The following does not necessarily reflect the views of the poster:

2007 Same shit, different year

How can I recap 2007? I can't. Young people can. Not me. Not anymore.

It's so fun to be old and cynical. You wait a lifetime for it. Sure, it was fun to be young, firm and ditzy, but older age is waaaay cooler. The years come and go and meld together. You really can't pin point a date anymore as the past 10 or 20 years seem like yesterday. How awesome is that? Waddaya mean it's been 3 years since I went to Arizona. It was just last year. No?

And now a musical interlude by the Asylum Street Spankers who will be in NY in January. The Spankers say on their website that they are veterans and do indeed support the troops.


hat tip to dear tali for the linky poo.
Happy birthday Billydoom and Peter of Lone Tree (who are much older than I am and yet still alive.)

Let's Just Call Christians What They Are- Whatever that is.

I would like to challenge those who use their First Amendment Rights to threaten others with damnation (in the literary concept of hell) on behalf of (the literary vengeful, Old Testament,) God Almighty. I liken this to calling out "fire!" in a crowded movie theater when there is no fire. With freedom of speech, there comes responsibility. One's freedom of speech should never interfere with another's right to the pursuit of happiness and vice versa. Perhaps the concept of freedom of speech ought to include what responsibility is expected of those who use it. I hate to get all nit picky, but the time has come to get this all out in the open.

I modestly propose that the concept of a "Christian" ought to be officially and legally defined in the US Constitution once and for all before anymore proseltysing is acceptable under the First Amendment cloak. I suggest that because there are too many people preaching in the name of christian gods who contradict each other and it leads to confusion and mayhem. I also understand that my proposal would lead to mayhem as well. Fine with me. Let the games begin.

How can anyone really be sure if they are going to hell or not? Since no one has actually been to the literary hell and back again, how do we truly know that hell won't be "heaven" to some people? Never in a million years did I ever think that in light of what US Presidential candidates declare is godly or heavenly, that I would prefer not to go there. I am not interested in a god who wants to scare me into loving or respecting him. I reserve the right to wave my fist in the face of anyone who waves their vengeful god in my face.

I suggest that the Bible be officially interpreted and that no more loose translations or unofficial interpretations be allowed in the public sphere.
Perhaps each "christian" sect ought to be required to name itself and use their sect's name when preaching and bullying outside of the church house under their First Amendment Rights. I laugh to myself because I know that there will be no less than a million sects.

Why propose such a silly thing? Because this will, once and for all, blow the lid off the steaming, stewing, fermenting load of shit being passed off as "christianity" named for the peace loving, people hugging, tax paying, hippy known as Jesus Christ. Once and for all, those who preach hell fire, intolerance and hate will not be legally allowed to refer to themselves as "christians" Or on the other hand, those who do believe in a loving, merciful god, will go by a different classification if the intolerant version of "christianity" should win. Actually, it appears that those who once thought themselves as mainstream "Christian" are already being classified as "secularists."

A national debate on what constitutes a "christian" ought to start the second civil war in the US that makes the first one look like a day in Disney World. People may be forced to use their long subdued powers of reason! After much bloodshed, plundering, rape and pillaging, no side will win and those who survive will keep their mouths shut, never daring to suggest in public what "god" thinks. It will be a long time before any more wars are fought here or abroad.

(this post is subject to future editing as I am tired and spent the morning reading one too many stories of religious interference in our government.)

Republican Thought Process

This dialog is actual and fictional too, but not far fetched.

Gov. Huckabee: "In light of what happened in Pakistan yesterday, it's interesting that there are more Pakistanis who have illegally crossed the border than of any other nationality except for those immediately south of our border,"
Reporter: Gov. Huckabee, how so masterfully you tied the assassination of opposition leader in Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto to the hot immigration issue?

-------

Gov. Huckabee: Well,... there is an elaborate thought process that goes into our policy making... First, I would contact Jesus for advice; second,... I would enunciate it to my parishioners on sunday mass. Hey this is a much complicated process; it is very hard to express it in words; I would rather sketch it down for you...

Here is the sketch:




Gov. Huckabee: Here is the result:



This is the most precious Gem of 2007...As for Miss South Carolina, I nominate her as Blondsense's Blond of the Year Award 2007

Also. tell your mother how wrong she was when she told you, that education is the only way to succeed in life!

Peace on Earth. Indeed.

I caught this cartoon on TCM a few days ago. It was created in 1939 by Hugh Harman on the eve of WWII. Squirrels ask their grandfather after singing Christmas Carols invoking "Peace on earth, good will to men," what men are. Apparently, there are no more men on earth. They've annihilated themselves. Quite graphic. Luckily animals survived the holocaust. And the Bible.


See also the 1960's remake titled, "Good Will To Men" by Hanna and Barbera here.

Blackdog,
Before I take your advice and get that rest, I thought you might appreciate this. I had sent it to a few people a while ago but never had the chance to share it this way. It's from Jimmy Stewart on the Tonight Show way back in 1981. I feel your pain.

Dedicated to Farmer Bob's Simon:



Bo

He never came to me when I would call, unless I had a tennis ball, or he felt like it; But mostly he didn’t come at all.

When he was young he never learned to heel, or sit, or stay… he did things his way.

Discipline, was not his bag…but, when you were with him, things sure didn’t drag.

He’d dig up a rose bush just to spite me, and when I’d grab him, he’d turn ‘n bite me.

He bit lots of folks from day to day; the delivery boy was his favorite prey.

The gas man wouldn’t read our meter; he said we owned a real man-eater.

He set the house on fire, but the story’s long to tell; suffice to say that he survived and the house survived as well.

And on evening walks, and Gloria took him, he was always first out the door; the old one and I brought up the rear because our bones were sore.

And he’d charge up the street with mom hangin’ on; what a beautiful pair they were, and if it was still light and the tourists were out, they created a bit of a stir.

But every once in a while he’d stop in his tracks and with a frown on his face look around; it was just to make sure that the old one was there, to follow him where he was bound.


We’re early to bedders in our house, I guess I’m the first to retire, and as I’d leave the room, he’d look at me and get up from his place by the fire.

He knew where the tennis balls were upstairs I’d give him one for a while, and he’d push it under the bed with his nose and I’d dig it out with a smile.

But before very long, he’d tire of the ball and he’d be asleep in his corner in no time at all.

And there were nights, when, I’d feel him climb upon our bed, and lie between us, and I’d pat his head.

And then there were nights when I’d feel his stare and I’d wake up and he’d be sitting there and I’d reach out to stroke his hair and sometimes I’d feel him sigh, and, I think I know the reason why.

He’d wake up at night and would have this fear, of the dark, of life, of lots of things, and he’d be glad to have me near.

And now he’s dead, and, there are nights, when I think, I feel him climbing up on our bed, and lie between us, and I, pat his head.

And there are nights, when I think I feel that stare, and I reach out my hand to stroke his hair, and he’s not there.

Oh, how I wish that wasn’t so;
I’ll always love a dog named Bo.


Jimmy Stewart – July 28, 1981
The Tonight Show

For your viewing funny bone

Sometimes, the proper music set to the proper graphics makes something proper...

R U Loathsome Tonite?

For some more entertainment:

The 50 Most Loathsome People in America
from:

The Beast

Special Attention paid to number 14 for those who feel CNN is leftist.

You may experience delays because their server is quite full. But it's worth it.

Here are 2 of the 50 examples:Loved #9!

9. You are one of the 50 most loathsome people in America:

Charges: You believe in freedom of speech, until someone says something that offends you. You suddenly give a damn about border integrity, because the automated voice system at your pharmacy asked you to press 9 for Spanish. You cling to every scrap of bullshit you can find to support your ludicrous belief system, and reject all empirical evidence to the contrary. You know the difference between patriotism and nationalism -- it's nationalism when foreigners do it. You hate anyone who seems smarter than you. You care more about zygotes than actual people. You love to blame people for their misfortunes, even if it means screwing yourself over. You still think Republicans favor limited government. Your knowledge of politics and government are dwarfed by your concern for Britney Spears' children. You think buying Chinese goods stimulates our economy. You think you're going to get universal health care. You tolerate the phrase "enhanced interrogation techniques." You think the government is actually trying to improve education. You think watching CNN makes you smarter. You think two parties is enough. You can't spell. You think $9 trillion in debt is manageable. You believe in an afterlife for the sole reason that you don't want to die. You think lowering taxes raises revenue. You think the economy's doing well. You're an idiot.

Exhibit A: You couldn't get enough Anna Nicole Smith coverage.

Sentence: A gradual decline into abject poverty as you continue to vote against your own self-interest. Death by an easily treated disorder that your health insurance doesn't cover. You deserve it, chump.

14. Glenn Beck

Crimes: If Fox News isn't quite asinine enough for you, just click on over to Headline News, where the CNN brand is eagerly defiling its vestigial credibility by giving an hour a day to the dumbest dumbfuck in dumbfuckistan, Glenn Beck. A white-knuckle, dry drunk, closet case man-child with apparent xenophobia issues and a penchant for end-times theology, Mormon convert Beck is palpably horny for the apocalypse, passive-aggressively accusing even the world's most benign Muslims of plotting America's destruction and likening withdrawal from Iraq to slavery. Beck's combination of faux everyman persona and deliberate misinformation -- The hottest year on record was 1934 (actually 2005), tax cuts increase revenue (patently false Reaganomic mysticism), Antarctica is cooling, Scooter Libby went to jail -- seems increasingly insane, as his whole persona seems to be a frantic pantomime of how he thinks an even-keeled, "smart" bigot would act. Thinks Al gore is "like Hitler." May actually be in love with the president of Iran.

Exhibit A: "I don't know if the Muslim community will ever step to the plate like the Japanese-American community did during World War II. You know, it was absolutely disgraceful how we rounded innocent people up then and, sadly, history has a way of repeating itself no matter how grotesque that history might be. The Muslim community can prevent this if they act now."

Sentence: Anchored to the Florida shore, Beck is forcibly compelled to vigorously deny the gradual rise of water levels around him as boats full of gay, Marxist Muslim illegal immigrants arrive and disembark nearby. Eventually, after two decades, Beck drowns.

Who's your pick for the TOP BULLSHIT CAMPAIGN ARTIST for 2008?

Poll: Bullshit Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters

Morning Laugh

April Fools...not really.

But this is really hilarious if they weren't so serious. I imagine George Mason U. to be a bastion of impartiality.

From the Huffington Post:


Fox is the most fair and balanced newscast


And George Bush will become a Democrat!

And Baby Jesus Wept, "I was born for this?"

Priests brawl at Jesus' birthplace

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) -- Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests attacked each other with brooms and stones inside the Church of the Nativity as long-standing rivalries erupted in violence during holiday cleaning on Thursday.

The clean-up turned ugly after some of the Orthodox faithful stepped inside the Armenian church's section.

The basilica, built over the grotto in Bethlehem where Christians believe Jesus was born, is administered jointly by Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic authorities.

Any perceived encroachment on one group's turf can touch off vicious feuds.

On Thursday, dozens of priests and cleaners were scrubbing the church ahead of the Armenian and Orthodox Christmas, celebrated in early January. Thousands of tourists visited the church this week for Christmas celebrations.

But the clean-up turned ugly after some of the Orthodox faithful stepped inside the Armenian church's section, touching off a scuffle between about 50 Greek Orthodox and 30 Armenians.

Palestinian police, armed with batons and shields, quickly formed a human cordon to separate the two sides so the cleaning could continue, then ordered an Associated Press photographer out of the church.

Four people, some with blood running from their faces, were slightly wounded.

"Benazir Bhutto - A Warning To Us All"

That's the title of Joe Quinn's article at SOTT Focus.
He tells us why. The who? Well....

Glad I'm Not A Kennedy

Homage to Benazir Bhutto and all the brave people who put Country and Democracy before their own life!



Glad I'm Not A Kennedy
Shona Laing

Living on through politics

Body-guarded, heart in bits

A blue-eyed honesty

Indigo injury

The family tree is felled

Bereavement worn so well 

Giving up on certainty 

Wilderness society 



Wearing the fame like a loaded gun

Tied up with a rosary

I’m glad I’m not a Kennedy



Imagine being a Kennedy

Rule without remedy

To watch your family die 

The world loves a sacrifice

Prophets longing for the three

Honouring the tragedy

They hunger for the crime

The privilege to take a life 



Wearing the fame like a loaded gun

Tied up with a rosary 

Ooh, I’m glad I’m not a Kennedy



I love the look in your eyes

I can see your soul sometimes and we laugh

When we try too hard we stop and start

Oh imagine being a Kennedy

I’m glad I’m not a Kennedy



Wearing the fame like a loaded gun 

Tied up with a rosary

I’m glad I’m not a Kennedy


Imagine being a Kennedy

Ooh I’m glad I’m not a Kennedy


"...the cost of freedom is always high,
Yet one path we shall never choose
- that is the path of surrender or submission.
When a man's way please the lord,
The scriptures tell us,
‘He maketh even his enemies
To be at peace with him'.
We will not prematurely or unnecessarily
Risk the course of worldwide nuclear war
In which even the fruits of victory
Would be ashes in our mouths
Ashes in our mouths...
Ashes in our mouths...
Ashes in our mouths... "

Some Short Thoughts


Isn’t our projected six week involvement in Iraq over?

If hunters eat what they shoot, did Cheney eat his lawyer friend?

Republicans don’t like to waste money…on the poor, the sick, the homeless, on education.

Religious Leaders have created this current mess to foist their money loving views on this country. They have no sincerity about gawd, just about power and money.

Right Wing Political Zealots have taken the Radical Evangelical’s bullshit and run with it for their own purpose.

The current Pope was a member of the Hitler Youth and this was an education how?

The press has been taken over by Extremists from the Right who only want power and money just like the Religious Leaders. Once the people have been enslaved, the Religious leaders will be eliminated. Of course, they can’t see that.

If anybody thinks that we will get through the next year without a major catastrophe, they are living in another dimension.

Can Martial Law be far behind?

Local law enforcement is being promised greatly increased power without recrimination to exercise over the general population.

When the general population becomes upset about anything the government does, a distraction is created by the government.

It would seem that this administration is bent on the actual deaths of as many poor and minorities as possible. Their actions or lack of actions over the last 7 years should be ample proof. Add to that their unconcern over dangerous food products, imports from China, continued destruction of the environment, etc.

Fred Thompson is the ugliest misogynist candidate of either party.
Rudy Giuliani is the most psychotic.
Willard Romney is certifiable.
Huckabee suffers from delusions of Godhood.
Remember when we though that we couldn’t do worse than Gingrich, Frist, Hastert, Robertson and about a dozen other Republican Nuts?
Remember when we laughed that Gawd talked to Bush…and 51% of the crazies believed him? Now he’s a regular contributor to the Republican Candidates.

Are members of the press really brainless morons or do they just play them on TV or in the papers?

Who is more ball-less, the press or the Democrats?

…To be continued.

Benazir Bhutto Assassinated In Pakistan

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan - Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday in a suicide attack that also killed at least 20 others at the end of a campaign rally, aides said.

The death of the 54-year-old charismatic former prime minister threw the campaign for the Jan. 8 election into chaos and created fears of mass protests and an eruption of violence across the volatile south Asian nation.

more

Irony Watch

Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’ Convinced Bush To Ban Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Well someone actually read him passages from the book in order to help him for his own opinion. Bushie ought to actually read some dystopian novels and do some hard thinking.

Airport profilers are watching your minutest expressions

While reading this story about TSA officials who are "trained" to watch traveler's expressions, how cops are using tasers on citizens who don't do exactly as they are told, and for being fingerprinted during a traffic stop I began to think that perhaps I shouldn't argue with "conspiracy theorists" because they just may be on to something. We seem to be living in a dystopian novel. Pretty soon the monkeys will take over.

Getting back to the TSA watching your expression-- It appears that while they claim that they are experts in detecting "microfacial expressions -- a flash of feelings that in a fraction of a second reflects emotions such as fear, anger, surprise or contempt" and will then refer you to secondary interrogation at the airport gate, they truly suck at it or in fact tens of thousands of travelers want to kill others. Well perhaps both are true. I would recommend a good shot of Botox before you fly.

Since January 2006, behavior-detection officers have referred about 70,000 people for secondary screening, Maccario said. Of those, about 600 to 700 were arrested on a variety of charges, including possession of drugs, weapons violations and outstanding warrants

Seventy thousand microfacial expressions were referred for secondary screening? I think they need to send the swift TSA officers back to the drawing board in order to teach them how to detect which passengers merely want to see the TSA go straight to hell vs those who want to blow up the airplane. Heaven forbid, we don't want to be seen as racial profilers in America. Sure, rush the old white lady with blue eyes to secondary screening because she looks perturbed and might have a bomb strapped on her. (Well maybe not this time...)

I can't imagine anyone going through airport security in NY's JFK or LGA without expressing sincere disdain and contempt in their microfacial expressions (or their macrofacial expressions.) Just dropping off someone or picking them up at the airport makes my macrofacial expressions twitch. Thinking about it makes me twitch uncontrollably.

Being greeted at the airport terminal in your home city by youngsters in full riot gear wielding automatic weapons, after being barked at by renta-cops at the drop off point, then being shuffled around by those fine government employees in tight fitting uniforms who haven't passed their first semester of "English as a second language" and who can only bark unintelligible orders at weary travelers and cannot answer any questions because they haven't learned enough words in English yet, and then wondering if your bags are going to be violated by goons in the back room and then having to stand on too long lines to get screened and questioned while there is no line at all at the elite check in for first class passengers, knowing full well that even if the plane leaves the terminal on time, that doesn't mean it will take off any time soon... well it all seems kind of pointless to try to train anyone to detect outstanding fear and contempt in a particular traveler. Oh and I forgot to mention that if you try to ask an actual airline employee a question in the terminal, the required response is "write to head office."

Well thank goodness, Big Brother is watching and keeping us safe. Who the hell needs another terrorist attack? They've won.

Anniversary

Boxing Day, 2006.

The Earth shrugged.

230,000 dead, in 12 countries.

A year ago, today.


UPDATE: Yes, my mistake. The Aceh Tsunami was in 2004, not 2006. Three years ago.

I'm going to wander off for a bit.

In America: 2007

Dear _____,



Saw your light on and thought I'd leave a note. Thanks for the gift certificates.




We were thankful the McDonald’s hamburger wasn’t over done by the kids that complained they had to work on Christmess so they couldn’t get to their friend’s places to celebrate till later; the fries were however; and the drink was mostly soda water.
Good thing they had a dollar menu or we wouldn’t have been able to celebrate this year.




It was nice though, being able to spend an hour or so in a heated place. Since they shut my gas off in November, it’s been pretty rough but I’m sure once the Democrats are in next year, things will be a lot better.




Sometime next month my ’82 Corolla will be ready or at least that’s what the man at the garage says. Something about a valve thing or something like that he had to replace, I guess. Says once I make the last payment to him, I can have the car back. Maybe by January 15th. Hope I have enough for some gas.




The youngest one got a used coat from the local bundle-up place but they didn’t have any more so I just put some of those handy napkins in the holes. Seems to work ok.




Today, the day after Christmess I got my tax bill in the mail for the last year. They never have any trouble finding us for what we owe them. They won’t extend the time on me paying them because I owe taxes for a couple of years now. Been kind of tough coming up with money for that government stuff and now they want to go to a magistrate and make me pay costs and other stuff. How much is a stamp nowadays?




It’s so nice my taxes are helping take care of all the things I really use; like roads and buses (they cut the service in my area and I have to walk 10 extra blocks to get one), oh and that war on terror thing is really working well. I ca’t tell you how much it means to me that all that money is so well spent over there where it’s needed. Thanks President Bush, for protecting me, my kids and my lifestyle.




At least the water is running again. The temperature is above freezing so we’re filling as many plastic jugs as we could find. It helps to put some water in smaller bottles and keep them next to your skin to warm them up so you can wash up better.




Being cold, the socks don’t dry as quickly in the winter as the summer so they don’t get washed as often. And we only have a couple of candles left. We need them because the electricity was shut off, too. I promised the little one that I’d read her a story tonight before she goes to sleep. The radio needs batteries to work. Maybe next week I’ll find some.




We’re going down to the employment office today. I have to take the kids since I can’t afford day care. I heard there’s some temp work on the other side of town. Not sure how I’ll get there but at least it’s work…for a couple of weeks.




My youngest has a bad cold. Thank God for them and CHiP since I don’t qualify for medicare and the welfare and food stamps were cut. Too many people were probably taking advantage of them and the government had to teach them a lesson so they didn’t waste any more tax money on fakers.




Well, I got to go now. The plastic on the front window blew off again and if I don’t get something on the opening, it’s going to be a colder night.




Hope you guys got all you wanted for Christmess.




Laura, Jimmy and Karen

What I Got for Christmas

1. Two pounds heavier, after a lovely supper Monday and grazing most of Tuesday afternoon.
2. Homemade candy.
3. The new translation of Beowulf.
4. The restored version of Battleship Potemkin, on DVD.
5. New bed sheets.
6. A piece of stained glass art to fit the lunar window over my front door.
7. Some peace and quiet.
8. The internet posting of Chapter 125 of my serial Luck of the Dragon, and the sorta-kinda Christmas story The Pickering Papers: A Clean Start, both on the Spontoon Island website.
9. A t-shirt with the following line from Monty Python and the Holy Grail: "I fart in your general direction."

What was under YOUR tree?

Santa Was Here

We had a lovely Christmas. I hope you all did too.

I never could have willed myself into such a state of calm. Maybe it was just surrender. Maybe it was the war.

Billy Joel & Cass Dillon Performing "Christmas In Fallujah"

"Don't suffer from PTSD, go out and cause it"

BOISE – Idaho's newest police officers are not being trained to inflict post-traumatic stress, the head of officer training for the state says, despite a slogan to that effect that was featured prominently in the program for the latest police academy graduation.



"That's not something we encourage or condone," said Jeff Black, executive director of the POST Academy. "It shouldn't have been in there – it was inappropriate."

"Our class president was ex-military," Black said. "It slipped in."

It slipped in????

To all from me...

A Wife's Night Before Christmas

Anonymous


'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the kitchen;
I was cooking and baking and moanin and bitchin.
I've been here for hours, I can't stop to rest.
This room's a disaster, just look at this mess!


Tomorrow I've got thirty people to feed.
They expect all the trimmings. Who cares what I need!
My feet are both blistered, and cramps in my legs.
The cat just knocked over a bowl full of eggs.


There's a knock at the door and the telephone's ringing;
Frosting drips on the counter as the microwave's dinging.
Two pies in the oven, desserts almost done,
My cookbook is soiled with butter and crumbs.


I've had all I can stand, I can't take anymore;
Then in walks my husband, spilling rum on the floor.


He weaves and he wobbles, his balance unsteady;
Then grins as he chuckles "The eggnog is ready!"
He looks all around and with total regret,
Says, "What's taking so long.... Aren't you through in here yet??"


As quick as a flash I reach for a knife;
He loses an earlobe; I wanted his life!
He flees from the room in terror and pain,
And screams "MY GOD WOMAN, YOU'RE GOING INSANE!!"


Now what was I doing, and what is that smell?
Oh damn it's the pies!! They're burned all to hell!!
I hate to admit when I make a mistake,
But I put them on BROIL instead of on BAKE.


What else can go wrong?? Is there still more ahead?
If this is good living, I'd rather be dead.
Lord, don't get me wrong, I love holidays;
It just leaves me exhausted, all shaky and dazed.


But I promise you one thing, If I live till next year,
You won't find me pulling my hair out in here.
I'll hire a maid, a cook, and a waiter!
And if that doesn't work, I'LL HAVE IT ALL CATERED!!!


Happy Christmas!

The Days Are Getting Longer Now Liz!!

Tyrrhenian Sea and Solstice Sky

(exposures from sunrise to sunset - December Solstice day of 2005)

NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day - yesterday.

Ah, for the good old days!

"Hoover Planned Mass Jailing in 1950"

"A newly declassified document shows that J. Edgar Hoover, the longtime director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, had a plan to suspend habeas corpus and imprison some 12,000 Americans he suspected of disloyalty.

"Hoover sent his plan to the White House on July 7, 1950, 12 days after the Korean War began. It envisioned putting suspect Americans in military prisons."

Rest at the NY Times.

And They Call This "News?"

The major news services here in the US (including the main government propaganda channel, Pravda TV - er, oops, Fox News) have all been agog about former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's recent conversion from the Church of England to Catholicism.

Two things.

One, Blair ISN'T the godsdamned PM any longer - so what the hell are the media doing talking about it?

Two, back in the day (say about 1830 or so) if a major figure in Britain converted from the C of E to Papism, he would have never gotten far in political office or even allowed in Parliament. Britain took such things seriously - just look at Guy Fawkes' Day.

Our country was founded on an idea of tolerance buttressed by the Mexican standoff between the major sects in Christianity so that no single one can get the upper hand. Since there is NO religious test for public office, announcing that someone's converted from Protestantism to Catholicism (or even from Episcopalianism to Baptist) is a non-starter.

Happy Solstice

Oh thank goddess. I can't take this darkness much longer and I will hate to see my electric bill when it comes in. As usual, I missed the Global Orgasm For Peace. I hope that most of you celebrated it and were thinking of me.

In good news, I am happy to read that late night comics will be back in January to skewer the politicians (with or without writers). As much as I support the writer's strike, I have been very concerned that politicians have been getting away with murder and that only those politicians who disagree with the president get bad press. Sometimes, the only reality in the media concerning the political antics in America come from late night commentary, snarky as it is. Well that ought to cheer up those of us who are quite SADD this time of year.

House Of Cards

The chairman of Overstock.com (Patrick Byrne) tells it like it is on CNBC. Apparently Overstock does well during bad times. This is not what they want to hear.

Note first the global warming reference as to why Overstock benefited this season by having current merchandise, and then note how he speaks of our economy as a "House of Cards." Oh my! Not on CNBC. Stay cheery! Stay Cheery!

Notice how the hosts of the program do not like such a gloomy outlook on the economy and how they change the subject. It's almost as if it's their job to keep shoring up the cards: "but our life style is so improved....I mean, we've built BILLIONS of new buildings."

Now check out his interview with Fox earlier this month and how he stuns the host:

KEENAN: You know, your stock has held up pretty — you are smiling, because it has had a rough couple months, but compared to Wal-Mart, which has flatlined this year, your stock has done pretty well. How come?

BYRNE: Well, we're up about 50 percent for the year.

(CROSSTALK)

KEENAN: Yes, that's pretty well.

BYRNE: I never try to figure out too closely what is driving the stock. I think there's actually a lot of games and manipulations being played in the stock — and, actually, I never encourage people to buy it, because I think it's heavily manipulated.

[...]

KEENAN: Also want to ask you about what is going on in the mortgage market, and we have seen a lot of record, indeed, foreclosures, people cutting back.

And I know that you sell a lot of items for the home. Have they been weaker than your other products?

BYRNE: Actually, no. I do think that our furniture business is fantastic.

KEENAN: Really?

BYRNE: Great corner of our business.

I do think that we are in — I have been saying for about two years we're looking at a 1929 kind of event. I think that we are really in trouble in this country. And what you have seen in the last four months is just the beginning of it.

KEENAN: Wow.

BYRNE: The government has been keeping the economy afloat with flooding us with cheap money. And those days are over. The dollar is cracking. Eventually, they are either going to they have to defend it by raising interest rates or something. But we're looking at a very bad economic situation.

(CROSSTALK)

KEENAN: But, so far, you are not seeing it. But, of course, you would probably be the last place to see it, since you are selling such discounted items.

BYRNE: If anything, we are counter-cyclical. In good times, it is — we have — it's toughest to get overstock. In bad times is when, suddenly, everybody is calling us to unload product.

The rich people, according to my sources, are preparing for a huge downturn in the economy and preparing to bail on their investments, which means that I too will be bailing, digging a hole and drawing a treasure map.

hat tip to farang for the video

Repost: Season's Greetings, I Think

by Father Tyme

Death By Comets

I just read the most fantastic book review of New Light on the Black Death: The Cosmic Connection by dendrochronologist Mike Baillie of Queen's University, Belfast, Ireland over at SOTT.

Descriptions of the earth during plagues once written off as metaphor may actually be associated with high energy atmospheric interactions coming from space.

From the SOTT review.

Mike Baillie didn't start out to write a book about cometary impacts being implicated in the great Pandemics of the past; he had just noticed some strange tree ring patterns that happened to coincide with this historical catastrophe and thought that, perhaps, there was some sort of environmental downturn that weakened the human population, making humanity susceptible to bacterial or viral death on a large scale. But, what he found was a dangling thread that, once he began to pull on it, unraveled the "accepted wisdom" about the Black Death and sent him off on a search that led to completely astonishing conclusions.

As mentioned, the first clue was tree rings - that's natural since Baillie is a dendrochronologist. He compared these tree rings to dated ice-core samples that had been analyzed and discovered a very strange thing: ammonium. There are, as it happens, four occasions in the last 1500 years where scientists can confidently link dated layers of ammonium in Greenland ice to high-energy atmospheric interactions with objects coming from space: 539, 626, 1014, and 1908 - the Tunguska event. In short, there is a connection between ammonium in the ice cores and extra-terrestrial bombardment of the surface of the earth.

Now notice that the above statement is that there are four events that can be definitively linked with high-energy interactions; Baillie presents the research in this book showing that the exact same signature is present at the time of the Black Death in both the tree rings and in the ice cores, AND at other times of so-called "plague and pandemic".

As it happens, the ammonium signal in the ice-cores is directly connected to an earthquake that occurred on January 25th, 1348 - and Baillie discovers that there was a 14th century writer who wrote that the plague was a "corruption of the atmosphere" that came from this earthquake!

How could a plague come from an earthquake, you ask?

Oh my. It's all so interesting. So much to learn and so little time.

The World's Top Executioners

Ah. It's the end of the year and the "Top" lists are coming out. Foreign Policy has the list for 2007. Topping the list of Executions is China, then Iran, Pakistan, Iraq and the US.

The US will have to do better next year in order to win the category.

Goats Do What They Do. Woman Ticketed.

From Boing Boing

Woman ticketed after goats caught mating
Carol Medenhall of Dibble, OK received two tickets: one for allowing her goats to be seen mating in her yard, and another for allowing her goats to be seen relieving themselves in her yard.

City law said it is illegal for any two animals to have sex in public within Dibble city limits.
It's also against law for them to relieve themselves in public even if the animal is fenced in on private land.

Lakota Indians Withdraw Treaties Signed 150 Years Ago

A delegation has gone to Washington to deliver the message message to the State Department. The Lakota Country includes parts of Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming and they wish to start their own sovereign nation.

97% of Lakota Indians live below the poverty level, they have the shortest life expectancy, the Lakota teens suicide rate is 150 percent higher than the national average and unemployment is rife. The US, according to the the Lakota Indians, didn't live up to their end of the treaties who clumped all the native Americans into one group. This does not surprise me.

Story here and here.

yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus

Ever wonder what would happen if a big steaming turd of a corporation was held accountable by its shareholders? (Okay, maybe I feel a bit strongly about this one. Turds are people, too, just ask Karl Rove).

Looks like we're going to find out, though, re: accountability.

...Harrington Investments, Inc., (HII) a socially responsible investment advisory firm, has announced the introduction of a binding amendment to Monsanto Corporation's corporate bylaws that could bar corporate indemnification of directors who fail to adequately oversee corporate activities that cause "harm to the natural environment, public health, or human rights."

"The idea behind this resolution is that by increasing the personal accountability of corporate directors, our proposed bylaw amendment would encourage these fiduciaries to better represent the shareholders of the corporation - and to serve as better guardians of the public interest," said John Harrington, President and CEO of Harrington Investments.

The new vehicle for improving corporate governance will be on the proxy for the January 16, 2008 shareholder meeting at Monsanto (MON).

"We chose Monsanto as our target for this new approach, because we view this company as facing significant legal and reputational liabilities that might have been prevented with better board oversight. These include allegations of selling potentially dangerous products abroad, bribing foreign government officials, and releasing genetically engineered products that have not been proven safe for human consumption or the natural environment. Such activities are bad for our company's reputation, and could lead to substantial liabilities," said Harrington...

You can read the whole thing here on cswire.

Is it going to work? Will the big evil steaming turd Monsanto kneel before Zod? Will they be run out of town? I have my doubts, but really appreciate the potential for a chain reaction here. Show that something can be done, and you've empowered people who would otherwise just grouse or give up due to outrage fatigue.

Pre-Christmas Democratic Candidate Roundup

As threatened, here's a few remarks concerning the Pack of Hyenas (the Democratic Party candidates for President) before I take a break from campaign politics. There are fewer to pick on than the GOP, mainly because the GOP field is spread far and wide (narrowing only slightly after Tancredo drops out) and ideologically fractured, while the Democratic pack is bunched up and much more homogeneous.

Yes indeed; nip and tuck, cheek by jowl, thigh and buttock, you couldn't get a melon between them:

1. Hillary Clinton.
If you listen to the polls, Mrs. Inevitable has slipped somewhat. She still has good ideas, but needs to develop them a bit more and be less reliant on opinion polls and focus groups. Details, lady, details! Oh, and as I pointed out in an earlier post ("Why Bill Clinton Should STFU"), if Hillary's managed to have the strength to put up with Bill's shenanigans, she certainly has the strength to stand on her own two feet and fight her own battles. I know that the idea of a strong, assertive woman sends sexually insecure men like Chris Matthews into fear-fueled rages, but screw him.

2. Barack Obama.
Again, if you listen to the polls, Obama has managed to whittle away support from Hillary and from John Edwards. Expect more attack ads from the others regarding his first and middle names, and where he went to grade school. I can almost hear the word "uppity" when his name is mentioned on Fox News, or among the tiny-brained and big-mouthed people in my community and workplace. Obama has some ideas, but since he's angling for much the same votes as Clinton, the two sets of ideas are rather similar.

3. John Edwards.
The resident Village Idiot on MSNBC, Tucker "Behold My Manly Bow Tie" Carlson, castigated Edwards' Christmas ad for talking about homeless veterans and the poor. Well, Tucker you fucker, I thought that was one of the things Jesus liked to talk about - how nice it would be if we cared for the poor and less fortunate. Scumbag. I hope MSNBC fires your sorry ass soon.

4. Bill Richardson.
Governor Richardson struggles along, still hoping people will take him seriously. Not a big name, but based on his resume he's the best qualified of all the candidates from both parties. A recent NPR story followed him as he courted the rural Iowa voters, talking up his NRA membership and the need to look after the nation's farmers.

5. Dennis Kucinich.
First, my condolences on the death of his brother; second, props go out to him for repeatedly making motions to impeach Richard Cheney.
However, his campaign is largely moribund from where I sit. I think he knows this, so like Ron Paul and Mike Gravel he is free to speak his mind. Go for it, Dennis.

Huckabee family values

Speaking of nice GOP values and parenting and all that stuff, I was reminded of Mike Huckabee's son David, mugshot pictured on the left, who got a slap on the wrist for bringing a handgun on an airplane (imagine in this day and age, how dense you have to be to bring a gun on a plane) when I read this story about how David in 1998 was a camp counselor and was dismissed for being involved with hanging a stray dog. Nothing became of that incident as Newsweek reports because Governor Daddy Huckabee fired the chief of the state police (he wanted to investigate the incident at the camp.) Gosh, golly, gee wiz. Mike Huckabee ought to write a book on Christian parenting.

"If you're blessed enough to be a theologian AND the governor, Gawd Almighty can help you move mountains when raising a family because your spawn will be let off the hook, again and again. Only by the grace of Gawd Almighty and the religious right voting block could I ever have been so blessed and my son doubly so."

But seriously, what is it with the GOP and animal abuse? Lambert investigates some other stories of interest.

Musical Interlude

and in celebrity news...

I don't mean to come across as a snob or anything, and I don't mean to cover celebrity news, but sometimes it just smacks you in the face. This caught my eye and smacked me on a lot of levels.

Lynne Spears' book delayed indefinitely
Wed Dec 19, 8:02 PM ET
NEW YORK - Lynne Spears' book about parenting has been delayed indefinitely, her publisher said Wednesday. Lindsey Nobles, a spokeswoman for Christian book publisher Thomas Nelson Inc., said Wednesday that the memoir by the mother of Britney Spears was put on hold last week.

She declined to comment on whether the delay was connected to the revelation that Spears' 16-year-old daughter, Jamie Lynn, is pregnant.

Pre-Christmas GOP Candidate Roundup

Okay, we're about to enter the so-called "holiest time of the year," so for all that's holy let's take a gander at the Pack of Poo-Flinging Monkeys (also known as the Republican candidates):

1. Michael Huckabee.
Governor-Reverend Michael Huckabee (like the title? Sort of like "Prince-Archbishop" - it's got that lovely medieval ring to it) went on local television in several key primary states to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Beautiful sentiments, but he's made a couple minor faux pas:
One, he specified the holiday, which as a supposed candidate for the Presidency of the United States, he really shouldn't do, as it will piss off a lot of people who either don't believe in his characterization of Immanence or view religion as a crutch; and
Two, a contrived cross appeared over his shoulder. It was part of a book case, but people will read into images. Now, whether or not you buy the campaign line that it was completely fortuitous (cough cough bullshit cough cough) or not, that was one white book case, and the image was quite luminous.
One need only look to such wonderful countries as Iran in order to see what happens when you weld religion and politics together. Huckabee's rival, Ron Paul, cited Sinclair Lewis about American fascism coming wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross, and it seems to be quite true. The aims of the GOP are matching more and more the 14 basic tenets of fascism. (And for those of you who accuse me of breaking Godwin's Law regarding the 'F' word - well, let's just say that I have a vocabulary and I intend to use every bit of it.)

2. Willard Romney.
Mittens countered by citing Huckster's 1033 pardons and commutations as Governor of Arkansas and his dearth of foreign policy experience. Well, Mittens, I'm not so sure that being Governor of Massachusetts gave you any more experience. Maybe it's because Huckleberry used words like negotiation and respect, which we know are anathema to the Hell-bent neocon foreign policy agenda.

3. Rudolph Giuliani.
Rudy, Rudy, Rudy. Saw part of your internet Xmas spot, and you came across like Joe Pesci. Sad, boy, really sad. But then you're tanking in the standings, your corporate support is starting to look askance at you, and the scandals (9/11 radios, 9/11 aftermath, your shenanigans on the city dime, etc. etc. etc.) are starting to spread around.
Good-bye, Rudy. Don't let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya.

4. Tom Tancredo.
The One-Note Wonder? Irrelevant. Doesn't stand a chance, not even in his home state, because he's turned into a geek. FYI, a geek was a circus side-show attraction who used to bite the heads off live chickens for the delectation of the crowds.

5. Ron Paul.
I might have liked Paul, but some of his views are getting rather odd (along with endorsements given to him by right wing hate groups). His tax ideas are probably complete codswallop, but I'll leave analysis of that to experts.

6. Alan Keyes.
I used to like Alan Keyes, but when a man spends half his alloted debate time arguing with the moderator it's time to wave bye-bye.

7. Fred Thompson.
The Dessicated Corpse touted his experience again. A lackluster Senator and a man Richard Nixon characterized as stupid - but he's an actor, which fills people with hope that Freddo's the reincarnation of Ronald Reagan.Not gonna happen, my fellow Republicans. When Thompson bothers to stir himself to actually campaign, crowds have to whipped into the room where they are forced to stay awake through repeated use of cattle prods. To say Thompson's "boring" is to insult Ben Stein and William F Buckley.

Anatomy of Deceit?

Are we all turning into "conspiracy theorists" or it is just the times we live in.
I've always laughed off conspiracy theorists on the premise of (them) being uber-sensitive,bipolar, or just having a vivid imagination.
(Super imagination is a sign of intelligence, just as the paradox of it is bliss)

What makes me so skeptic, that I can't believe the most innocent looking news?

This morning all news cycle was interrupted by a lame fire in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next the the White House; the location of the Ceremonial Office of the Vice President.

My first thought went to the shredding machine. Did it overheat and sparked the fire, or it was deliberately set to destroy compromising documents about:<..................................................................................................>
The list is so long that the server of the blog probably would crash.

Am I turning into a conspiracy theorist?

Really.

A Blackwater guard shot a NY Times dog to death in Baghdad.

I'm speechless.

Liberal Fascists Anyone?

Aren't the liberals supposed to be commies?

TRex has a "glowing" review of Jonah "the Doughy Pantload" Goldberg's new uh "book" called "Liberal Fascism."

Yes, perhaps this is where Wingnut Welfare creates its own event horizon, where the Power of Suck begins to suck itself, creating a void so profound that not even light can escape, a metaphysical convergence that devours itself like a snake swallowing its own tail."

Just the title alone gives me a slight jolt in the "that doesn't make any fucking sense, you moron" part of my brain. Ah, it's just another reason that I flat out refuse to entertain any conservative ideology for a millisecond- cause it hurts. So call me an intellectual elitist. I don't care. Sticks and stones, and all that...

TRex gives the book, the author and the "ideology" a good spanking.

Shame Shame Shame.......shame on you (if you can't dance too!)

I just LOVE LOVE LOVE love this song....Ooowwwwww!!

A really really really HOT video from Izabella Scorupco (Bond fame)



and the original from Shirley and Company c.1975



gotta love those youtube comments:
"I was probably conceived to that song with its 70s ancestors to Oprah Winfrey and Grizzly Adams stunt double" LOL!!

So Much For a Free Press in This "Democracy"

FCC approves new media ownership rule
WASHINGTON - The Federal Communications Commission, overturning a 32-year-old ban, voted Tuesday to allow broadcasters in the nation's 20 largest media markets to also own a newspaper.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin was joined by his two Republican colleagues in favor of the proposal, while the commission's two Democrats voted against it.

Martin pushed the vote through despite intense pressure from House and Senate members on Capitol Hill to delay it. The chairman, however, has the support of the White House, which has pledged to turn back any congressional action that seeks to undo the vote. [ha!]

From "Fascism Anyone?"
#6. A controlled mass media.
Under some of the regimes, the mass media were under strict direct control and could be relied upon never to stray from the party line. Other regimes exercised more subtle power to ensure media orthodoxy. Methods included the control of licensing and access to resources, economic pressure, appeals to patriotism, and implied threats. The leaders of the mass media were often politically compatible with the power elite. The result was usually success in keeping the general public unaware of the regimes’ excesses.

How is your State's current state?

AP Exclusive: State Budgets Slide

For the third time in a month, an analysis of state finances is warning that budget deficits and spending cuts are on the way.

Thirteen states say they could face shortfalls for the fiscal year that begins July 1 in most states, including large states like California and New York.

"With the deficits this large already before there's actual evidence we're in a recession, that seems quite serious."

"We're at the early stages of some pretty serious problems and whether or not those get worse depends on what happens with the national economy," said Corina Eckl, NCSL's fiscal program director

The report also suggests states' rainy day funds are too small

"Our problem is we've just been spending too much," California Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman said in an interview. "Our income has gone up every year, but the rate of spending has gone up greater than the income."

Are there any States out there doing well?

UK has left behind murder and chaos in Basra

That's what the police chief said to the Guardian.

It appears that the British forces handed over security to extremist groups who are loyal to their party and not the Iraqi government. As a result over 40 women have been brutally murdered in Basra, their bodies left in the streets, becaushttp://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gife they were not Muslim enough. What was once a modern city where women were free to dress in western clothes and attend universities, is now a very unsafe place for Iraqi women. What pains Major General Jalil Khalaf, the new police commander in Basra, is that there has been no public outcry in this mayhem left by the British- that the female bodies remain unidentified. Either the citizens don't care, don't want to know or they are terrified of speaking out.

I urge you to read this story and watch the short video. And pray for these people.

Also see Al-Qaida deputy accuses UK of fleeing from Basra

Al-Qaida's second in command has welcomed yesterday's handover of Basra by UK forces, saying the British decision to "flee" Iraq shows the insurgency is growing in strength.

See also Only One Thing Unites Iraqis: Hatred for the U.S. at alternet.org for some more insight. It also makes you wonder whose side we're on.

Christmas Joy and eBay

One dad who was so elated that he was able to purchase the elusive "Guitar Hero III" for his 15 year old son this Christmas lost his joy when he came home from work early one afternoon and found his "innocent little boy smoking pot in the back yard with two of his delinquent friends." He was so pissed and wanted to teach his son a lesson, that he put the coveted game on eBay and fetched $9,100 for it.

Yowzers!

The dad said that he may still buy his son a game for Wii, but it will be more like "Barbie as the Island Princess or Dancing with the Stars ... I know he will just love them."

Quotes Of The Day:

"They knew how to deal with the 'tards in the old days." -- PoLT

"To the Druids, a man was not separate from the universe or born into it from elsewhere. He was, like the trees, part of nature. He was an embodiment and outgrowth of nature. If a man felt divided from nature he was unwell mentally and could not operate sanely. This was the law of the Druids and of Shaman everywhere. Demented men could be sacrificed to save the rest of the tribe from calamity. All trees are capable of producing sour and rotten fruit and, likewise, civilizations are capable of producing sour and rotten men. Such beings are a hazard to themselves and to everyone around them. The rites of initiation were instigated to make sure that the impure had no chance of attaining positions of power. The removal of these strict telestic rites permitted the mentally and morally toxic to have access to the thrones of the world. Once in command, such types were wont to promote others of their kind and conspire against the pure and noble ones they despise." -- Michael Tsarion The Irish Origins of Civilization

The Consortium's 'Population Reduction' Plan is Working

From the Guardian:
"Uganda is gripped by fear of an epidemic 'explosion' as the killer virus develops a slower and potentially more lethal version.
"It is a country where the President has asked people to stop shaking hands, where MPs have called for an end to public gatherings, market vendors wear gloves and Roman Catholic priests no longer give the communion wafers and wine by hand. Uganda is gripped by terror over a new strain of one of the world's most deadly diseases. Ebola haemorrhagic fever, which is spread by touch, kills between 50 and 90 per cent of victims."
Complete article at Inside Ebola's zone of death.

Could this be how many people feel?

I had been giving some thought to why John Edwards isn't more popular as a presidential candidate, but then again, maybe he, is but the liberal media just doesn't report much about him unless it's negative. I would think that middle class Americans would like him more than the other candidates, but I think that they are probably jealous that he got rich from fighting big corporations and a lot of people just don't care about the poor (even if they are Christians). I read Ask Amy yesterday in the paper and I got to thinking that this particular writer probably reflects the sentiment of a lot of American voters who don't understand that things don't have to be this way if corporate welfare came AFTER human welfare. People shouldn't have to be pan handling in the "greatest country in the world." No one wants to look at the sources of poverty and try to fix it.

DEAR AMY: As we enter another season of giving, I realize a familiar frustration in my heart.

My family is what I would consider the definition of American middle class: We own our own home, have two cars, two incomes and two children. We've never needed to ask for assistance of any kind. I realize we have a great deal to be thankful for, but we also work extremely hard.

My problem is this: In the past, I've always had a soft heart when it came to charitable giving. If I saw someone in need and had the ability to give time, energy or financial assistance, I would always do so without question. Over the years, however, I've grown to be a "hesitant giver" of anything.

The same individuals stand on street corners every day in our city panhandling with cardboard signs explaining their plight. I don't believe they are stranded and need money for gas, that they are disabled vets or have hungry children or a terminally ill wife at home.

I know individuals who have abused the efforts of charities, churches and the welfare system, taking food, aid, Christmas gifts and rent subsidies they don't need or deserve.

I see families having far more children than they can afford, and while I know it's a free country and people should be able to raise the family they want, it is not a free world when it comes to paying for these children.

My children will not receive any federal or state assistance to attend college, while our neighbors, pregnant with their 10th child, will have a plethora of grants and financial aid available to them. They are, in my view, being rewarded for not having any foresight.

How (and where?) do I give when too often I believe people simply live the consequences of their poor choices?

I want to have a kind heart toward people in need, but it's been hardened over the years. How might I soften up? -- Middle-class Maggie

DEAR MAGGIE: Speaking as someone who was the beneficiary of subsidized programs, heating assistance, educational grants and other "charity" as a young person, I take exception to your reasoning and conclusion, though I understand your frustration.

You've been hard-working and fortunate, but even if you choose to think that poverty is a result of poor life choices, I venture that needy people shouldn't have to prove to you that they are deserving.

Giving to panhandlers or scam artists is probably a very poor investment. But giving to a food bank or to the Salvation Army is not. Families displaced by natural disasters, illness and plain bad luck can see their lives turned around by the right kind of support.

I agree with you that hard-working middle-class people seem penalized when it's time to hand out money for college educations, but for every needs-based grant dollar, there is another merit-based scholarship dollar available for a deserving student.

The idea behind charitable giving is to celebrate your own blessings by trying to lift up the life of someone else. I maintain that you can and should choose to believe in people's potential. When you do, you'll see your heart "soften."

One of my favorite Internet sites is www.charitynavigator.org. You can research areas of your own interest and find a charity or foundation that does work in that area.

Saudi king pardons rape victim

Yep. That's the headline. Kind of makes you think you are living 500 years ago.

excerpt:
Saudi Justice Minister Abdullah bin Muhammed al-Sheik told al-Jazirah newspaper that the pardon does not mean the king doubted the country's judges, but instead acted in the "interests of the people."

"The king always looks into alleviating the suffering of the citizens when he becomes sure that these verdicts will leave psychological effects on the convicted people, though he is convinced and sure that the verdicts were fair," al-Jazirah quoted al-Sheik as saying.

States Say No To Abstinence Only Education Funding

We know that abstinence only sex education does a great disservice to our young people in America. Not only is it ineffective, the curriculum is rife with misinformation. The Congress Critters don't bother with researching the statistics that show what a failure it is, but they prefer to pander to ignorant voters who don't care about results, but rather what looks good on paper. Congress just plans to sink more tax money into more programs that do not work.

But in the meantime, some states are waking up. The Washington Post reports
Abstinence Programs Face Rejection
More States Opt to Turn Down the Federal Money Attached to That Kind of Sex Ed

At least 14 states have either notified the federal government that they will no longer be requesting the funds or are not expected to apply, forgoing more than $15 million of the $50 million available, officials said. Virginia was the most recent state to opt out.

Two other states -- Ohio and Washington -- have applied but stipulated they would use the money for comprehensive sex education, effectively making themselves ineligible, federal officials said. While Maryland and the District are planning to continue applying for the money, other states are considering withdrawing as well.

Until this year, only four states had passed up the funding.

"We're concerned about this," said Stan Koutstaal of the Department of Health and Human Services, which runs the program. "My greatest concern about states dropping out is that these are valuable services and programs. It's the youths in these states who are missing out."

Stan Koutstaal ought to check his facts before attempting to hurt our young people with more false and misleading information about sex, diseases, dating and relationships. Abortion does not lead to sterility and suicide, you can't get pregnant from touching a boy's genitals, a fetus is not a thinking human being, HIV is not transmitted via sweat, condoms do not fail to stop the transmission of HIV 31% of the time, to name a few of the misconceptions. If he concentrated on reality rather than ideology, perhaps we'd have a much healthier, happier population.

Huckabee Lied

He doesn't have a masters degree in theology after all.
This didn't really surprise me as he has made some ridiculous assertions concerning god and religion.
In NH recently he was questioned about his "degree"

"I have a bachelor of arts in religion and a minor in communications in my undergraduate work. And then I have 46 hours on a master's degree at Southwestern Theology Seminary. So, my degree as a theological degree is at the college level and then 46 hours toward a masters -- three years of study of New Testament Greek, and then the rest of it, all in Seminary was theological studies, but my degree was actually in religion."

He lied when he told CBN (a Christian news service) the following last month:

"I'm as strong on terror as anybody. In fact I think I'm stronger than most people because I truly understand the nature of the war that we are in with Islamofascism. These are people that want to kill us. It's a theocratic war. And I don't know if anybody fully understands that. I'm the only guy on that stage with a theology degree. I think I understand it really well."

Selling a war as 'theocratic' or 'religious' is historically one way to get the masses to go along with an immoral agenda by the powers that be. Lying about a theology degree (which is different from a degree in religion) in order to sell yourself as the future commander in chief is so intrinsically wrong, a disservice to the discipline and especially evil from a theological perspective. The study of theology does not concern itself with corporate war profiteering, voluntary feuding world governments and the pillaging of the world's resources for fun and earthly profit. Religion, yes. Theology, no. Religious studies concern the history of man's relationship with his "god." Theology is transcendent. I will not go into it here as it will take days to write about it.

Believe it or not, I actually do have a masters degree in theology and a masters degree in business so I know my fascists and my "theocrats." I am an expert in neither, but I can smell bullshit. I'm so happy being an artist at the moment, but I can't seem to escape the stench of Jeso-fascists attempting to corrupt the world.

I am struggling with how someone came up with the term "Islamo-fascists." It appears to be a case of "I know you are, but what am I?"

Last Minute Gift for you guys...

Feeling Patriotic?

This is Mieskuoro Huutajat, the Finnish Screaming Man's Choir

Remember the Future?

Obligatory Friday Sex Post

Here's what may be a fruitful topic for discussion: Why Are Men Attracted to Boobs?

And here's another: 102 Places to Have Sex. Can we think of any more? My personal favorite is similar to #52, but it was my wife's grandmother's dining room. And they don't list having sex on a church altar at three in the morning.

The Christianists Make Baby Jesus Cry

I reported 2 days ago in Jesus Christ, Christmas is a federal holiday. What more do you want? concerning "H. Res. 847: Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith." HR 847 went to the vote and NINE liberal democrats voted against it. You would think that King would be happy that his stupid bill passed, but no. Steve King (R-IA) who came up with this bill because there were 2 bills that supported Indian religions and Ramadan, but not on Christianity (as if no one can notice that Christmas is a big deal around here), went on Fox News and named those who voted nay as if they had voted to burn Christmas trees in the public square. Fox News showed their pictures for the daily moment of hate. Perhaps they voted nay because this bill is stupid.

According to Think Progress:
In response to King's tirade against those 9 who voted against his ridiculous bill, Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) ripped King’s religious zealotry as “another sad attempt by conservative Republicans to skew the line between church and state”:

• “America is not a Christian nation,” Hastings said. “It is a nation of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and everyone in between. Our diversity is our strength and those who seek to use religion as a litmus test are doing a disservice to all of us.”
• 
  
• As for the “assault on Christianity,” Hastings said, “all someone has to do is visit a shopping mall, turn on the radio or TV or look at the Christmas trees sitting on the front lawns of the White House and the United States Capitol to realize that no such assault is underway.”

And not only that, why don't we just piss on non-christians while we're at it and say, nyeh, this holiday season.

Yesterday, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) explained his nay vote:

While the Republicans are passing a resolution celebrating Christmas, the president was vetoing health care for children. There’s a little bit of irony going on around here.

Excellent comment by Rep McDermott. Rep King was one of the fine Christians who voted against SCHIP.

----

Yesterday, the House in a 222-199 vote passed a ban on waterboarding in the Intelligence Authorization Act. Who were the 199 who voted nay? See here. 10 Democrats and 189 Republicans (probably devout "Christians") voted nay.

'Tis the Season?

You might think that the Christmas season, the period leading up to both Catholic/Protestant Christmas (December 25th) and Orthodox Christmas (January 6th) would be characterized as a time of goodwill and generally human behavior.

You might think that.

You'd be wrong.

It seems that back on Wednesday a group of Jewish students were riding a subway train in New York City when one of the other passengers said, "Merry Christmas." Now, being Jewish, one young man said "Happy Hanukah" in response.

Naturally, this aroused some comment; allegedly one of the 10 people who began to berate the Jewish students with anti-Semitic epithets said "Oh, Hanukah. That's the day the Jews killed Jesus." And the fight was on at that point.

The Jewish kids were aided by a bystander. A Christian thing to do, no?

Wrong again. This guy was a Muslim from Bangladesh. One of the students pulled the communications cord and the train stopped so that the police could board. All 10 of the "Christians" were arrested, and face charges in court in February. The NYPD is looking into whether it warrants a hate crime enhancement.

In this day and age, to have a Christian call a Jew "Christ-killer" is Just Plain Wrong (and in this case, off by several months on the calendar). But I consider it indicative of the militant, radical and completely wrong "Christianity" followed by a growing number of the ignorant in our once-great country.

Merry Christmas
Happy Hanukah
Happy Kwanzaa
Blessed Solstice.

But does it mow the lawn and do laundry?

Leave it to our friends across the sea to pick up where we left off before the military industrial complex dictated where the good grant money was for scientists.

Sexbots, not to be confused with sexpots, have been around for a long time, but they just didn't have enough feeling for women to become emotionally involved or all that interested. (If we wanted sex with a robot, we could just start having sex regularly with a human male.) Researchers today aren't too worried about men's enthusiasm for robotic sex since enough men are willing to do it with blow up dolls to make that an industry.

Spiegel Online has a fascinating story about The Future Of Coitus (hat tip to faithful reader in The Netherlands, Dirruk) Life-Long Loving with a Sexbot Here are some excerpts plus a sampling of my robot porn collection:

~snip~
"Levy is an expert in artificial intelligence. He is fascinated with the idea of "love and sex with robots," and his visions of the future include "malebots" and "fembots" as lovers and life partners... Levy, 62, has just published a book, "Love and Sex with Robots: The Evolution of Human-Robot Relationships" -- that is provocative in the truest sense of the word. He is convinced that human beings will be having sex with robots one day. They will show us sexual practices that we hadn't even imagined existed. We will love them and respect them, and we will entrust them with our most intimate secrets. All of this, says Levy, will be a reality in hardly more than 40 years from now."

In 40 years, if I am still alive, a robot will be about all I could get. Guys my age will be deaf and drooling by then.

~snip~
""The mere concept of an artificial partner, husband, wife, friend or lover is one that, for most people at the start of the 21st century, challenges their notion of relationships," says Levy. "But my thesis is this: Robots will be hugely attractive to humans as companions because of their many talents, senses and capabilities." Given rapid developments in technology, Levy believes that it is only a matter of time before machines will be capable of offering human-like traits. According to Levy, "love and sex with robots on a grand scale are inevitable.""

Yes, but will it paint my house?
Will it tell me that I look fabulous without my makeup?
"Your ass looks small and pert in those jeans. Bleep."
"I can't believe you are 90. You could pass for 38. Bleep."

~snip~
""Nowadays, it is relatively commonplace for people to develop strong emotional attachments to their virtual pets, including robot pets," says Levy. "So why should anyone be surprised if and when people form similarly strong attachments to virtual people, to robot people?""

True. True. There are some who love their computers more than people. I find Eduardo, my landscaper to be more useful than those I have relationships with. I haven't even had sex with him. But I digress.

~snip~
"When it comes to sex, robots could soon supplant the original flesh-and-blood human experience, says Levy. The researcher has delved deep into the history of erotic machinery to document Homo sapiens' susceptibility to mechanical sex toys. He discovered documented evidence of early vibrators powered by clockwork mechanisms and steam machines. Levy describes a pedal-driven masturbation machine for women designed in 1926 by engineers in the German city of Leipzig."

Get out of here! Why are we using devices that make our arms tired in this day and age?

"In a late 17th-century pornographic anthology from Japan, the author read about a "lascivious traveling pillow." The artificial vulva, known as "azumagata" (substitute woman) in Japanese, was made of tortoiseshell and had a hole lined with satin."

~snip~
"But will robotic women and men resemble humans so closely within a few decades that they will pass as an equivalent or even better alternative to a human lover?

"Mimicking human appearance seems to be the least of the challenges. Two years ago, Japanese robot expert Hiroshi Ishiguro unveiled his "Repliee Q1" robot... Thanks to 42 actuators driven by compressed air, the gynoid can "turn and react in a humanlike way," says Levy. "Repliee Q1 can flutter her eyelids, she appears to breathe, she can move her hands just like a human, (and) she is responsive to human touch...," he adds enthusiastically."

But does she cook and watch football without talking?

"Much more difficult than external traits, however, will be the challenging of breathing something approaching a soul into the robots. The biggest stumbling blocks are some of the most fundamental of human behaviors. Current robotic sensors, for example, are incapable of reliably distinguishing between individual people, says Levy. He concedes that if a robot fails to recognize its partner, or possibly even confuses him or her with someone else, the relationship is easily ruined."

Oy vay. If your robot cheats on you... talk about low self esteem.

~snip~
"Nevertheless, Levy predicts that advances will come rapidly. For Levy, imbuing robots with such human traits as empathy, humor, understanding and love is merely a question of technology."

Get out of here! Really? We ought to try that technology with Republicans.

"Empathy, for example, is "essentially a learning task," he says, and therefore "relatively easy to implement in robots." All the machine has to do is observe its partner, make intelligent assumptions about the partner's thoughts and react accordingly."

I don't know about THAT.

~snip~
"Levy sees a future in which artificial intelligence will enable robots to behave as if they had gone through the entire spectrum of human experience, without this actually being the case. He cites emotions as an example. "If a robot behaves as though it has feelings, can we reasonably argue that it does not," he asks? "If a robot's artificial emotions prompt it to say things such as 'I love you,' surely we should be willing to accept these statements at face value, provided that the robots other behavior patterns back them up.""

"I love you. Bleep."
"I love you too, but you aren't finished rubbing my back."
"I live to rub your back, Gorgeous. Bleep."
"Yes you do."


Maybe they are vacuums?

Musings

Is it dark or what? I can't seem to have enough lights on so that I can see what I am doing. It's not like the sun ever comes out unless it's 4:15 and about to set. What is with all this cloudy weather? It may snow here today, but not as much as the inland areas are planning to get. The ocean will moderateI'm making my holiday gifts this year and it's pretty hard to be green when I have to have at least 4 lamps on simultaneously during the day.

Normally it's too cloudy to even do any telescoping although last night the stars came out for a change. How big is Mars? Wow! And that comet Holmes. If it would at least be starry every night, I wouldn't mind this time of year so much. I could practice some astrophotography which I invested way too much money in considering I live where the skies aren't all that dark for the most part. Between the lights, the airplane contrails due to my proximity to 4 airports and the ocean moisture, it's pretty disappointing. I'm still planning to move somewhere that's dark at night.

Last night at 10PM, I found myself outside with the family hanging the solstice lights on the house (it was warmish) and reminiscing about solstice seasons past. I can picture my dad hanging those big colorful bulbs around the front door of our house. I remember as a kid that you could tell who was Jewish by their dark houses. Being the bleeding heart kid that I was, I felt that lit up houses shouldn't be a religious thing, but just something nice to do when the days were so short, so I told all the Jews on my block that it's okay if they put lights on their houses, but for some reason, they said that would put their menorahs in the window and that was all, if it was okay with me. Well it really wasn't. I thought that they could trick Santa if nothing else and that their kids would get presents on Christmas too. What did I know at the time? I was much blonder then.

I was also the same kid who was taught in school that only Catholics go to heaven, so I was driven to convert everyone because I wanted them to go to heaven. It really disturbed me. But my best friend whose dad was the pastor of the Lutheran Church on my block, told me not to worry about HER people. It was MY people who were screwed up. That was quite possible, I thought. We were taught these terrible things by angry, bitter, nasty women who wore black robes all the time and had no feet. Finally Pope John XXIII came out with Vatican II and I didn't feel so afraid that I'd be lonely in heaven. It also turned out that nuns had feet.

In these northern latitudes, we really need to decorate for the solstice for aesthetic reasons. I love how the greenery looks draped on the house and I'll leave it up until the sun sets at 5:15, which won't be until the end of January.

If you're wondering what to give that special someone for Christmas...

...maybe a few cases of corned beef hash would be appropriate (after you've bought a few for yourself of course).

From the China Daily:

The central government Tuesday instructed 36 major cities to each maintain a minimum 10-day reserve of food and cooking oil supplies, as part of its measures to ensure market stability during the current period of rising food prices.
A notice jointly issued by five ministries led by the country's top economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, said the move was necessary to ensure a "ready" emergency production and distribution system.
The cities include Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Local governments were also asked to designate companies to ensure the sound production and distribution of food and cooking oil.
"Local governments should also inspect those companies regularly to ensure the quantity and quality of their reserves," the notice said.
Warning of major increases in the prices of corn, wheat and cooking oil, yesterday's notice came with an announcement from the National Bureau of Statistics that the country's key inflation indicator, the consumer price index (CPI), surged to an 11-year high of 6.9 percent last month, of which 5.4 percentage points were a result of food price hikes.
Grain prices last month rose 6.6 percent over the same period last year, while cooking oil prices increased 35 percent.
Pork prices, which have been blamed for the recent increase in the CPI, soared by 56 percent.
Nine straight months of consumer price hikes, fueled by the rising cost of food, have taken their toll on the public.
Beijing resident Gao Ning said that since the summer, her family's monthly food bill had risen by 200 yuan ($27).
"With the major festivals drawing near, I hope there will be enough food on the market. Otherwise, the New Year holiday will be the most expensive yet for my family," she said.
In an effort to minimize the impact of rising food prices, the ministries also told local governments to closely monitor the needs of the poor and students.
People in disaster areas and those relocated because of major reservoir projects should also be given special consideration, they said.
In addition to yesterday's notice, the central government earlier launched a crackdown on the possible hoarding of food by suppliers during the current period of soaring prices.

UPDATE Related: Wheat Prices Spike Amid Robust Exports.

In case you needed another reason NOT to eat at a certain fast-food joint:

"The question of just how long it should take to eat fast food is being answered by the burger giant McDonald's, which is making customers finish within 45 minutes or face a charge of £125."

The headline in the British Guardian reads:
McParking row as slow eaters are fined.

Jesus Christ, Christmas is a federal holiday. What more do you want?

Rep. Steve King [R-IA] wants you to join him in nurturing his inner christian martyr.

What a colossal waste of carbon is the 110th Congress.

H. Res. 847: Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith.

Whereas Christmas, a holiday of great significance to Americans and many other cultures and nationalities, is celebrated annually by Christians throughout the United States and the world;

Whereas there are approximately 225,000,000 Christians in the United States, making Christianity the religion of over three-fourths of the American population;

Whereas there are approximately 2,000,000,000 Christians throughout the world, making Christianity the largest religion in the world and the religion of about one-third of the world population;

Whereas Christians identify themselves as those who believe in the salvation from sin offered to them through the sacrifice of their savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and who, out of gratitude for the gift of salvation, commit themselves to living their lives in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Bible;

Whereas Christians and Christianity have contributed greatly to the development of western civilization;

Whereas the United States, being founded as a constitutional republic in the traditions of western civilization, finds much in its history that points observers back to its roots in Christianity;

Whereas on December 25 of each calendar year, American Christians observe Christmas, the holiday celebrating the birth of their savior, Jesus Christ;

Whereas for Christians, Christmas is celebrated as a recognition of God's redemption, mercy, and Grace; and

Whereas many Christians and non-Christians throughout the United States and the rest of the world, celebrate Christmas as a time to serve others: Now, therefore be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world;

(2) expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide;

(3) acknowledges the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith;

(4) acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization;

(5) rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide; and

(6) expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world.

Put this in your friendly, all-American greeting cards to your non-christian friends this year and watch the fun happen. Ho Ho Ho

They Are Everywhere

I think all those Evangelicals are onto something with their culture war theories. You know, the ones about homosexuals enticing our youths into deviant lifestyles. The gay threat has gotten so bad, now our animals are at risk!

For example, the other night, I went into the bathroom, and as soon as I closed the door and sat down on the commode, I noticed my sweet little cat, Hermione, sliding her paw, pads side up, under the door. It freaked me out! Here she was, my own cat, soliciting me for gay sex! Then, a short while later, while she was eating from her food bowl, I noticed she has developed a wide stance.

What the hell am I going to do? Does anyone know whether there are any of those retraining programs for gay cats? I don't want my sweet little girl to go to hell because of her deviancy. This is a matter of her soul, I tell you!

Geez, she looks so normal.

Best Meteor Shower in 2 More Days

Best Meteor Shower of 2007 Peaks Dec. 13
Joe Rao
SPACE.com Skywatching Columnist

Here is what astronomers David Levy and Stephen Edberg have written of the annual Geminid Meteor Shower: "If you have not seen a mighty Geminid fireball arcing gracefully across an expanse of sky, then you have not seen a meteor."

The Geminids get their name from the constellation of Gemini, the Twins, because the meteors appear to emanate from a spot in the sky near the bright star Castor in Gemini.

Also in Gemini this month is the planet Mars, nearing a close approach to the Earth later this month, and shining brilliantly with yellow-orange hue. To be sure, Mars is certain to attract the attention of prospective Geminid watchers this upcoming week.

Reliable shower

The Geminid Meteors are usually the most satisfying of all the annual showers, even surpassing the famous Perseids of August.

Studies of past find the "Gems" have a reputation for being rich both in slow, bright, graceful meteors and fireballs as well as faint meteors, with relatively fewer objects of medium brightness.

continued

Mark you calendars because if it isn't cloudy and you're not slipping on the ice, it's really quite spectacular.

Is the Saudi Pakistani Connection to 9/11 Destroyed Forever?

It was pretty surprising to read this story at Huffington Post because they normally don't have any stories that would suggest that Pakistan or Saudi Arabia had anything to do with the attacks of 9/11, even though, if you've read enough news and read between the lines, it's something you don't have to be a brainiac to figure out. But I digress.

The CIA's Destroyed Interrogation Tapes and the Saudi-Pakistani 9/11 Connection

Excerpt: Instead, when confronted by his "Saudi" interrogators, Zubaydah showed no fear. [...] And Zubaydah provided a private home number and a cell phone number from memory. "He will tell you what to do," Zubaydah assured them

That man was Prince Ahmed bin Salman bin Abdul-Aziz, one of King Fahd's nephews, and the chairman of the largest Saudi publishing empire. Later, American investigators would determine that Prince Ahmed had been in the U.S. on 9/11.

American interrogators used painkillers to induce Zubaydah to talk -- they gave him the meds when he cooperated, and withdrew them when he was quiet. They also utilized a thiopental sodium drip (a so-called truth serum). Several hours after he first fingered Prince Ahmed, his captors challenged the information, and said that since he had disparaged the Saudi royal family, he would be executed. It was at that point that some of the secrets of 9/11 came pouring out. In a short monologue, that one investigator told me was the "Rosetta Stone" of 9/11, Zubaydah laid out details of how he and the al Qaeda hierarchy had been supported at high levels inside the Saudi and Pakistan governments.

He named two other Saudi princes, and also the chief of Pakistan's air force, as his major contacts. Moreover, he stunned his interrogators, by charging that two of the men, the King's nephew, and the Pakistani Air Force chief, knew a major terror operation was planned for America on 9/11.

It would be nice to further investigate the men named by Zubaydah, but that is not possible. All four identified by Zubaydah are now dead. [...]

Zubaydah is the only top al Queda operative who has secretly linked two of America's closest allies in the war on terror -- Saudi Arabia and Pakistan -- to the 9/11 attacks. Why does Bush, and the CIA, continue to protect the Saudi Royal family and the Pakistani military, from the implications of Zubaydah's confessions?

Really makes you wonder. Well not really. You already knew that the war on terror was bogus.

Human Evolution is Speeding Up Say Researchers

snippet
If evolution had been proceeding steadily at the current rate since humans and chimps separated 6 million years ago there should be 160 times more differences than the researchers found.

That indicates that human evolution had been slower in the distant past, Harpending explained.

"Rapid population growth has been coupled with vast changes in cultures and ecology, creating new opportunities for adaptation," the study says. "The past 10,000 years have seen rapid skeletal and dental evolution in human populations, as well as the appearance of many new genetic responses to diet and disease."

And they found that different changes are occurring in Africans, Asians and Europeans.

Most anthropologists agree that humans first evolved in Africa and then spread to other areas, and the lighter skin color of Europeans and Asians is generally attributed to selection to allow more absorption of vitamin D in colder climate where there is less sun.

The increase in human population from millions to billions in the last 10,000 years accelerated the rate of evolution because "we were in new environments to which we needed to adapt," Harpending adds. "And with a larger population, more mutations occurred."

In another example, the researchers noted that in China and most of Africa, few people can digest fresh milk into adulthood. Yet in Sweden and Denmark, the gene that makes the milk-digesting enzyme lactase remains active, so almost everyone can drink fresh milk, explaining why dairy farming is more common in Europe than in the Mediterranean and Africa, Harpending says.

The researchers studied 3.9 million gene snippets from 270 people in four populations: Han Chinese, Japanese, Africa's Yoruba tribe and Utah Mormons who traced their ancestry to northern Europe.

Richard Potts, director of the human origins program at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, said he thinks the researchers reasoning regarding rapid adaptive change is plausible.

The study mainly points to an overall expansion in the human population over the past 40,000 years to explain the genetic data.

"Yet the archaeological record also shows that humans increasingly divided themselves into distinct cultures and migrating groups — factors that seem to play only a small role in their analysis. Dividing the human population into finer units and their movement into new regions — the Arctic, Oceania, tropical forests, just to name some — may have also forced quicker adaptive evolution in our species," Potts said.
~snippety snip~ continued

KBR- GANG RAPE COVERUP

ABC News Reports that a young Texas woman, Jamie Leigh Jones, who was working for KBR, a Halliburton subsidiary in the Green Zone in Baghdad was drugged and then raped repeatedly by several men 2 years ago. She was then put in a container and guarded by KBR until she convinced a guard to give her his cell phone so she could call her father. Her father called the State Department who alerted the US Embassy in Baghdad which came to rescue her from her employer. She told ABC news that Army doctors who examined her determined that she was raped anally and vaginally, but the rape kit disappeared after being handed over to KBR. She was threatened with losing her job should she sought help after being raped.

As if it wasn't bad enough that a young woman was brutally violated by woman hating morons who work for a woman hating company, the woman hating US Justice Department hasn't brought any charges in the matter. In fact, due to a loophole in the contract with KBR, contractors in Iraq cannot be charged with any crime by the US. I suggest that the woman use the Iraq courts to have these men tried and then if found guilty, executed or castrated, or whatever they do to rapists in Iraq.

Well no, KBR doesn't want this case to see civil court and has moved to have her claim go into arbitration where there's no public record or transcript kept of the proceeding. A private arbitrator (who probably works for a private contractor) would hear the case. So far Halliburton has won 80% of it's by using a private arbitrator. Surprise. Surprise.

That's our tax money going to KBR. I object to their being beyond the law and I plan to make a big stink about this. Some of the comments over at ABC News made me want to vomit. (and this case has nothing to do with Bill Clinton, goddammit to hell)

I *heart* Al...

They have his Nobel Prize acceptance speech up at Grist.

A brief excerpt,

...I have a purpose here today. It is a purpose I have tried to serve for many years. I have prayed that God would show me a way to accomplish it.

Sometimes, without warning, the future knocks on our door with a precious and painful vision of what might be. One hundred and nineteen years ago, a wealthy inventor read his own obituary, mistakenly published years before his death. Wrongly believing the inventor had just died, a newspaper printed a harsh judgment of his life's work, unfairly labeling him "The Merchant of Death" because of his invention -- dynamite. Shaken by this condemnation, the inventor made a fateful choice to serve the cause of peace.

Seven years later, Alfred Nobel created this prize and the others that bear his name.

Seven years ago tomorrow, I read my own political obituary in a judgment that seemed to me harsh and mistaken -- if not premature. But that unwelcome verdict also brought a precious if painful gift: an opportunity to search for fresh new ways to serve my purpose.

Unexpectedly, that quest has brought me here. Even though I fear my words cannot match this moment, I pray what I am feeling in my heart will be communicated clearly enough that those who hear me will say, "We must act."

The distinguished scientists with whom it is the greatest honor of my life to share this award have laid before us a choice between two different futures -- a choice that to my ears echoes the words of an ancient prophet: "Life or death, blessings or curses. Therefore, choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live."

We, the human species, are confronting a planetary emergency -- a threat to the survival of our civilization that is gathering ominous and destructive potential even as we gather here. But there is hopeful news as well: we have the ability to solve this crisis and avoid the worst -- though not all -- of its consequences, if we act boldly, decisively and quickly.

However, despite a growing number of honorable exceptions, too many of the world's leaders are still best described in the words Winston Churchill applied to those who ignored Adolf Hitler's threat: "They go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all powerful to be impotent."...

Maybe they should call it a jellyfish cloud?

Today I was researching jellyfish for an art project and I noticed something fascinating. So fascinating that I put some pictures together to show you.

Aaaaarrrrrrgggghhhhh!!!!!

make mine local please, with a snark-free chaser

I'm getting a mite tired of the compulsion to debunk the 'buy local' movement. The piece I read at NY Times almost careens into self-parody in the questions it raises because some dudes at UC Davis are apparently raising questions. Let's not forget common sense, folks. Use your brain, don't believe everything you read or are told, and don't forget to research organic options that are local. And for pete's sake, try to walk or bike to the market, don't drive your urban assault vehicle or hummer. If you have to drive, how about organizing a weekly shopping outing with friends or neighbors.

Buying local means purchasing foods that are raised nearby, of course, as opposed to trucked or flown in from hither thither and yon. It lowers carbon footprint, it supports local agriculture, and it puts focus back on family and smaller farms because those are the ones you see represented at farmers' markets.

It retrains our palates to consume in a seasonal fashion, which is something that Big Agro has nearly obliterated from our psyche. It also means not eating gassed tomatoes, not eating the same mesclun mix as my buddies on the opposite coast, and consuming something with (dare I say it?) more reverence and soul in it. Gah, that's airy fairy for this morning. Anyway,

While the research is not yet complete, Tom Tomich, director of the University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, said the fact that something is local doesn’t necessarily mean that it is better, environmentally speaking.

The distance that food travels from farm to plate is certainly important, he says, but so is how food is packaged, how it is grown, how it is processed and how it is transported to market.

Consider strawberries. If mass producers of strawberries ship their product to Chicago by truck, the fuel cost of transporting each carton of strawberries is relatively small, since it is tucked into the back along with thousands of others.

But if a farmer sells his strawberries at local farmers’ markets in California, he ferries a much smaller amount by pickup truck to each individual market. Which one is better for the environment?

Mr. Tomich said a strawberry distributor did the math on the back of an envelope and concluded that the Chicago-bound berries used less energy for transport. Maybe. Regardless, the story raises valid questions.

What I wanna know, is if those strawberries were grown in soil treated with methyl bromide. I'd also like to know which strawberry distributor did math on the back of an envelope to argue that berries bound for Chicago used less energy for transport. (Dudes, less energy than what? Oh, sorry, you meant less energy than the biodiesel-fueled truck that is also transporting carrots, turnips, end-of-season tomatoes, peppers, and squashes. Silly me.) [/end pithy editorializing]

These guys are also calling packaging into question, which is legit, IMHO. Packaging is a non-issue if you're shopping at the farmers' markets, though. Most of the ones I frequent are quite serious on BYOB, and if you don't have your own bag, they'll begrudgingly give you a soon-to-be-banned polypropylene bag, which you will feel compelled to pack to the stretching point with all of your produce.

Eating local is about eating in a methodical fashion, rather than convenient. It means cooking all your meals, too; it necessitates meal-planning. I think this is what gets lost on some of the folks who think it sounds kinda neat, but boy it's awful hardcore to get into. Sometimes convenience wins out, sure.

It also means eschewing prepackaged foods wherever you possibly can (remember, Big Agro's high fructose corn syrup and dubious soy products make it into prepared foods in a plethora of ways), which eliminates the packaging that these guys at UC are questioning. Again, common sense. Seasonal and local means cooking, which eliminates most prepackaged foods.

In the end I'm glad to see this subject covered by the NY Times. Really. Any mention is better than none, and this is more positive than much of the knee-jerk, "What's all the fuss with this organic shit?"-type stuff. I'd like us readers to be credited with some horse sense on how to do the local thing in a meaningful fashion, though. It's a paradigm shift, and we really are all invited.

(Sara has quite a bit of experience in recycling and environmental issues. Please give her a warm Blondesense welcome. - Liz)

Oh Good Lord

Something is so terribly wrong with this picture.

4 Die in Colo. Church, Mission Attacks
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A gunman shot four staff members at a missionary training center near Denver early Sunday, killing two, after being told he couldn't spend the night. About 12 hours later and 65 miles away in Colorado Springs, a gunman fatally shot a parishioner at a megachurch and wounded four other people before a guard killed him, police said. continued

They have armed guards at a church these days? According to the news story, security was beefed up in Ted Haggard's old church after the first shooting, but still, they have armed guards at a church?

Gosh, we don't even have armed guards in churches in New York (probably because cops in full riot gear patrol the streets.)

I'll Give You A War On Christmas

"True believers" ought to realize that biblically speaking, Christmastime shouldn't be spent in department stores at all. The war on Christmas began long ago when the once holy day became a holiday spending spree. Any agonizing concerns during the season ought to be focused on one thing and one thing only- praying and working for peace in the world. I do not recall Jesus calling for bombing the world into peace or pieces. I often think that if Jesus did come back, or maybe he has come back, that he would be vilified and called a commie or a far-left Satanist for not endorsing mass consumerism and skyrocketing debt in the name of God.

Today's reading is from Gregory McNamee, a contributing editor for Encyclopædia Britannica, for which he writes regularly on world geography, culture, and other topics. This article is from the History News Network via the Britannica Blog.

Christmas, Cash, and Commodities
Thanksgiving puts a smile on the face of cranberry farmers, poultry farmers, sweet-potato farmers, and bookies. Valentine’s Day gives the executives at Hallmark a warm fuzzy feeling. Come Mother’s Day, florists are the happiest people in town, having jacked up their prices by orders of magnitude that would bring a federal suit down on any other industry. Easter is a holiday beloved of observant Christians—but also of chocolatiers and confectioners and egg farmers, to say nothing of the evil trolls who manufacture the cellophane grass that lines environmentally unfriendly baskets.

But Christmas is the time when capitalism goes uncloaked, when alienation blossoms, when much of the world succumbs to a frenzied potlatch of one-upmanship, debt, and disappointment. continued

Imagine no religion......

Town officials issued a permit to the atheists to place the sign in the park, effective Dec. 1, to mark the winter solstice. They also issued permits to a group of churches that plan to place a creche in the park, and to a local synagogue, which applied to place a menorah there. The atheists have been the only ones to show up so far.

The town marked off three spots in the park," Himes said. "The notice to groups said first come, first served, so we picked the one right in front of town hall. We fully expected the other displays to be up around the same time we put ours up."

Clergymen at two nearby churches said they aren't bothered by the display.

Still, town officials say they are bothered by the tone of the atheists' message, which they say is political and not consistent with the description listed on their application: "triangular stand displaying information about the winter solstice, Atheism and Human Light observance."

(continue reading - The Hartford Courant)

For another read on the same subjectcheck out the ABC local news story:

"I feel like this is an attack on my beliefs as a religious person," said Houser.

Houser says the sign mocks her religion during a holy time of the year. "Imagine no religion is an attack against me, as any person of faith should take it as an attack against them," Houser said.

"This is an attack," said Houser.

Chennelle and Houser have been fighting back with prayer.

"We ultimately believe that Christians have been persecuted throughout history," said Houser, "so this is nothing new."

Sinner Man -- "SOMEONE'S GOTTA SAY SOMETHING"

Performed by THE (elder) WEAVERS


THEY STILL GOT IT! "The spirit of Lee Hays would want to dedicate this song to the man who brought the bible to the White House"


The Weaver's records and concerts helped popularize many of the songs now considered standards in the folk repertoire, including "On Top of Old Smokey," "Follow the Drinking Gourd," "Kisses Sweeter than Wine," "The Wreck of the John B (aka "Sloop John B")," "Rock Island Line," "The Midnight Special," "Pay Me My Money Down," and "Darling Corey." The Weavers encouraged sing-alongs in their concerts, and Seeger would sometimes shout out the lyrics in advance of each line.

The Weavers eventually came under political pressure because of their history of singing protest songs and folk songs favoring labor unions, as well as for the leftist political beliefs of the individuals in the group. They avoided recording the more controversial songs in their repertoire, and refrained from performing at controversial venues and events. The leftwing press derided them as having sold out their beliefs in exchange for popular success. Despite their caution, however, they were placed under FBI surveillance and blacklisted by parts of the entertainment industry during the McCarthy era, from 1950. Right-wing and anti-Communist groups protested at their performances and harassed promoters. As a result of the blacklisting, the Weavers lost radio airplay and the group's popularity diminished rapidly. Decca terminated their recording contract.


And now another little ditty that you've GOT to take a quick listen to. A modern day song with a message (mine anyway) to a particular someone.....

Mormon Ate My Baby (you'll see it listed under a Peggy Lee song) Click listen and MAKE SURE you have your speakers turned up reeeeally reeeeally LOUD

h/t to The Presidential Award for Aural Fitness music blog for both tunes.

Oblivious to a fault

Today's reading is from David Michael Green entitled, Getting Past "Oh!" Why Americans Misunderestimate the Depravity of the President They Hate

Excerpt: It is a curious and telling fact that Europeans figured out Bush far before his own constituents did. There are two reasons for that. One is that they were less frightened than we were. Not that they’re necessarily braver than Americans in general, but they’ve had more experience of terrorism in the past, and we were just hit badly – they weren’t. Americans were therefore a fearful people in 2002 and 2003, looking for leadership and reassurance. But looking, as it would turn out, in all the wrong places.

The other thing is that Europeans have a more mature politics than Americans do – let’s just come right out and say it. You can see it in their attitudes toward sexuality, drugs and crime. You can see it in their wholesale rejection of nationalism and religion, humanity’s worst mythologies and twin curses, wherever they arise. You can see it in their rejection of the juvenile selfishness that characterizes the American style of raw capitalism and obsessive consumption. And you can see it, especially, in their foreign policies and attitudes toward war. In large part because they so heavily and repeatedly paid the consequences of their own prior immaturity about war, their understanding and approach to it today are far more advanced than that of Americans. continued

American still succumbs to trumped up wars unfortunately, despite the fact that we too have some experience in being deceived by the most greedy. Professor Green gives us a nice little history lesson.

I think this will be my xmas card this year

According to today's NY Times, the NYPD plants purses, shopping bags and knapsacks around the city and then arrests those who pick them up. Lately they have been planting credit cards in the bags so that lifting the bags are no longer petty larceny but grand larceny!

I guess that they have to lure the terrorists in New York City anyway they can.
And may I add, God Bless America.

WAR ON FREEDOM KICKS ASS IN USA - FKN Newz

hat tip to farang

"A Christmas Dirge" by Nellie McKay

Christmas time may always be the saddest time of year
But if misery loves company let's play at solitaire
If you've any thought to our forgotten dream
Here's a swallowed prayer and not so silent scream

Please don't chop another Christmas tree
Please just let her live and let her breathe
Spare the little flower as you didn't spare my heart
Tend each thirsty flower, don't tear her apart
Please don't axe another evergreen
Please don't make that cut however clean
Bless each fragrant nettle and how happy she will be
Cradle every blossom and kiss them for me

Please don't slice another Christmas fir
Please don't kick another to the curb
Put away the hog's head and the fetish for the flesh
Death is no requirement for your happiness

Please don't kill another living thing
Please don't sap her veins but let them sing
Don't tether her branches to the chair or kitchenette
Whether our romance is a thrill or regret

Please don't squeeze another Christmas crown
Just to build her up and break her down
Please don't slowly starve her whilst the party rages on
I know what it feels like to shiver in the sun

Please don't chop another Christmas tree
Every wild soul craves liberty
Cherish every being, any species, any size
I'm a weeping willow yet I still empathize
So though you've got your life and family
Though you've chosen and it wasn't me
Though my future's decked in misery
Oh please oh please don't chop that Christmas tree



OH PLEASE Listen here and download this MOST INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL and mournful song for free at Nellie's website

A Little Learning

"A little learning is a dangerous thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring."
Alexander Pope

I was rereading The Rude Pundit’s wonderful vodka live-blogging of Dear Leader’s “press conference” back on 12/4/07 when this entry struck me:

“10:11: Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge to make a weapon, he reiterates. What the fuck does that even mean? No, really, what the fuck?”

To illustrate just how hard it is to gather the knowledge required to construct a weapon, I shall begin with the opening part of the third episode of Connections, a science series from the late 70s narrated by James Burke.

Looks pretty simple, huh? Let’s dig a bit further into the recesses of the Internets and see what else we can find, shall we?

This is the Wikipedia entry on the nuclear device detonated over Hiroshima in 1945. Again, rather straightforward design; in fact, the Big Brains at Los Alamos (led by J. Robert “Destroyer of Worlds” Oppenheimer) were so damned certain that this design would work that they never tested it until the mid-50s (it was used in the 280mm atomic howitzer).

If you want something a bit more complicated, here’s the Wikipedia entry on the implosion device used on Nagasaki. This basic device became the general template for every bomb we’ve made since.

Okay, so far we have three bomb designs – one theoretical, two actual – but something’s missing. Hmm, what could it be?

There are two items missing. One is the amount of fissile material (either oralloy – highly enriched uranium – or plutonium), and the other is what I call The Final Set of Equations.

Another lighthearted romp down the Internet tubes reveals that for a very basic device you only need 15 kilograms of fissile material. Naturally, the more you have, the more efficient and powerful the weapon, and of course you can stockpile more.

Now we come to the Final Equations, which govern exactly how much material you need. See, the material has to be just subcritical (almost set to go boom); it’s the high explosives that force criticality and cause the necessary chain reaction. These are closely guarded secrets but, again, not an insurmountable problem (unless you suck at math, like I do).

Which leads us back to the Bush press conference. What Bush is apparently saying in his answers is that in order to assuage American concerns about its nuclear program, Iran will have to utterly destroy every structure, wreck every piece of equipment, burn all the papers and lobotomize every scientist and engineer involved in the project since its inception.

And even then you can be sure someone will be missed, someone who keeps the secret of secrets in his brain and only waits for the money, materiel and manpower required to rebuild.

A little learning is, indeed, a dangerous thing.

War Is A Racket

Today's reading is a speech delivered by Major General Smedley Butler, USMC in 1933 entitled, War Is A Racket. It is as true today as it ever was. War is waged for the profit of a few. But who pays? We do.

Excerpt:

But the soldier pays the biggest part of the bill.

If you don't believe this, visit the American cemeteries on the battlefields abroad. Or visit any of the veteran's hospitals in the United States. On a tour of the country, in the midst of which I am at the time of this writing, I have visited eighteen government hospitals for veterans. In them are a total of about 50,000 destroyed men – men who were the pick of the nation eighteen years ago. The very able chief surgeon at the government hospital; at Milwaukee, where there are 3,800 of the living dead, told me that mortality among veterans is three times as great as among those who stayed at home.

Boys with a normal viewpoint were taken out of the fields and offices and factories and classrooms and put into the ranks. There they were remolded; they were made over; they were made to "about face"; to regard murder as the order of the day. They were put shoulder to shoulder and, through mass psychology, they were entirely changed. We used them for a couple of years and trained them to think nothing at all of killing or of being killed.

Then, suddenly, we discharged them and told them to make another "about face" ! This time they had to do their own readjustment, sans [without] mass psychology, sans officers' aid and advice and sans nation-wide propaganda. We didn't need them any more. So we scattered them about without any "three-minute" or "Liberty Loan" speeches or parades. Many, too many, of these fine young boys are eventually destroyed, mentally, because they could not make that final "about face" alone.

In the government hospital in Marion, Indiana, 1,800 of these boys are in pens! Five hundred of them in a barracks with steel bars and wires all around outside the buildings and on the porches. These already have been mentally destroyed. These boys don't even look like human beings. Oh, the looks on their faces! Physically, they are in good shape; mentally, they are gone.

There are thousands and thousands of these cases, and more and more are coming in all the time. The tremendous excitement of the war, the sudden cutting off of that excitement – the young boys couldn't stand it.

Wake up America. God help us.

THE COLLEGE ESSAY.....a few suggestions

from my best boy Bill Bonner at TheDailyReckoning. He was my first! (The first on my favorites, the first link I ever clicked on when I turned on our first computer and took my first internet cruise -- way back in the day.....I think it was a Wednesday!)

His advice to his son:

The 17-year-old has to write his college essay. He's applying to various American universities…and to Cambridge in the United Kingdom. But he's also going to one of the toughest schools in France…where he is doing math that bears no resemblance to anything tackled by the Class of '66 at Southern High in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

The problem for Henry is that he has to try to keep up with his work in school…while also figuring out where to go to college and getting together his applications.

"Sorry, Henry, I have no idea what any of this stuff means," we had to tell him…after trying to figure out one of his math problems. "But maybe I can help with your essay."

"Well, I'm supposed to write something that tells a bit about who I am…about something that influenced me…or a book that made a big impression on me. I was thinking of writing about To Kill a Mockingbird."

"Don't do that," was our advice. "They must get thousands of kids writing about To Kill a Mockingbird. And what are you going to say that hasn't already been said a thousand times? Instead, I would choose something that is specific to you. Original. Don't try to talk about big themes…don't try to sound smart…or wrestle with global warming or ethical issues. Just tell a story. Write with your eyes and your ears. Tell it as it happened. Tell what you heard. What you saw. What happened. Let them see who you are…by seeing the world that you see…through your eyes. Don't try to explain who you are or what you think. Don't come to a conclusion; let the reader do that. Don't use big words…and no Latinate words; stick to Anglo-Saxon words."

"Hmmm….then maybe I should tell about that time I helped Damien. That was an experience. We were working with power tools in the rain. It was shocking. Heh heh. And Damien practically cut his finger off."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

THANKS BILL -- I'm gonna use this advice -- I HOPE
We are just starting the college application process.

Unfortunately, my precious baby boy is having a difficult time understanding the concept of the "self-addressed stamped envelope" that he needs to give to the teachers, guidance dept., and those writing letters of recommendations on his behalf.

I'll keep you posted.......

(I may be sending him to the "yawning black pits of the Alberta oil sands" - along with a few of my own self-addressed stamped envelopes for him to insert those huge paychecks!)

I Said I'd Send This ...

Email to: Bill O'Reilly, Fox News

Mr. O'Reilly,

Like you I am convinced that there is, in fact, a war on Christmas. This war has been going on for many years, longer than I have been alive (I'm 46). I agree with you that the purity of this Christian holiday needs to be preserved.

But the war is not with the secularists per se, but with commercialization; those who would rip down the mistletoe and put up dollar signs, and replace the Holy Infant in the manger with a special from Wal-Mart.

Years ago I found a poem, written by Lawrence Ferlinghetti back in 1958, that quickly became my favorite. It quite nicely captures the desire for a simpler holiday:

"Christ Cllimbed Down"

- snip -

Merry Christmas, Mr. O'Reilly, and may you have a happy New Year.


Walt
Winter Haven, Florida

***

I shall see what reply (if any) I receive.

Quote of the Day:

(Found at Signs-of-The-Times):
"There is no telling how many wars it will take to secure freedom in the homeland." -- (George W. Bush, speech on August 7, 2002)

Amerika, Amerika über alles

My Message to Mitt: "You're no Jack Kennedy"

(I'm so original! heh heh)

Well then, How about STFU!

Front page of this morning's Hartford Courant:

Decades After JFK, A Presidential Hopeful Addresses His Beliefs
In his speech on faith and politics in Texas Thursday, Mitt Romney compared his appearance to John F. Kennedy's famous speech to Protestant ministers during the 1960 presidential campaign. Both men were trying to overcome concerns that their religious faiths Catholicism for Kennedy, Mormonism for Romney could hinder their candidacies for president.

But there were differences.

Kennedy, 1960:

Expressed unequivocal support for separation of church and state.

Addressed specific issues raised by his Catholicism, such as aid to parochial schools.

Answered tough questions from his audience after the speech.



JFK's remarks on faith, politics

"I am not the Catholic candidate for president. I am the Democratic Party's candidate for president, who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters — and the church does not speak for me."

Romney, 2007:

Said religion should play a role in public life.

Made only passing references to issues raised by his Mormon faith.

Did not answer questions after his speech.

"Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone."




Mitt Romney, center, and the Rev. Jeffrey Brown hug at the George Bush Presidential Library. The GOP presidential hopeful spoke about the role his faith would play if he were elected.

ABC News actually aired this

Chris Cuomo interviewed some Pakistani young people recently.

They watch MTV and like American rock stars but not pop stars so much. They watch American sitcoms (oy). But here's the interesting part:

CHRIS CUOMO (ABC NEWS)
(Voiceover) Then a surprising assessment that shows the distance between our political cultures. When I asked about Osama bin laden's latest audiotape, one of them answered with a question of her own.

MARYAM KANWER (PAKISTANI YOUTH)
Who is Osama bin Laden? Who, he's a, he's just a character created by America.

SAMAD KHURRAM (PAKISTANI YOUTH)
Actually, 98% of Pakistan would probably follow along those, along the same line to believe that Osama is basically a CIA agent who's working undercover to put a bad image of Islam.

CHRIS CUOMO (ABC NEWS)
(Off-camera) Really?

AMMAR RASHID (PAKISTANI YOUTH)
Yeah.

CHRIS CUOMO (ABC NEWS)
(Off-camera) So that there is no really, there is no Osama bin Laden?

AMMAR RASHID (PAKISTANI YOUTH)
A lot of them find it difficult to believe that such Muslims would actually exist.

CHRIS CUOMO (ABC NEWS)
(Off-camera) We could all drive an hour from where we are right now and find many, many people who stand by what Osama bin Laden says in the spirit of Islam.

AMMAR RASHID (PAKISTANI YOUTH)
To be quite honest, that's a very marginalized section of Pakistani society. Islamic extremisms that you find here did not, in fact, did not really exist in Pakistan pre-9/11 or pre the Musharaff's government.

What is it about Iran?

CNN was ready to jump on the "uncritically supporting a bogus war" bandwagon with a 2 hour documentary "We Were Warned -- Iran Goes Nuclear" to be aired next weekend. But alas, the NIE report forced them to scrap that. What the hell on earth was that going to be about? They would just uncritically have the voices of war mongers tell us what they wanted us to believe so that they could start a war?


Speaking of war, war, and more war, Rudy's latest ad focuses on Iran.

Just two days after the release of a National Intelligence Report that has made Iran the flashpoint of debate in the presidential race, the Giuliani campaign is up with a new ad highlighting the Iran hostage crisis, and the need to “stand up” to “dictators” and “tyrants.”

The ad, titled “One Hour,” will be broadcast in New Hampshire and Boston. It features Rudolph W. Giuliani talking to the camera mixed with stark black-and-white images of blindfolded hostages and hostages exiting an airplane after their release. In his voiceover, Mr. Giuliani suggests that Ronald Reagan’s election alone accounted for the release of the American hostages held in Iran. Mr. Giuliani often invokes former President Reagan on the trail and mentions the handling of the Iran hostage crisis. During a Republican debate in May, Mr. Giuliani talked about how the Iranians in 1980 “looked in Ronald Reagan’s eyes, and two minutes they released the hostages.”

Iran is so 1980. Was there a Ronald Reagan that we missed?

Talking about dictatorships and tyrants, I can think of a couple of countries that would be ripe for "democracy and freedom."

Comment by Keith

Over at C&L they have the clip of Keith's special comment from tonight.

Countdown Special Comment


This is his heaviest slam yet...and it's good!

Canadian Boom Town $$$

I was flipping through yesterday's paper and had to find this story online. So here it is:

This Is the Life: Luxurious Digs On Frigid Oil Sands
Firms in Canada Pay Well, And Steak Is on the Menu; 'Smell of Money' Beckons
By DOUGLAS BELKIN
December 5, 2007; Page A1

WOOD BUFFALO, Alberta -- Mike Savoie's new room comes with a 20-inch flat-screen TV, double bed, high-speed Internet access and daily maid service. Prime rib is on the Thursday dinner menu. The bar opens at 6 p.m., and if that doesn't relax him, there's a yoga class at 7.

The cost to the 38-year-old heavy-equipment operator of what he calls his "five star" accommodations? None.

Up here, in the white-hot center of the Canadian economy, riches are being pulled out of the yawning black pits of the Alberta oil sands like cash from an ATM. The Canadian dollar, propelled by oil hovering around $90 a barrel, has surged more than 60% to virtual parity with the U.S. dollar in the past five years. Now, the biggest hurdle oil companies have is finding enough skilled workers to operate the shovels.

continued

Christmas Poem

"Christ Climbed Down"

From the "Blame Clinton First" Crowd

Have you been reading about Mike Huckabee's latest conflict dealing with the fact that he had a convicted rapist released from prison who then went on to rape and kill 2 more women? Well it's Bill Clinton's fault now. Americablog has all the dirt. Unbelievable. Because the woman who was raped was Bill Clinton's cousin, apparently Huckabee felt (or the GOP told him to feel) that the charges must have been trumped up.
Huckabee rape defense: Bill Clinton made me do it
Huckabee was on first-name basis with convicted rapist
Former top Huckabee aide: He DID try to influence parole board to set rapist free
Huckabee in August 2007: I felt sorry for rapist

Oh Good Lord. Can you imagine?

Just an hour after George Bush left Omaha, a 19 year old male carried a rifle into a mall there killing 9 people including himself. Just the night before, he showed the mother in the family whose house he's been staying at a SKS semiautomatic Russian military rifle, but she said it didn't look like it would work. The boy was depressed since he broke up with his girlfriend, lost his job at McDonald's and was kicked out of his family's house.

And in religious news...

Huckabee: "I have more respect for an honest atheist than a disingenuous believer."

me too.

States are still struggling to abolish blue laws. It's not like Christians are refusing to shop on Sundays or anything.

Huckabee Bristles at Creationism Query

Rupert Murdoch has “acquired Beliefnet, the largest faith and spirituality information site on the Web, for an undisclosed sum.”

Mitt Romney is going to give a speech addressing his Mormon faith in an effort to gain the trust of Americans.

Christmas presents for Jesus Freaks: Rodeo Jesus, Football Jesus, Motorcycle Jesus, Jesus the beggar, Soccer Jesus, Peacenik Jesus and Surfer Dude Jesus. Awesome

Iran: Do they or don't they pose a threat? homina homina

As I listened to the radio yesterday (while working) I was overwhelmed by the comments dear leader had about the NIE report that Iran didn't have WMDs. I was also bowled over by the similarities to what was spewed in the lead up to the Iraq invasion and occupation. I couldn't wait to find some of this online so I could share with you. I found most of it at the WH website and Think Progress.

Q Mr. President, a new intelligence report says that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program four years ago, and that it remains frozen. Are you still convinced that Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb? And do the new findings take the military option that you've talked about off the table?

THE PRESIDENT: Here's what we know. We know that they're still trying to learn how to enrich uranium. We know that enriching uranium is an important step in a country who wants to develop a weapon. We know they had a program. We know the program is halted.

I think it is very important for the international community to recognize the fact that if Iran were to develop the knowledge that they could transfer to a clandestine program it would create a danger for the world. And so I view this report as a warning signal that they had the program, they halted the program. And the reason why it's a warning signal is that they could restart it. And the thing that would make a restarted program effective and dangerous is the ability to enrich uranium, the knowledge of which could be passed on to a hidden program.

And so it's a -- to me, the NIE provides an opportunity for us to rally the international community -- continue to rally the community to pressure the Iranian regime to suspend its program.

You know, the NIE also said that such pressure was effective, and that's what our government has been explaining to other partners in keeping the international pressure on Iran. The best diplomacy, effective diplomacy, is one of which all options are on the table.

QUESTION: Mr. President, thank you. I’d like to follow on that. When you talked about Iraq, you and others in the administration talked about a mushroom cloud. Then there were no WMD in Iraq.

When it came to Iran, you said in October — on October 17th, you warned about the prospect of World War III, when, months before you made that statement, this intelligence about them suspending their weapons program back in ‘03 had already come to light to this administration. So can’t you be accused of hyping this threat? And don’t you worry that that undermines U.S. credibility?

BUSH: I don’t want to contradict an august reporter such as yourself, but I was made aware of the NIE last week. In August, I think it was John — Mike McConnell came in and said, We have some new information. He didn’t tell me what the information was. He did tell me it was going to take a while to analyze.

Why would you take time to analyze new information? One, you want to make sure it’s not disinformation. You want to make sure the piece of intelligence you have is real. And secondly, they want to make sure they understand the intelligence they gathered. If they think it’s real, then what does it mean? And it wasn’t until last week that I was briefed on the NIE that is now public.

And the second part of your question has to do this: Look, Iran was dangerous. Iran is dangerous. And Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.

[…]

QUESTION: President, thank you. Just to follow, I understand what you’re saying about when you were informed about the NIE. Are you saying at no point while the rhetoric was escalating, as World War III was making it into conversation — at no point, nobody from your intelligence team or your administration was saying, Maybe you want to back it down a little bit?

BUSH: No — I’ve never — nobody ever told me that. Having said — having — having laid that out, I still feel strongly that Iran’s a danger. Nothings changed in this NIE that says, OK, why don’t we just stop worrying about it? Quite the contrary.

And now for the conspiracy theory of the day which makes my head explode:
From Normal Podhoretz who is desperately jonesing for an Iranian invasion and bombing:
"I entertain an even darker suspicion. It is that the intelligence community, which has for some years now been leaking material calculated to undermine George W. Bush, is doing it again. This time the purpose is to head off the possibility that the President may order air strikes on the Iranian nuclear installations."

And another conspiracy theory by John "Got Milk" Bolton:

I really think the House and Senate Intelligence Committees have to look at how this NIE was put together because there are a lot unexplained points in here. […]

I think there is a risk here, and I raise this as a question, whether people in the intelligence community who had their own agenda on Iran for some time now have politicized this intelligence and politicized these judgments in a way contrary to where the administration was going. I think somebody needs to look at that.

Is is true that the WH was out of the loop until last week? Harper’s Scott Horton interviewed an intelligence community official who casts doubt on the White House’s claim that they only recent learned of the NIE’s judgments:

But one highly reliable intelligence community source I consulted immediately after Hadley spoke answered my question this way: “This is absolutely absurd. The NIE has been in substantially the form in which it was finally submitted for more than six months. The White House, and particularly Vice President Cheney, used every trick in the book to stop it from being finalized and issued. There was no last minute breakthrough that caused the issuance of the assessment.” So what, I asked, if not an intelligence breakthrough, what caused the last-minute change and the sudden issuance of the summary of the NIE? My source had no idea.

Sy Hersh revealed that Bush told Olmert about the NIE report 2 days before he was supposedly told about about it on November 28th:

Israel objects to this report. I’m told that Olmert had a private discussion with Bush about it during Annapolis — before Annapolis. Bush briefed him about it. The Israelis were very upset about the report. They think we’re naive, they don’t think we get it right. And so they have a different point of view.

Leading presidential candidate Huckabee was clueless as to the breaking news yesterday:

Reporter: I don’t know to what extent you have been briefed or been able to take a look at the NIE report that came out yesterday …
Huckabee: I’m sorry?
Reporter: The NIE report, the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran. Have you been briefed or been able to take a look at it –
Huckabee: No.
Reporter: Have you heard of the finding?
Huckabee: No.

And then later from the Chicago Tribune: “I don’t know where the intelligence is coming from that says that they suspended the program and how credible that is versus the news that they actually are expanding it,” [Huckabee] said. “And then I’ve heard the last two weeks supposed reports that say that they are accelerating and could be having a reactor in a much shorter period of time than originally they thought.”

and finally From Think Progress
The faulty 2005 NIE that said Iran was racing to develop nuclear weapons was “written by some of the same team that had produced key parts of the flawed Iraq estimate.” The “starkly different view of Iran’s nuclear program that emerged from U.S. spy agencies this week” drew lessons from the “intelligence debacle over supposed Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.”

Caption This Photo

Hello, dear readers. This is Jack. I've been working with Jack and developing some new training techniques for when we're on the road. This particular technique beats the heck out of hauling buckets of water out to the horse trailer at the truck stops. I'm thinking about submitting this photo to a national horse publication. What do ya think? Give a hick some help and caption this photo.


No prizes will be awarded for the best caption. Thats right. You get jack-shit.

Get your crayons out kids!!!!

(click photo to enlarge)

This image, provided by the Archdiocese of New York, shows a page from a new coloring book being distributed by the Archdiocese using a cartoon guardian angel to warn kids against predators in what is apparently the first such effort by a Roman Catholic diocese in the United States. But the head of an advocacy group for victims of abuse by priests said the book should say explicitly that trusted adults - including priests - may be the abusers. (AP Photo/Archdiocese of New York)



NEW YORK (AP) - The Archdiocese of New York is handing out coloring and comic books that warn children about sex predators, the first such effort by a Roman Catholic diocese in the United States.

In the coloring book, a perky guardian angel tells children not to keep secrets from their parents, not to meet anyone from an Internet chat room and to allow only "certain people" like a doctor or parent to see "where your bathing suit would be."

In a comic book version for children over 10, a teenager turns to St. Michael the Archangel for strength to report that two schoolmates are being sexually abused.

"It's to help young people to know situations they should not get into," he said. "How to be safe - but to try to do it in an age-appropriate and sensitive way."

Now isn't that special.....

Headlines:

REUTERS: Bush says Iran still dangerous
BLONDESENSE: Entire world says Bush still dangerous

And for those of you who believe in UNintelligent design, or that humans are in a process of DEvolution:

(EDIT:) (Secondary Headline):
More Evidence That The American Educational System Always Has Been, Is, And Will Continue To Be A Hideous Decayed Rotten Caricature Of What A Learning Process Should Be
"Young chimps trash college kids in memory test.

Our crappy economy

Strong Canadian Dollar and Higher Pot Prices for US Stoners
The good stuff comes from Canada, so you may have noticed that the price has risen about 25%.

New research on pot prices "evaluates the impact of recent changes in user sanctions for marijuana on marijuana prices. The results suggest that lower legal risks for users are associated with higher marijuana prices in the short-run, which ceteris paribus, implies higher profits for drug dealers. Additionally, the findings have important implications for thinking about the slope of the supply curve and interpreting previous research on the effect of drug laws on demand for marijuana."

I'm not a stoner, but I have been considering it lately with all the bad news bombarding our country. Beer doesn't cut it anymore.
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The US debt is expanding by $1.4 billion/day or $1 million/minute

What's that mean to you?

It means almost $30,000 in debt for each man, woman, child and infant in the United States.

Even if you've escaped the recent housing and credit crunches and are coping with rising fuel prices, you may still be headed for economic misery, along with the rest of the country. That's because the government is fast straining resources needed to meet interest payments on the national debt, which stands at a mind-numbing $9.13 trillion.

Yes, I am so happy that I have tried to curb my spending to within my means for these past several years and have eliminated my debt... and I can still be fucked. Great.
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A nice, but long read on Why America's Currency Is the World's Problem
Politicians and central bankers are looking on helplessly as the economic outlook worsens by the day and European companies rack up huge losses.
Thomas Enders, the CEO of Airbus spoke to employees in Hamburg, and explained that "the rate at which the US currency is falling makes "reasonable processes of adjustment" a virtual impossibility. Every cent the dollar drops against the euro costs Airbus €100 million. This has even the normally optimistic Enders alarmed. "It's life-threatening," he told his audience."
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"U.S. Credit Crisis Adds to Gloom in Norway" This story upsets me because just a few days ago, I was almost on board for Norway after seeing the scene cut from Michael Moore's "Sicko." But even Norway isn't immune from the far reaching crapola and greed of the US money pigs.

Norway’s unlucky towns are the latest victims — and perhaps the least likely ones so far — of the credit crisis that began last summer in the American subprime mortgage market and has spread to the farthest reaches of the world, causing untold losses and sowing fears about the global economy.

Where all the bad debt ended up remains something of a mystery, but to those hit by the collateral damage, it hardly matters.

Tiny specks on the map, these Norwegian towns are links in a chain of misery that stretches from insolvent homeowners in California to the state treasury of Maine, and from regional banks in Germany to the mightiest names on Wall Street. Citigroup, among the hardest hit, created the investments bought by the towns through a Norwegian broker.

I am still going to order the language tapes for Norwegian and Swedish because you never know.
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Talk about being fucked over big time by greedy Washington pigs, many New Orlean's residents are shut out from moving home because they can't afford the rents on the new housing projects. Cheap dwellings, if available, "routinely come without finished walls or stoves." FEMA trailor residents are being evicted in the meantime. This is how the US deals with their most vulnerable citizens. It's a disgrace. This would never happen in Norway.

We may as well hope that more uber-wealthy liberal celebrities take up the cause as Brad Pitt has done in helping to rebuild the lower 9th Ward.

The project, called Make It Right, calls for building 150 affordable, environmentally sound houses over the next two years. In a telephone interview from New Orleans, where he plans to present the designs today, Mr. Pitt said the residents of the neighborhood had been homeless long enough. “They’re coming up on their third Christmas,” he said.

Mr. Pitt said he had been attached to New Orleans for more than a decade. “I’ve always had a fondness for this place — it’s like no other,” he said. “Seeing the frustration firsthand made me want to return the kindness this city has shown me.”

Indeed. It doesn't seem like anyone's tax dollars are going to actually help those on the fringes- it's just going to the pockets of war profiteers. So much for war being "good for the economy."
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Casting Call

Are there any blondes out there who might be interested in blogging at Blondesense? With outrage fatigue hitting most of us here, we could use some backup. Contact me at blondesense (at) optonline.net with your refreshing ideas for consideration.

Update: you can be "blonde" at heart or inside your head (rather than outside your head)

No Nukes In Iran Confirmed.

NIE Report: Iran halted nuclear weapons program -- years ago

Four years ago.

In fact, it was known months ago that Iran had stopped it nuclear weapons program but Bush was told to not stop talking about Iran's nuclear weapons program by Steven Hadley. With this news coming to the light of day, the bushistas claim that they won't stop their strategy of "applying intensified international pressure on Iran."

So will they still insist on pointing missiles at Iran from Europe? Something that Putin was very much against? How about sanctions? Sure, why not. The US is still claiming that while Iran's intentions of not pursuing nuclear weapons is true, that doesn't mean that they won't change their minds.

What nuclear issue? They are still spinning Iran as if this news doesn't mean anything.

At a White House briefing, Hadley flatly denied any escalation in US rhetoric on Iran and insisted that the NIE proved that "we have the right strategy" of stepping up international pressure.

"The bottom line is that for that strategy to succeed, the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressure. And Iran has to decide that it wants to negotiate a solution," he said.

Why not just concentrate on fixing the clusterfucks in Afghanistan and Iraq and gracefully go into oblivion with the rest of the GOP?

"Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire!"

This article from the Gray Lady is certainly interesting, and guaranteed to make heads explode:

U.S. Says Iran Ended Atomic Arms Work

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 — A new assessment by American intelligence agencies concludes that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains on hold, contradicting an assessment two years ago that Tehran was working inexorably toward building a bomb.


Which brings us to the title of this post. After a while, as the legend of the Boy Who Cried Wolf will tell you, a person's lies diminish in influence to unattractive returns. Sounding the drumbeat for war against Iran because of its WMD program rang hollow with many of us because of the abject and utter failure of the Bushies to find any WMDs in Iraq (which I beg to remind the wingnuts in the audience, was the first reason for invading that country).

Now, with new evidence and a new assessment by the 16 US intelligence agencies, you can expect denials and spin galore from the White House, and the corpulent bulk of Dick Cheney, like Falstaff "larding the lean earth with his footsteps," rampaging through the corridors of certain buildings in Langley and Washington leaving blood and entrails in his wake.

One may wonder, "Why would the intel community throw the Administration under the bus like this?"

Simple answer: The intel community got thrown under the bus by the Bushies post-9/11 and were blamed for the Iraqi WMD thing. The notion that the intel was cherry-picked, marketed and spun to fit peoples' fears was silently swept aside.

Moral: Don't mess with the bureaucracy; they can do terrible things to you.

A Ridiculous Law: "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Twelve thousand flags fluttered at the National Mall protesting the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law signed off by Clinton in '93 (early proof that he was a Republican in disguise).

On Friday, 28 retired generals and admirals petitioned Congress to scrap "don't ask, don't tell" legislation. As of May, the military kicked out 58 Arab language translators for being gay at a time when, duh, the US is in dire need of Arab language translators. It simply boggles the mind.

While General Pace deems homosexuality "immoral," I find his comment immoral. I find torture immoral. I find rape immoral. I find blowing up cities immoral.

I find that recruiting criminals instead of homosexuals for military service immoral and idiotic. Gang members are joining the military, yet gawd forbid a law abiding, qualified homosexual is turned away.

Today's Boston Globe reports that

"...in October, the service had to waive one or more enlistment requirements for more than 20 percent of all its recruits. Of that month's 6,434 enlistees, 12.3 percent needed waivers because of criminal records, including felony convictions. This exceeds the 11.2 percent of such waivers for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, which was already the highest annual rate since 2003. Other waivers are for physical deficiencies, including being overweight, and drug or alcohol abuse."

Won't you please join me in writing a letter to your lawmakers in DC and your local papers calling for the scrapping of this most despicable and ridiculous law?

News from our "christian" country

Andrew Sullivan muses about Joe Klein's piece on "christian" Republicans and the debates. When Huckabee mentioned the poor as "children of God," the dials plummeted as well as any time someone mentioned helping the poor. In addition, the dials fell when John McCain talked about waterboarding. Apparently "christian" Republicans approve of it.

Already a loser in my book, the very cheap and ill informed and I don't know what Democrats he knows, Fred Thompson warned southern voters that if a Democrat is elected, the US will become a welfare state.

Just how much of a religious nut is Huckabee? Read this. Of all the candidates, he is the most sincerely religious, and that's what is frightening. Huckabeee concludes that Jesus must be for the death penalty because he didn't condemn it when he was crucified.

Read how South Carolinians are freaking out over the immigration issue which is their number 2 issue next to the war. Why? Because up until 10 years ago, there weren't many immigrants there. Hey, get with the program. Come to NY.

Mitt Romney, whose religion causes a huge stir among his base, doesn't think that he would have Muslims serve in his cabinet because they don't represent enough of a percentage of the American population.

Hey, I thought that the terrorists want to kill us. Guess not. The feds are cutting security grants to state and local governments. Well that leaves more money for the defense contractors.

Today's Blast From the Past

Remember shopping online in 1960?

No Shit Sherlock

New Gallup Poll: Republicans Report Much Better Mental Health Than Others (Relationship persists even when controlling for other variables)

Note that this is a survey of how one rates their own mental health.

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Also check out the links on the right side of the Gallup page. It appears that they are polling Republicans.

RIP EVEL

Clinton/Powell and Obama/Bloomberg?

I found this story at Americablog. Rumors are swirling. Not sure I actually believe in rumors or anything these days, but it's pretty darn odd. The way politics are going these days, I suppose that nothing is surprising when you see that your country is being taken over by fascists.

I guess the Dems want someone like Huckabee to be president.
May I just say that Hillary's campaign must be nucking futs. Colin Powell has lost all credibility. Mike Bloomberg's agenda is in question at this time. I dunno.

What about Dennis Kucinich, the only real Democrat?