hide, I'm telling you why 'cuz Santa Claus will take you to hell. He is your favorite idol, you worship at his feet, but when you stand before your God He won't help you take the heat. So get this fact straight: you're feeling God's hate, Santa's to blame for the economy's fate, Santa Claus will take you to hell."

Westboro Baptist, led by Fred Phelps Sr., has protested at funerals for gays and at military funerals, blaming the nation's tolerance for gays for the loss of U.S. military personnel in Iraq. The actions prompted the Washington Legislature to pass House Bill 1168 in 2007, making it a misdemeanor crime of disorderly conduct to disrupt a funeral or protest within 500 feet of a funeral or funeral procession.


Just keep in mind what Betty Bowers and the folks at Landover Baptist remind us of:

RKFD 3.5" Button

Molly Crabapple has Love For Sale

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Gotta love those sexy artist chicks.  This one has a style reminiscent of Rube Goldberg.

I've Been Working

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Well, this was pro-bono stuff for some friends on missions (and a little education for me on fund-raising).

But it's a nice break to write for hours and not end up having to check speling.

If you've been following my notes on the Open Voting Consortium, and their (essentially) free voting software that runs on almost everything, you might have signed up for their email list.

They had some issues with 'spam' marks that were clouding their ability to send their emails, and I think that just got cleared up (I hope).

Now, I'm on to learning how to program a radio station for KMEC.  They've got this really cool software that they are NOT taking advantage of at all, AFAIK.  It's kind of like buying a Lamborghini to use as a golf cart.

I think I might spend a bit of the day today reading manuals about how to run radio station software, as that seems to be the point at which the ball was ignored (not really even dropped, just never picked up).

Lovely initialization, RTFM (read the *fine* manual).  You'd be amazed at what's in those things (instructions, generally).

I joke a lot that if you can read for content and play with Lego you can do my job any day of the week.

KopBusters' Note

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Just in case you wondered what it said (I did). It says (from Barry): 


Police, you are the focus of a new reality TV show called KOPBUSTERS. There is nobody in the house and nothing illegal has happened. We will be approaching to interview you with TV cameras, the media and attorneys in tow.

We are all non-violent.

We are all unarmed.

We will be wearing red shirts like the one pinned to the wall.

FREE YOLANDA

and the shirts say "Free Yolanda."

I wrote that note with utmost safety in mind to make certain everybody would be safe. I use to train the police so I know how they will usually react to certain situations.

Barry

Pig Patent Pending

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Via Mad Anthony

The Tortured Tree probably will be released by the Obama administration.

tortree4.gif

It's from Glock from three years ago.  I was rummaging around R&R and thought it was due a redux:

Schizophrenia --- Do You Hear What I Hear?

Amnesia --- I Don't Know if I'll be Home for Christmas

Manic --- Deck the Halls & Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and Fire Hydrants and ...

Paranoid --- Santa Claus is Coming to Get Me

Borderline Personality Disorder --- Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire

Personality Disorder --- You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll tell You Why

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ---Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells ..

Agoraphobia --- I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day But Wouldn't Leave My House

Senile Dementia --- Walking in a Winter Wonderland Miles From My House In My Slippers and Robe

Oppositional Defiant Disorder --- I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus So I Burned Down the House

Social Anxiety Disorder --- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas While I Sit Here and Hyperventilate

Oh, I finished it

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Didn't think to mention it, but I actually did finish the Scrabble code over Sunday.  It worked fine, but it took HOURS to debug (I eventually had to move it over to the Xcode debugger so that I could look at some pointers).

It was fun to actually debug a pointer again.  I've not done that in some years, since most of the C code I've been working with wasn't that kind of code.

But all in all, I took WAY too long for them to rationally consider me as a candidate; however, on the next go-round, I'll already be familiar with the Xcode product (which was a significant amount of the time spent--ramping up on that).

My Parlay With Andres

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I've been posting Andres commentaries from time to time on the blog (mostly on the old one). 

I don't really forward a lot of the stuff simply because it's a little too detailed for light reading.

But he's been on since the R&R days.  In fact, that's how I found that R&R had been hacked yesterday (looking for his old stuff).  There was a point that he got 'automated' on R&R (and he started sending mail to that 'special' address I'd made for him).  

When I moved, that system simply fell apart.   I started getting two emails from him on *almost* every topic.  I started noticing that occasionally, I'd only get one.  I asked, and he's not sending it any differently.

Now, TSNO (this should never occur) is well beyond the pale here.  Email is a well written product, given thirty years.  It lets you know if mail is 'undeliverable'.  The TCP in TCP/IP is all about the certainty of a conversation.  It defines whether a conversation occurred w/o error.

TSNO.

But it does, regularly.  Here's some snippets of what got clipped and only sent to 'half' of me.

Subject: Larijani: Obama no different than Bush

Date: December 11, 2008 11:13:58 PM PST


 
 

Iran's Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani has warned against any new adventurism being pursued by the US and Israel in the Middle East region.

"It is naive to think that with the transition of power from George W. Bush to Barack Obama the situation will change," he said 

Larijani stated that the US' strategy is to increase the economic pressures on Iran, Mehr news agency reported. 

...

Subject: 'Int'l court should try Israeli leaders'
Date: December 10, 2008 12:07:58 AM PST

http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=77996&sectionid=351020202
 
A UN expert says the International Criminal Court should prosecute Israeli leaders over the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. 

In a statement on Tuesday, Richard Falk, the UN expert on human rights in the Palestinian territories said Israel's policies against people living in the Gaza Strip amounted to a "crime against humanity." 

The statement said the international court should "determine whether the Israeli civilian leaders and military commanders responsible for the Gaza siege should be indicted and prosecuted for violations of international criminal law." 

Falk said Israel was only allowing into Gaza small amounts of food and fuel in quantities enough to "stave off mass famine and disease." 

...

Subject: Mossad role in Turkey coup plot revealed
Date: November 30, 2008 11:14:35 PM PST
Israel's national intelligence agency Mossad has been behind a failed coup in Turkey, the Turkish daily newspaper, Milliyet reports. 


A secret investigation into detained Ergenekon group members and other studies outside Turkey indicate that Mossad orchestrated the coup plot against the Turkish government, the report says. 


...

Subject: NY Times Reporter Calls Chavez's Landslide Electoral Victory a "Stinging Defeat"

Date: November 24, 2008 11:35:26 PM PST


Romero's Folly: NY Times Reporter Calls Chavez's Landslide Electoral Victory a "Stinging Defeat"

 


Imagine if elections for all 50 state governors in the United States were held on a single election day and 74 percent of those seats (or 37 out of 50 governorships) went to one political party's candidates. Imagine also that the victorious party's candidates had won 52.5 percent of all votes to just 41 percent for the opposition (the technical definition of an electoral landslide is a victory of ten percentage points or more).

If a New York Times reporter - or any reporter - then wrote the story of the election results and called it a "stinging defeat" for the victorious party, wouldn't he be laughed off of his beat?

...

Subject: Castro: Qaeda helps US advance agenda

     Date: November 24, 2008 11:25:04 PM PST


http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=76430&sectionid=351020702

 

Former Cuban president Fidel Castro says al-Qaeda terrorists have been engineered in order to advance the Bush administration's agenda. 


In an essay published on Sunday, Castro said the terrorist group "was born from the empire's own entrails", using the term "empire" to refer to the United States. 

...

That's the singles from the last sixteen messages from Andres.

Not an Endorsement

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But this is REALLY a curiosity.

Yet again, open-source Mac hardware.  You can buy a 'Mac' clone now, and they are strangely enough, priced right about the same way.


Hmmm.

I still would buy the Mac (and pay the extra for the three-year service and support agreement).

Yano, if I'VE got a question, most of you can't really help me.

On the other hand, if anyone on my list buys a Mac for Xmas, I'll offer Andy Ihnatko's same deal (free calls for life).  He'd give his friends free calls for life about Mac, or three calls for Windows (he said he never ended up giving three calls to anyone for a Mac, and the Windows users used them up almost immediately).

That's 'real' Macs, BTW.  I don't think I want to be the second line of support for Psystar.

The Mom Song

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via Troll:



The Mom Song from Northland Video on Vimeo.

This might be some of the nicest embedded video I've yet seen.  The quality is superb.

Nadelmann for Drug Czar

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I got this from DPA.  

We have had cops, doctors and soldiers directing the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Isn't it time we had a drug policy expert who understands the full breadth, depth and importance of 
this issue? 

Please join me in nominating Dr. Ethan Nadelmann for the position of "Drug Czar" at http://nadelmannfordrugczar.com/

"We need someone who knows the science, recognizes that there are many paths to recovery -- and understands that dead addicts can't recover." -- Obama Drug Czar Pick: No Recovery from War on Drugs?/ Maia Szalavitz

"In his selection of a 'drug czar,' President-elect Obama needs to place more emphasis on addiction as a health problem." -- Christian Science Monitor, December 3, 2008.

We have had cops, doctors and soldiers. Call me crazy, but I think our Drug Czar should be a drug policy expert who understands the full breadth, depth and importance of this issue.

Inner Depravity

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I ran across this site looking into being hacked.  It's pretty gross, but apparently, no humans were harmed in the creation of these intense photos of dismembered people.



Finally!

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Pot slogan t-shirts made of HEMP!!!



Hacked

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Straight No Chaser - 12 Days

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Troll sent what starts out as one of the most disturbing bits of music that I've ever heard (including Dmitri Shostakovich's), but ends up being rather entertaining. 


Troll says poke on through to YouTube and look at their other stuff,  ("The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is _very_ good).

Serendipity

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So I'm out looking for something COMPLETELY different, and yet, I find something I hadn't realized I was looking for (literally).  Here's ABQ men dressing up in dresses (w/o beards).

And some women with beards, apparently (Drag Kings).

l_b130d50644c8ddbacb2fa77566fed90b.jpg
See more at their MySpace.com site:

The Wildest Xmas

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Troll didn't check it. It doesn't really matter if it's true, so pictures of 'Love Dolls' associated with it that I might have added don't have to necessarily be of 'Louise' model.

This is an article submitted to a 1999 Louisville Sentinel contest to find out who had the wildest Christmas dinners. It won first prize.

As a joke, my brother Jay used to hang a pair of panty hose over his fireplace before Christmas. He said all he wanted was for Santa to fill them.

What they say about Santa checking the list twice must be true because every Christmas morning, although Jay's kids' stockings overflowed, his poor pantyhose hung sadly empty.

One year I decided to make his dream come true. I put on sunglasses and went in search of an inflatable love doll. They don't sell those things at Walmart. I had to go to an adult bookstore downtown.

If you've never been in an X-rated store, don't go, you'll only confuse yourself. I was there an hour saying things like, 'What does this do?' You're kidding me!' 'Who would buy that?' Finally, I made it to the inflatable doll section.

I wanted to buy a standard, uncomplicated doll that could also substitute as a passenger in my truck so I could use the car pool lane during rush hour.

Finding what I wanted was difficult. 'Love Dolls' come in many different models. The top of the line, according to the side of the box, could do things I'd only seen in a book on animal husbandry. I settled for 'Lovable Louise.'


She was at the bottom of the price scale.

To call Louise a 'doll' took a huge leap of imagination.

On Christmas Eve and with the help of an old bicycle pump, Louise came to life.
My sister-in-law was in on the plan and let me in during the wee morning hours. Long after Santa had come and gone, I filled the dangling pantyhose with Louise's pliant legs and bottom. I also ate some cookies and drank what remained of a glass of milk on a nearby tray. I went home, and giggled for a couple of hours.

The next morning my brother called to say that Santa had been to his house and left a present that had made him VERY happy, but had left the dog confused. She would bark, start to walk away, then come back and bark some more.

We all agreed that Louise should remain in her pantyhose so the rest of the family could admire her when they came over for the traditional Christmas dinner.

My grandmother noticed Louise the moment she walked in the door. 'What the hell is that?' she asked.

My brother quickly explained, 'It's a doll.'

'Who would play with something like that?' Granny snapped.

I kept my mouth shut.

'Where are her clothes?' Granny continued.

'Boy, that turkey sure smells nice, Gran,' Jay said, to steer her into the dining room.

But Granny was relentless. 'Why doesn't she have any teeth?'

Again, I could have answered, but why would I? It was Christmas and no one wanted to ride in the back of the ambulance saying, 'Hang on Granny, hang on!'

My grandfather, a delightful old man with poor eyesight, sidled up to me and said, ' Hey, who's the naked gal by the fireplace?' I told him she was Jay's friend.

A few minutes later I noticed Grandpa by the mantel, talking to Louise. Not just talking, but actually flirting. It was then that we realized this might be Grandpa's last Christmas at home.

The dinner went well. We made the usual small talk about who had died, who was dying, and who should be killed, when suddenly Louise made a noise like my father in the bathroom in the morning. Then she lurched from the mantel, flew around the room twice, and fell in a heap in front of the sofa. The cat screamed. I passed cranberry sauce through my nose, and Grandpa ran across the room, fell to his knees, and began administering mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

My brother fell back over his chair and wet his pants.

Granny threw down her napkin, stomped out of the room, and sat in the car.

It was indeed a Christmas to treasure and remember.

Later in my brother's garage, we conducted a thorough examination to decide the cause of Louise's collapse. We discovered that Louise had suffered from a hot ember to the back of her right thigh.

Fortunately, thanks to a wonder drug called duct tape, we restored her to perfect health.

I can't wait until next Christmas.




BTW, bad joke I heard earlier.  Why do shepherds do the sheep on the cliff's edge?

It tends to make the sheep push back.

I Got A Present

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For my b-day, one of my sisters got me iTunes credits.  I got the Colbert Xmas CD (I think I already mentioned that), and a couple of nights ago, my neighbor turned me on to some neat reggae that I'd not heard before, but the point of this was to mention the absolute GEM I ran across at iTunes:

The original Saturday Night Live, with host George Carlin, musical guests Billy Preston and Janice Ian, the Bees, the Muppets (the land of Gortch--adult muppets) the first Weekend Update, the first Albert Brooks film, and Andy Kaufman's first appearance.


WELL worth it.
From A History of Hemp,  by  Robert A. Nelson, I got some amazing facts:

In his study of Prehistoric Textile Art of Eastern United States (1891), Smithsonian Institute ethnologist W. H. Holmes showed that the ancient Mound-Builders utilized cannabis hemp. Hundreds of clay pipes, some containing cannabis residues and wrapped in hemp cloth, were found in the so-called Death Mask Mound of the Hopewell Mound Builders who lived circa 400 BC in modern Ohio. At one site in Morgan County, Tennessee, Holmes recovered large pieces of hemp fabric ...

Several colonies passed legal-tender laws by which certain manufactures could be used to pay debts and taxes. For example, in 1682 the Virginia "Act for the Advancement of Manufactures" made hemp, flax, wool, tar and lumber legal tender. Pennsylvania followed suit; in order "to encourage flax and hemp", declared hemp to be worth 4 pence/pound. The Crown abrogated the law in 1693, but it was renewed in 1700, and the exchange rate was not fixed but bartered. Maryland enacted similar legislation in 1706, making hemp worth 6 p/lb for a quarter of any financial or tobacco debt. Rhode Island paid a bounty of 8 p/lb in 1721 and accepted tax payments at the same rate. Massachusetts and New Hampshire also accepted hemp for taxes. ...

In February 1937, George Lower reported on the promising prospects for hemp in a professional paper entitled "Flax and Hemp: From the Seed to the Loom". It was presented to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and published simultaneously in Mechanical Engineering Magazine. The article concluded:

"Paint and lacquer manufacturers are interested in hempseed oil which is a good drying agent. When markets have been developed for the products now being wasted, seed and hurds, hemp will prove, both for the farmer and the public, the most profitable crop that can be grown, and one that can make American mills independent of importations.

"Recent floods and dust storms have given warnings against the destruction of timber. Possibly, the hitherto waste products of flax and hemp may yet meet a good part of that need, especially in the plastic field..." (39)

 There are over forty footnotes here, so it's one of the more well-documented pamphlet sized items I've run across on this topic (per word, that is).

Geez, the hatemongers at HumanEvents.com aren't pulling any punches at all trying to ensure that the Obama ship of state sinks:

National bankruptcy and financial chaos are here. The politicians are rolling out a draconian emergency response which will loot your assets and seriously undermine your freedom...

You need a plan. Yesterday.

Dear Fellow Concerned American:

    We are in the early stages of a financial implosion of the American Dream on a scale that truly dwarfs the gas shock and out-of-control inflation of the 70s...

    ...the Savings and Loan failures of the 80s and 90s...

    ...or any other financial crisis our nation has faced since the Great Depression itself!

    Many Americans are becoming paralyzed by fear -- or simply don't have the slightest idea of even the most basic ways to protect their assets and their way of life from the unfolding chaos and its lasting after-effects.

    Let me explain.

    This crisis is only in its early stages, and it's rooted in fundamental problems that cannot possibly be fixed with a few federal bailouts and cash injections.

    You know BIG trouble is brewing when top federal Comptroller General (David Walker) recently quit in frustration because as our government's top accountant had warned in vain -- the nation's finances are going over a cliff and no one is acting to stop it...

    ...or a recent finding by the Congressional Budget Office that the federal insolvency crisis is so deep every U.S. household would have to cough up half-a-million dollars each just to save the federal government from bankruptcy! (And the financial debt leverage of U.S. consumers themselves is even more scary.)

Financially the US is not an independent country... the US is bankrupt

Ok, so I lied ...

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I love lying to computers.  One finds out the most interesting things that way.  For instance, this questionnaire, " Is Your Man Gay? " (much better graphics there), wasn't intended for my gender (as if my 'man' was gay, it would be freakin' obvious, no?).

So, here's the answers to the questions (I made up answers to get answers, but they are close to honest):

How often do you have sex with your man?
You Answered:  Once a week
What Everyone Else Said:
6% More than once a day
8% At least once a day
27% A few times a week
15% Once a week
21% A few times a month
12% Every few months
11% Once a year

Since there's no one else here, that's kind of an obvious made-up answer.

Which of the following would your man most enjoy?
You Answered:  A Broadway show
What Everyone Else Said:
18% A Broadway show
20% A hockey game
6% A poetry reading
35% A rock concert
21% A monster truck show

Generically, 'rock concerts' have been less than useful to attend, since the bands haven't been altogether that amazing as a group (though I'd still go to a special one).  Poetry reading often is just watching someone do something sophomoric in public so that they can get it out of their system, and it's not often I ever watch any sports at all (though I'm interested in live productions, as the crowd often intrigues me a great deal).

Has your man ever dressed up in women's clothes?
You Answered:  I'm laughing so hard I can't even answer that
What Everyone Else Said:
16% I'm laughing so hard I can't even answer that
4% I've caught him in my closet several times
5% My man has a fetish for dressing up in women's clothes
22% Only for costume parties
53% My man wouldn't be caught dead in women's clothes, regardless of the occasion

That one is pretty funny since I videoed a lot of 'The Dolls' productions in Albuquerque.  Just the idea of me (w/beard) in a dress is hysterical.

If you pointed out a nice-looking guy to your man, he would...
You Answered:  Say he doesn't judge what men look like
What Everyone Else Said:
36% Nonchalantly agree with you
4% Express sheer adulation for the hottie
29% Ignore you
25% Say he doesn't judge what men look like
6% Stare far too long at said hunk

I've often wondered what it is about men that women (and gay men) find 'attractive' in men, but I can't actually fathom it most of the time.  It's pretty intriguing to listen to them discuss it, though.

When you're in public, how often does your man strike up conversations with men you don't know?
You Answered:  If there's a reason, he'll converse with men we don't know
What Everyone Else Said:
14% He's always making new male friends
15% My man never speaks to men he doesn't know
7% He has a tendency to be overly-friendly to the same sex
58% If there's a reason, he'll converse with men we don't know
6% If a man we didn't know struck up a conversation with my man, he'd likely walk the other way

Geez, I'm always talking to all sorts of people at random in public.  I'm not particular in starting them, but I do tend to prefer the conversations with beautiful attractive available females.

How many gay friends does your man have?
You Answered:  A couple
What Everyone Else Said:
48% None, he's not that open-minded
41% A couple
5% Most of his friends are gay
5% We hang out with a lot of gay men, but they're mainly my friends

I got involved with a lot of gay men and women in Albuquerque (initially through the Green Party, and ultimately through the cannabis de-prohibition movement).  They are all wonderful people (for the most part--there was one really weird bad apple), and I'm glad I live in a time that they can explore their beings and express it.  It's very interesting.

Which of the following your man most likely to listen to?
You Answered:  The Bee Gees
What Everyone Else Said:
8% ABBA
3% Barbara Streisand
5% The Smiths
2% Erasure
20% Jay Z
9% Neil Diamond
24% Linkin Park
14% Godsmack
6% Celine Dion
9% The Bee Gees

BTW, it would be PRE Saturday Night Fever Bee Gees, most likely, and it's not like I don't have most of the above in iTunes. 

Most of your man's wardrobe consists of...
You Answered:  Purple button-down shirts
What Everyone Else Said:
3% Purple button-down shirts
2% Pink polo shirts
17% Black Corona shirts
51% Whatever I buy for him
27% Designer shirts of all colors

Actually, it's mostly turtlenecks, but they aren't on here (and there's a lot of colors).  I don't like ties particularly.  They aren't 'designer' at all.  I'd prefer them in hemp if I could get them.

Which movie would your man most enjoy?
You Answered:  Die Harder
What Everyone Else Said:
51% Die Harder
6% The Birdcage
7% My Best Friend's Wedding
7% Brokeback Mountain
3% Evita
26% Platoon

Gee, that's a dismal assortment of movies to pick from.  I think it's a 'least bothersome' movie that is being picked here.  I'd more likely watch something like Star Wars or Harry Potter than any of these.

Has your man ever kissed another man?
You Answered:  Absolutely not
What Everyone Else Said:
28% If he has, I don't know about it
6% Only when he was really drunk
4% One time in college
31% Absolutely not
10% I have my suspicions
21% No, but he's kissed a whole lot of women

I think Carlos Pollo might have pecked my cheek, greeting me at a party, perhaps, but nothing romantic.

How does your man feel about porn?
You Answered:  Every now and then, he's up for some good porn
What Everyone Else Said:
10% I'm married to an aficionado
10% He has it for breakfast, lunch and dinner
53% Every now and then, he's up for some good porn
8% He has one porn video that a friend gave to him
12% My man is disgusted by porn
7% He likes porn featuring two men

My favorite porn is the animated Japanese stuff.  I think that's more that I like oddities than that it's actually that alluring, but one can say that 'No Humans Were Harmed' during the drawing of the movie, too.

Which hobby would your man most likely participate in?
You Answered:  Ballroom dancing
What Everyone Else Said:
27% Bowling
16% Cooking classes
2% Cross-stitching
32% Paintball
17% Softball
6% Ballroom dancing

I might actually do more knitting (close to xstitch, which I've thought about programming code for), and  I already cook things past 'cooking class' quite a bit.  I really could use more activity, and my ankles are getting better enough that I can really almost move again (almost), and I've always wanted to Tango.  I used to be able to Foxtrot, Samba, and (of course) Waltz.  And there's always Polish Slam-Dancing (Polka).


Your man is really in touch with his feminine side

We're not saying your man is gay; we're just saying he might be gay. Maybe he's the consummate metrosexual or maybe the signs point to the fact that there is something he's not telling you -- like the fact that he likes men. At the heart of the matter, it appears your man enjoys some stereotypically "gay" things -- ABBA, pink shirts. The Birdcage, cross-stitching and Broadway. And did we mention your sex life sucks? While there is absolutely nothing wrong with being gay, you probably want to explore the fact that you and your man really aren't a match made in heaven. If you've had your suspicions, it's time to bring them up. While it's a great thing to have something in common with your significant other, your love of the same sex probably shouldn't be that "thing."

How you scored against others

63.16% ' Your man is straight as an arrow '
33.33% ' Your man is really in touch with his feminine side '
3.51% ' You love your man, but he loves men '

Yeah, I'm definitely in touch with being a human.  It's my species, yano?
 

Sandia Girl

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This isn't so much a 'video' as a channel. It's from melongirl.com. She's a Canadian pot comic.

Your Tax Dollars at Work

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Blackwater Worldwide security guards opened machine gun fire on innocent, surrendering Iraqis and launched a grenade into a girls' school during a gruesome Baghdad shooting last year, prosecutors said Monday in announcing manslaughter charges against five guards.

Read more

Aren't you happy we spent the extra money to try to move the trial to Utah?

This is Promising

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Gee, it looks franchisable, if it were just legal in all fifty states:


It's 'Potpeye'


Gee, SO Close, Yet So Far

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It's the iClone:

41RxE9tNIZL._AA280_.jpg
Note the stylish stylus.

Whaddya want for fifty bucks?

To BofA

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To: BofA
Subject: Republic Windows and Doors

I got notice from some friends today that you guys aren't being very nice with the money you got from us. As an over two decade long customer (if you count that I've never changed banks, just names, till I was yours), I have to make a note of this behavior. I don't want to contribute to the problem, as it were. There ARE other banks, yano? So please, let me only hear nice things about the one I chose during these problematic times in the future. The bank, as I understand it, is really 'owned' by a select few, yet they don't make the profit for the bank, it's all those people who DON'T own the bank that make you guys the money. And there are a lot more of the little people than the few medium sized fish in the pond. This is the time when the big guys suck it up and lend to the little people to raise a NEW crop of middle level ones. The current ones obviously aren't worth keeping. Anyway, so much for my financial advice. Still, I don't want to end up paying for 'service' by a company that's being less than a decent neighbor. Please, straighten up and fly right.

Here's what I got:

Subscribe

ANSWER logo2

tell a friend 1

The ANSWER Coalition in San Francisco has initiated a demonstration, co-sponsored by the San Francisco Labor Council (AFL-CIO) and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement - SF, against the Bank of America to build solidarity with the workers of Republic Windows and Doors in Chicago, who have staged a sit-down strike to keep their jobs. This is an all-important struggle; millions of workers are getting their shaft from their bosses, who are using the economic crisis to steal their benefits and pensions. These workers are fighting back. Come out tomorrow, Dec. 9, to say "Bail out the workers, not the banks!" If you are holding similar activities in your town or city, please let us know by emailing info@internationalanswer.org

Bail out Workers, Not Banks! Stop Plant Closings!  
Protest Bank of America, Tues., Dec. 9, 5pm 
Powell and Market, San Francisco 
Click this link to download the flyer 

BoA protest flyer
Click this link to download the flyer
Over 200 workers have occupied their workplace factory at Republic Windows and Doors in Chicago, after the company shut down the plant, claiming lack of funds to pay the workers their back pay, vacation and other benefits, or to give 60 days' notice as required by federal law. 

The plant closing was precipitated by Bank of America's refusal to extend any more credit to the company, despite the fact that B of A has received $25 billion in bailout funds. These billions were supposed to help relieve credit shortages and help sustain jobs. Instead, the banks are using taxpayer dollars to merge into larger banks. Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase are the two banks that invest in Republic  Windows and Doors. The workers are owed an average of 75 days' pay and vacation. Companies are bound by federal law to either give 60 days' notice with pay, before a plant closing or layoff of 50 or more workers. 

It is reported that Republic Windows and Doors is planning to move its plant to Iowa because of cheaper labor costs, and to get out of union obligations with the United Electrical Workers Union. Workers across the country are paying a heavy price for the bank's and corporations' theft. It's time for the bankers and companies to pay, NOT THE WORKERS!
 

The protest is initiated by A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition. It is co-sponsored by the San Francisco Labor Council (AFL-CIO) and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement - SF. 

To endorse and get involved, call 415-821-6545
If you are holding similar activities in your town or city, please let us know by emailing info@internationalanswer.org


A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition 
http://www.answercoalition.org/ 
info@internationalanswer.org 
National Office in Washington DC: 202-544-3389 
New York City: 212-694-8720 
Los Angeles: 213-251-1025 
San Francisco: 415-821-6545 
Chicago: 773-463-0311

Coyote sent it to the church chat just a bit back:

Barry Cooper, a former Texas police officer with eight years of specialty in drug interdiction, first made waves when he released the film "Never Get Busted Again," a how-to guide for evading police drug seizures.

Austin, Texas-based Cooper's latest project is not nearly so benign, and will likely generate for the former drug warrior an army of enemies in law enforcement.

'KopBusters' is a reality TV program that aims to sink crooked officers.

"KopBusters rented a house in Odessa, Texas and began growing two small Christmas trees under a grow light similar to those used for growing marijuana," claims a release from NeverGetBusted.com "When faced with a suspected marijuana grow, the police usually use illegal FLIR cameras and/or lie on the search warrant affidavit claiming they have probable cause to raid the house. Instead of conducting a proper investigation which usually leads to no probable cause, the Kops lie on the affidavit claiming a confidential informant saw the plants and/or the police could smell marijuana coming from the suspected house."

"The trap was set and less than 24 hours later, the Odessa narcotics unit raided the house only to find KopBuster's attorney waiting under a system of complex gadgetry and spy cameras that streamed online to the KopBuster's secret mobile office nearby.

"The attorney was handcuffed and later released when eleven KopBuster detectives arrived with the media in tow to question the illegal raid. The police refused to give KopBusters the search warrant affidavit which is suspected to contain the lies regarding the probable cause.

"It is not illegal to grow plants under a light in your home but it is illegal to lie on an affidavit and plant drugs on a citizen. This operation was the first of its kind in the history of America. Police sometimes have other police investigating their crimes but the American court system has never dealt with a group of citizens stinging the police. Will the police file charges on the team who took down the corrupt cops? We will keep you posted."

Cooper's "Never Get Busted Again" was a runaway success, the sales of which serve as financial support for this most recent project.

"The drug war is a failed policy and the legal side effects on the families are worse than the drugs," Cooper said to the Dallas Observer in early 2007. "I was so wrong in the things I did back then. I ruined lives."

The 'Kop Busters' sting was the feature of a CBS 7 report, aired Dec. 4, 2008.

REH:

Here's the YouTube video of the raw footage:



Here's Barry on the event (and KopBusters)


More on the same topic from breakthematrix.com

Kop Busters

It's called an informant plant. The Odessa narcotics unit illegally compelled an informant to plant drugs on Yolanda Madden. The informant testified in federal court he planted the drugs on her and he passed a polygraph confirming the same. Yolanda also passed a polygraph along with a hair follicle and urine test. Our broken criminal justice system ignored the evidence and railroaded her through court sentencing her to 8 years in prison.

Her father hired KopBusters, a new reality show produced by NeverGetBusted, whereby Barry and Candi along with their detectives set up stings across America to catch crooked Kops.

KopBusters rented a house in Odessa, Texas and began growing two small Christmas trees under a grow light similar to those used for growing marijuana. When faced with a suspected marijuana grow, the police usually use illegal FLIR cameras and/or lie on the search warrant affidavit claiming they have probable cause to raid the house. Instead of conducting a proper investigation which usually leads to no probable cause, the Kops lie on the affidavit claiming a confidential informant saw the plants and/or the police could smell marijuana coming from the suspected house.

The trap was set and less than 24 hours later, the Odessa narcotics unit raided the house only to find KopBuster's attorney waiting under a system of complex gadgetry and spy cameras that streamed online to the KopBuster's secret mobile office nearby.

The attorney was handcuffed and later released when eleven KopBuster detectives arrived with the media in tow to question the illegal raid. The police refused to give KopBusters the search warrant affidavit which is suspected to contain the lies regarding the probable cause.

The team of eleven freedom fighters wore red "Free Yolanda" shirts as they clashed with the police demanding answers for the illegal raid and the drug plant. The police would not comment but later stated they were trying to charge KopBusters with a crime.

It is not illegal to grow plants under a light in your home but it is illegal to lie on an affidavit and plant drugs on a citizen. This operation was the first of its kind in the history of America. Police sometimes have other police investigating their crimes but the American court system has never dealt with a group of citizens stinging the police. Will the police file charges on the team who took down the corrupt cops? We will keep you posted.

Visit www.nevergetbusted.com for more info!

Bob(cat)ing for Pumpkins

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You thought apples were tough?  Well, really, that's kind of the limit for your jaw.

And teeth.  Those flat suckers can't really grab onto much.

Check out tigers, leopards, ocelots, lynxs and others 'bobbing for pumpkins'.  Troll sent it.


RIP to a Not So Famous Monster

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Frank S.ent an obit that was sad to read:

LOS ANGELES - Forrest J Ackerman, the sometime actor, literary agent, magazine editor and full-time bon vivant who discovered author Ray Bradbury and was widely credited with coining the term "sci-fi," has died. He was 92.


He was the the founding editor of "Famous Monsters of Filmland":

fm056.jpg

I Should Add

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That I got the commandments below from 'Terribly Write', and I was speaking of 'Engrish.com' earlier this week, so that's a link, too.

Here's an example from Terribly Write's Terribly Funny page:


Here's part of this week's Engrish.com feast:



Boy, Is THIS News

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Its called 'The Global Report' (formerly the Asheville Global Report.  It's like watching news from an alternate reality, except it's really this one.


"Paradoxical Commandments"

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 by Dr. Kent Keith 

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

Prop 8: the Musical

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See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

David Kirby

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My sister was very interested in this news, and sent me the beginnings of what I think leads to this man:


David Kirby (www.evidenceofharm.com) has been a professional journalist for over 15 years, and has written extensively for The New York Times for the past eight years. Kirby was a contracted writer with the weekly City Section at The Times, where he covered public health, local politics, art and culture, among other subjects. Kirby has also written for a number of national magazines. 



The Pentagon -- A Voice of Reason on Vaccines and Autism?

44 Comments | Posted December 4, 2008 | 03:01 PM (EST)


UPDATE - I recently received a response to my query from Paul Stone, AFIP Public Affairs. He wrote that: "Dr. Centeno's presentation, entititled 'Mercury Poisoning: A Clinical and Toxicological Perspective,' did mention Thimerosal. However, its inclusion was specifically intended to point out that although there has been some speculation about...

Read Post


DOD and CDC: Our Study Suggests a Possible Link Between Multiple Vaccines and Injury

3 Comments | Posted December 2, 2008 | 02:14 PM (EST)


It looks like the CDC may have missed a memo to itself on vaccine safety.

One very contentious issue in the vaccine-autism debate has been whether a certain subset of genetically susceptible children is unequipped to handle the early and intensive US immunization schedule -- including kids like Hannah Poling,...

Read Post

NEW STUDY - "Mitochondrial Autism" is Real; Vaccine Triggers Cannot Be Ruled Out

101 Comments | Posted November 28, 2008 | 05:08 PM (EST)


The December 1st issue of Time Magazine carries a special section on "The Year in Medicine," which mentions the case of Hannah Poling, the young girl with autism who received compensation from the federal vaccine injury program. Like many news accounts back then, Time has called the case "rare," because...

Read Post

Former UK Science Chief -- Vaccines Cause Autism: "What More Evidence is Needed?"

24 Comments | Posted November 26, 2008 | 02:32 PM (EST)


Can vaccines contribute to the onset of autism in some children? I believe that contention is not only possible, it is plausible. More research is needed.

But anyone willing to make such a statement in public opens themselves up to the wrath of science. But the problem is, there is...

Read Post

Autism May Be Caused By "Chemical Exposures"

107 Comments | Posted November 24, 2008 | 09:18 PM (EST)


For years now, scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and elsewhere have said that autism is probably a purely genetic disorder, and that the dramatic increase in numbers was due to better diagnostics, wider reporting and greater awareness -- and not because of any environmental factors.

Those days are...

Read Post

I got some questionable email

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About the history of the 'Great Seal of the United States' (not the normal anti-masonic, Jewish conspiracy crap, but pro-Jewish propaganda).

It's all about Haym Solomon, who was a major financier (read, BANKER) during the US Revolution.  He died broke because he bet badly on currencies, and he had millions of dollars pass through his bank (but didn't actually 'give' money to the revolution).

Solomon is sometimes alleged to have written the first draft of the United States Constitution[citation needed] but the Philadelphia Convention occurred after his death. Others have claimed that he designed The Great Seal of the United States and that he included the Star of David, a Jewish symbol, above the eagle's head. There is no documentary evidence to support this claim.[2]

Anyway, it's an interesting question, "Why are the stars on the seal ordered like a Magen David?"



It looks like the answer isn't there.  The design specs for the Great Seal indicate a 'constellation' but not a geometric arrangement, and many of the variations made of the Great Seal following the actual design specs have produced a remarkable array of appearances.



You can find out more about the Great Seal at the wiki, or you might check out this web site.


Rosenhan experiment

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The Rosenhan experiment was a famous experiment into the validity of psychiatric diagnosis conducted by David Rosenhan in 1972. It was published in the journal Science under the title "On being sane in insane places."[1]

Rosenhan's study consisted of two parts. The first involved the use of healthy associates or "pseudopatients," who briefly simulated auditory hallucinations in an attempt to gain admission to 12 different psychiatric hospitals in five different states in various locations in the United States. The second involved asking staff at a psychiatric hospital to detect non-existent "fake" patients. In the first case hospital staff failed to detect a single pseudopatient, in the second the staff falsely identified large numbers of genuine patients as impostors. The study is considered an important and influential criticism of psychiatric diagnosis.

Hmmm

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Iframes don't embed in mail.  The Olbermann clip below didn't make it in The Ouique this week.

You might try mailing that link to yourself as a page just to see if your email clips out the iframe like Mac Mail does.  It's actually quite sensible, as it's a security risk (iframes access web sites directly w/o any filtering).  I'd hope that all email products would do that.

Yano, that's one of the little 'differences' between paying the extra for the Mac and getting the cheapie PC deal (though a Mac Mini is STILL a bargain).  Mac Mail rocks.  Not many people sing the praises of Outlook.  It's workable, but it's still kludgy.

All the 'stock' stuff that comes on the Mac is cool stuff, that I enjoy working with, and I only 'upgrade' to professional level tools on a few items (and that mostly free software from GNU rather than the payware equivalents).  I even use the user-level tools sometimes, since simplicity is actually a reward in and of itself.

And of course, I don't even think about any of that 'anti-anything' shit, since it's not really a likelihood that I'd accidentally hurt myself with my Mac like I could with a PC.

Maybe I'll see how the video tool division of GNU is getting along.  It would be nice to think that Linux finally might get some decent editing suites.

Serious Coding

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Everyone takes their job seriously.  It's often a "matter of life and death" as it were.

However, I have to point out that some people's jobs are more directly associated with such things.

Musing on the writing (below), I recalled being the person called in to 'fix' the Heart Scanner.  They had a guy on the table, and the damn thing had shut down just as they were taking the picture.  It was a server room of twenty-five different interoperable machines.  It was my call.  I said, "Power them all down and back up."

I had a deep understanding of the concept of 'responsibility' in my job as a result.  I had no clue about the problem, or the system's failure, but I knew that the machines would likely survive, while the guy on the table might not.  It was a very low-level guess, and none of the medical staff felt willing to take it.

The server farm came back up (in under five minutes, actually), and they got the pictures.

In fairness, I understand how distressed most people are when they simply can't find their documents on their machine, but I see things in a much bigger scope as a result of being exposed to medical software.

I Failed

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I suppose.  I haven't gotten the answer back yet, but I suppose it's a done deal, since I went WELL over the expected time limit on my 'C Programing' test (it was supposedly 3-6 hours, and I called it a wrap at twelve).

It was (again) one of those cutesy algorithm tests.  This one was 'play Scrabble' (you had to make a program that would play Scrabble, and put out the certified best results).

Now, I suck at Scrabble most of the time, anyway.  I've got an enormous vocabulary, true, but I've never really tried to win at it, so I don't spend a lot of time strategizing on it.

In fact, I don't spend time strategizing on games, period.  I love games.  I don't take any of them seriously (they're games, yano?).  I'm absolutely awful at 'twitch' games (things that you have to run with a joystick).  I've never solved a single level of anything except Enigma and Lemmings (can't really count the 'Sim' games, since 'winning' isn't something that they do).

If it wasn't for the 'cheat' keys, I never could have debugged the games I worked on, in other words.  In real games, I die a lot.

Still, I enjoy wandering in a 'world' that someone else made, even if I'll be stuck wherever I am till I find the instructions to tell me how to leave (I'm really good at searching the web for answers to game questions).

I suppose I should not spend too much time musing on it, since it's a non-starter.

I've still, in all these years of being *tested* this way (lots of companies have offered this kind of *test* over the years), NEVER have run across a situation in *reality* that even approached the kinds of weird shit that people thought up as tests.

On the other hand, I've run across quite a few situations in reality that, if they were set up as a test, would probably irk the tested.  Some actual issues are more curious than manufactured ones.

And honestly, in twenty-one years of doing this stuff, I've NEVER used C to process strings (lines of text).  It's an AWFUL language for working with text, and even when I worked at Origin, when I had to work with strings, I used PROPER string programming language tools, because the development time issue (with C, you pretty much have to dictate every level of the text creation, including remembering to put a '0' at the end to show that it's 'done').

Even in 1993, I had SED and AWK to work with.  I used them back then instead of C.  When Perl 5 came out, I switched.

All day yesterday, I kept wanting a 'foreach' loop and push/poppable string arrays.  It's in all the current languages I'm working with.

You have to write all that yourself in C.  It's just *slightly* less wordy than Assembler.

If I'd been a programmer working with strings in C for the last twenty years, I'd likely have had lots of little library snippets to grab to work with in the test.

But I'm too lazy to spend all that time re-re-reinventing a perfectly good wheel.  I use Perl.

So I had to make them all up yesterday (essentially starting by re-writing Perl's string functions in miniature).

But it took so long to re-invent that wheel that I didn't get to the actual algorithm till way past the due date.

Oh well.

Oh, geez

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Weird day.  I suppose you heard that Hillary might have trouble getting out of the Senate.

But Al Franken seems to be getting closer to getting in.

This bit is pretty on-target:

On Materialism

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I mentioned this to some of my family, but circumstances today made it more apparent I should be 'out' about my feelings.

I've spent this year going through *stuff* (twenty years' worth of it).  I've got (estimating, here) fifteen book boxes, an equivalent number of CD/DVD boxes, scads of boxes of videotapes, audiotapes, and even some VDs (vinyl disks).

I'm starting to toss parts.  It's hard.  A lot of things are things that other people got me, and even though I don't use them, it's still hard to get rid of useless junk which has sentimental value.

So the idea that I'd be accumulating more stuff while trying desperately to glean what I've got down to a useful pile that's worth carting around with me is really a non-starter.

I told my brother that 'small' stuff was better, if sending stuff is somehow required.  NO FOOD.

Anyway, I killed my Amazon wish list, so if you go looking for it, it's gone, and it won't be back.

If giving is somehow compulsory, please consider a gift to the Greg Palast Investigative Fund in my name.

In fact, you might consider the wonderful gifts there that OTHER people might want:

Stefan Glock rings in

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From a recent retiree:
 
I had ambitions of finding a simple part-time job after retiring from my 'day job'. But after landing my new job as a Wal-Mart greeter, a good find for many retiree, I lasted less than a day. 

About 2 hours into my first day on the job, a very loud, unattractive, mean-acting woman walked into the store with her two kids, yelling obscenities all the way through the entrance. As I had been instructed, I said pleasantly, 'Good morning, and welcome to Wal-Mart. Nice children you have there. Are they twins?' 

She stopped yelling long enough to say, 'Hell no, they ain't twins. The oldest one's 9 and the other one's 7. Why the hell would you think they're twins? Are you blind, or just stupid?'

I replied, 'I'm neither blind nor stupid, Ma'am. I just couldn't believe you got laid twice. Have a good day and thank you for shopping at Wal-Mart' .  My supervisor said I probably wasn't cut out for this line of work.


R.U. Sirius?

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Hadn't thought about that boy for a long time (since my days at the Well, in fact).

But I only thought of him as a pun.  I got this video bumming around on the net:





Note the bug in the lower right.  The actual  domain is:


But the only person I know who will be able to appreciate that is Bruce.  Most people can't even make any kind of 'reading' of Russian (it about half makes sense to me because of my Greek).

Here's Google's translation of it.

I think it's a particularly funny pun.  I doubt the Russians intended it, since the pun is in English. 

Are You Tube?
From Countdown with Keith Olberman.  

Loping into LEAPing

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This one didn't quite make the trip as easily as FAIR:

        The LEAP Report

                                 

image001.png

   

                                                                 LEAP into Action

                                                                                                                  Issue VI, Volume II

Criminal Justice Professionals Speaking Out Against the "War on Drugs"

 

LEAP in Action November 2008

 

This issue...

·         From the Desk of the Executive Director

·         Did you Know?

·         State by State

·         Volunteer of the Month

·         Campus Communities

·         Make the LEAP

 

From the Desk of the Executive Director

 

Thank you to our members in Massachusetts and Michigan for their significant work in bringing about the decriminalization of marijuana and reducing some of the harms of this horrible war. 

 

Here in Massachusetts, we brought decriminalization in, with 65 percent of the vote in favor of Question 2.  And we did it while doing what we do best: convincing people that we must create a system of legalized regulation for all drugs.  Leading up to Election Day, I made this addition to my usual LEAP plea: "Legalized regulation must be conducted at a federal and international level, but there is something you can do right now, right here in Massachusetts to reduce some of the harms of the war on drugs: You can vote yes on Question 2, which will remove possession of an ounce or less of marijuana from any criminal sanction and make that possession punishable by a civil fine of $100."  In all the live presentations and all the radio talk shows I gave in Massachusetts during the last two months, there was not one person who publicly disagreed with voting yes on Question 2. 

 

LEAP can take a bit of the credit for Massachusetts' decriminalization of marijuana, and being able to take that credit elevates LEAP even more in the minds of other drug, prison and harm reduction transformers. 

 

Again, thank you to all of our members for your continued support.

 

-Jack A. Cole

Executive Director

 

 

Did You Know?

 

Whether you are talking about State initiatives, working on Capitol Hill, reaching out to opinion leaders in college, government and business or impacting the international community, LEAP was there leading the conversation.

 

Speakers Eric Sterling and Norm Stamper spoke to the New Hampshire Association of Counties about the economics of prohibition, influencing decision makers in local government. 

 

Speaker Russ Jones and Dr. Sally Jones shared the stage at the 54th Annual Social Work Educators conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where they helped shape what the next generation of social workers will think about the current drug policy.

 

State By State

 

Here at LEAP we're still celebrating the victories in Michigan and Massachusetts.  Jack Cole, Norm Stamper, Rick Van Wickler and Greg Francisco hit the streets and airwaves to educate the public about the effects of those state ballot initiatives. It was all hands on decks as our media team, speakers bureau and volunteers worked together to give voters a clear picture of the impact of these initiatives on law enforcement and the criminal justice system.

 

Volunteer of the Month

 

This month we'd like to spotlight Whitney Garlinghouse.  Whitney could be doing a lot of things with his time, but after careful consideration he decided LEAP was the place to invest.  Whitney joined the media team with an eye on radio.  Whitney has been beating the digital highway reaching out to radio programs that previously featured LEAP speakers.  Radio is a great way to get our message out to a wide audience.

 

Much of our media this month was radio.  Whitney placed Earl Barnett on the air in Baltimore,Maryland and David Doddridge on the air in Slidell, Louisiana in addition to the outstanding efforts he made in Michigan and Massachusetts.

 

 

Campus Communities

 

Our Campus Communities outreach is affecting classrooms, students and educators alike.  In Illinois,James Gierach spoke to criminal justice students at Blackburn College, while to the east Rick Van Wickler spoke to Keene College in New Hampshire and Manchester College in Connecticut,and to the north, Alison Myrden appeared at the University of Guelph in Ontario.

 

 

International Overtures

 

The newest documentary featuring LEAP, "THE UNION: THE BUSINESS BEHIND GETTING HIGH" is now available online.  This documentary on the "B.C. Bud" industry features interviews with Jack ColeLarry Campbell and Norm Stamper of LEAP.  BC's illegal marijuana trade industry has evolved into a business giant, dubbed by some involved as 'The Union', commanding upwards of $7 billion Canadian annually. You can view the documentary at http://blip.tv/file/1356143/.

 

Make the LEAP

 

Around the world, organizations are struggling with how to make an impact on the 44th President and the 111th Congress, but opportunity and preparation have already made the way for LEAP.  A struggling economy, deficit state budgets and a booming unregulated drug market give our speakers the perfect backdrop to talk about repeating repeal.  The 75th anniversary of the repeal of alcohol prohibition is December 5, 2008.  Around the country, our speakers are submitting letters to the editor, scheduling radio interviews and brushing up on the comparison between that prohibition and this one.  In Washington, DC our team is preparing to storm the newly elected leaders with the mantra "We can do it again".  

 

LEAP membership is an important aspect of the Repeat Repeal project.  Take a minute to invite your family and friends to add their voices to ours by joining LEAP today.  Your donation takes us one step closer to making history with the 111th Congress.

 

 

 

We need YOUR help to continue doing all that we do.

If you aren't already, please consider volunteering your time or donating to LEAP. Together we can End Prohibition Now!

 

If this newsletter was forwarded to you from a friend, please click here to subscribe. 

 

LEAP Links

LEAP Speakers Blog, click here.

LEAP promotional DVD

LEAP website

 

Man, this is SO cool

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You have no idea how complex it used to be to put in emails (intact) from other folks (like 'Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting').  Here's a note from FAIR they sent today:


In a December 1 interview with ABC anchor Charles Gibson, George W. Bush gave a grossly erroneous history of the run-up to the Iraq War--a false version of events that Gibson failed to challenge and the Washington Post glossed over the following day.  

 

When Gibson asked if Bush wished he had any "do-overs," Bush responded:

 

BUSH: I don't know--the biggest regret of all the presidency has to have been the intelligence failure in Iraq. A lot of people put their reputations on the line and said the weapons of mass destruction is [sic] a reason to remove Saddam Hussein. It wasn't just people in my administration; a lot of members in Congress, prior to my arrival in Washington D.C., during the debate on Iraq, a lot of leaders of nations around the world were all looking at the same intelligence. And, you know, that's not a do-over, but I wish the intelligence had been different, I guess.

 

GIBSON: If the intelligence had been right, would there have been an Iraq War?

 

BUSH: Yes, because Saddam Hussein was unwilling to let the inspectors go in to determine whether or not the U.N. resolutions were being upheld. In other words, if he had had weapons of mass destruction, would there have been a war? Absolutely.

 

GIBSON: No, if you had known he didn't.

 

BUSH: Oh, I see what you're saying. You know, that's an interesting question. That is a do-over that I can't do. It's hard for me to speculate.

 

 

The Washington Post's write-up (12/1/08), praising Bush's "new candor," reported that he


admitted to errors and regrets in several key areas. He said he wished "the intelligence had been different" on Iraq but declined to speculate on whether he still would have decided to go to war. "That is a do-over that I can't do," he said.


As Greg Sargent of Talking Points Memo (12/2/08)noted: "For Bush to blame the failure of intel for his decision to invade is not a concession at all, and it is not an admission of failure on his part.... It is an evasion of responsibility for what happened."


But there was an even more glaring distortion of history in Bush's statement: his claim that Saddam Hussein prevented weapons inspectors from conducting searches in Iraq. In reality, the inspections were a well-publicized process that attracted international news coverage and were the subject of lengthy discussions at the United Nations.

 

This is not the first time Bush has denied this history. As FAIR pointed out (7/18/03), in July 2003 Bush made a similar comment ("We gave him a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldn't let them in"), which the Post soft-pedaled by saying these words "appeared to contradict the events leading up to war this spring." And reporter Robert Parry (Consortium News12/2/08) noted after the ABC interview that Bush has made similar declarations (1/27/04, 3/21/06,5/24/07)--none of which  generated much interest from the corporate media.

 

It is troubling that Gibson would not challenge Bush on this fundamental misrepresentation of reality--and that the Postwould let Bush's lie go unreported.


ACTION: Ask ABC and the Washington Post to clarify--and fact-check--Bush's statements on the prelude to the Iraq War.


ABC News

Charles Gibson

212-456-4040

charles.gibson@abc.com


Washington Post

Deborah Howell, Ombud
202-334-7582

ombudsman@washpost.com

Please post any responses you receive from ABC or the Washington Post on the FAIR Blog:http://www.fair.org/blog/2008/12/02/responses-from-abc-or-wapo-on-bushs-iraq-inspectors-lie/


From my Brother

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The Monks

A man is driving down the road and breaks down near a monastery.
He goes to the monastery, knocks on the door, and says, 'My car broke down. Do you think I could stay the night'?

The monks graciously accept him, feed him dinner, and even fix his car. As the man tries to fall asleep, he hears a strange sound; a sound like no other that he has ever heard. The next morning, he asks the monks what the sound was, but they say, 'We can't tell you. You're not a monk'.

The man is disappointed but thanks them anyway and goes about his merry way.

Some years later, the same man breaks down in front of the same monastery.

The monks again accept him, feed him, and even fix his car.

That night, he hears the same strange mesmerizing sound that he had heard years earlier.

The next morning, he asks what the sound was, but the monks reply, 'We can't tell you. You're not a monk'.

The man says, 'All right, all right. I'm dying to know. If the only way I can find out what that sound was is to become a monk, how do I become a monk'?

The monks reply, 'You must travel the earth and tell us how many blades of grass there are and the exact number of sand pebbles. When you find these numbers, you will become a monk'.

The man sets about his task. Some forty-five years later, he returns and knocks on the door of the monastery. He says, 'I have traveled the earth and devoted my life to the task demanded and have found what you had asked for. There are 371,145,236,284,232 blades of grass and 231,281,219,999,129,382 sand pebbles on the earth'.

The monks reply, 'Congratulations, you are correct and now you are a monk'.

'We shall now show you the way to the sound'.

The monks lead the man to a wooden door, where the head monk says, the sound is behind that door.

The man reaches for the knob, but the door is locked. He asks, 'May I have the key'?

The monks give him the key, and he opens the door.

Behind the wooden door is another door made of stone. The man requests the key to the stone door.

The monks give him the key, and he opens it, only to find a door made of ruby. He demands another key from the monks, who provide it. Behind that door is another door, this one made of sapphire. And so it went until the man had gone through doors of emerald, silver, topaz, and amethyst.

Finally, the monks say, 'This is the key to the last door'.

The man is relieved to no end. He unlocks the door, turns the knob, and behind that door he is astonished to find the source of that strange sound. It is truly an amazing and unbelievable sight

. . . But I can't tell you what it is, because you're not a monk.

Stand By Me

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Troll sent an amazing bit of video.  This video should win some kind of award for sound.  It has better overall sound than at least eighty percent of the movies I've seen.  It's nearly miraculous.


Renowned musicians all over the world combined their talents to create this song. From the award-winning documentary, "Playing For Change: Peace Through Music", a cover of the Ben E. King classic by musicians around the world.

hometop

GreenStream

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