Krista Posted This

So I don't have to: Your Brain on Conservativism/Liberalism

The Answer

John Climacus from Alpaca Burger Forum has the answer to all the world's ills. Puppies.

Sage words.

No comment

Mahatma Sheehan

It's so sad, she is just wasting away.

H/t Hot Air

The Voice of Moderate Islam

Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi is a monthly columnist for the Detroit News. His "Faith and Policy" columns usually are aimed at urging understanding for Islam and acceptance. He says things like this:

"(Islam) existed 1,000 years before the establishment of this great republic and always promoted the message of love, peace and justice."

He is presented as a moderate voice of Islam, and he is very popular among Detroit's Muslim community. Today's column:

Lebanon, one of the most beautiful and hospitable countries in the world, has gone through unimaginable pain and suffering in the past two weeks. Israel declared this unjust and immoral war under the excuse of its two soldiers being captured by the Lebanese resistance. Lebanese forces said they took the Israeli soldiers to negotiate the release of their own captured people and 495 other hostages- Palestinian women and children who have been held a long time.

Lebanese resistance not Hezbolloah. And, Israel is holding 495 women and children hostages? Propaganda much? This man is a student of Joseph Goebbels.

The Lebanese started firing their Katyusha rockets on northern Israel three days after the Israeli invasion or, more accurately, after three decades of Israeli occupation and aggression. Israel never left the Lebanese Shaba farmlands, and Israel was planning this war for a long time.
*********
There was no need to create this headache for the region. Israel's real enemy is not Hezbollah, Iran or Syria but its own arrogance.

Well, I'm glad we got that cleared up.

Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi is head of something called the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights, Michigan. Sounds like a nice place? You wouldn't think it was an organization lead by a man who cozies up with Hezzbollah and the Ayatollah Khomeini, but that's exactly what it is.

So, when Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi offers that Hezbollah isn't the bad guy, he isn't exactly speaking from a position of disinterest or moderation.

This from CBN News:

A research paper for the U.S. Institute of Peace state that, "in 1991, Mohammad Ali Elahi received a four-month visa which enabled him to inspect American branches of Hizbullah (Tehran's network of agents) and to reinforce Tehran's influence on Shi'ite communities (in Dearborn)." 

That's a pretty serious accusation, if true.

Regarding Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent call to wipe Israel off the map, Elahi wrote:
--"It is very clear that Mr. Ahmadinejad was not making an anti-Semitic statement."
--"The Iranian president's quip can best be understood in the context of the Declaration of Independence."
--and, "Israel must stop instigating violent conflicts in the Muslim world." 

This is the voice of "moderate" Islam? Yikes. A bit more:

Elahi denies that he is an agent of the Iranian government. But he says Iran is a democracy--and that the U.S. should have supported the 1979 Iranian revolution, the same revolution that brought Ayatollah Khomeini and Islamic Sharia law to power.
“That was what people wanted,” Elahi said, “and they stood for it. I mean, that was a revolution made by the people.”
And what about 9/11? According to a 2001 upi article, Elahi suggested that the Israeli Mossad was behind the attacks on the World Trade Center. Elahi says he was misquoted. But he still is not convinced that al-Qaeda carried out the attacks alone.
“Honestly, in my heart? I don't have an answer for that,” Elahi said. “Maybe, and maybe not. They may have done it just by themselves, or they may have had some help from some others.”  
But Elahi said he is still not sure whether Israel was involved in the attacks.

Ok, let me see if I can sum up the views of moderate Islam: Israel's only problem is its own arrogance; calls for wiping Israel off the map are not anti-Semitic, but Revolutionary; Iran is a democracy; and the Israeli Mossad may have been behind 9/11. Did I miss anything?

Shesh, It's no wonder there is so much support for Hezzbollah in Detroit.

A Picture says 100 Words

For the past week, the talking heads have been using the phrase "excessive force" over and over again; Israel is using excessive force again Lebanon. Why does the IDF have to leave cities in ruins? Why are they shootting at citizen? This graphic on the Jawa Report explains it all.

Truth be told, terrorists are cowards who hide behind women and children. It is those who use civilians as shields who are responsible for the death tole in Lebanon.

What a Tool

"If I was president, this wouldn't have happened," said Kerry during a noon stop at Honest John's bar and grill in Detroit's Cass Corridor.

A pretty from my garden

DSC00622
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

Kinda busy- yesterday I took in a Tigers game, and today I'm trying to figure out what Science curriculum to use with my kids this year.

Besides, it's Friday.

Say what?

United for Lebanon. By their hate for Israel. They say they are marching for peace, but the minute they use the "Z" word, the jig is up:

"We know that the president is being bought by the Zionist lobby. We know that the (U.S.) Congress is being bought by the Zionist lobby. ... But we know that the American people are a great people," he said.

Amid cries for the end of terrorism committed by Israel, there isn't one demand for Hezbollah to back down. Matter of fact:

.At one point, a speaker held a portrait of Hassan Nasrallah, Hizballah's secretary-general. The crowd burst into applause.

Color me SHOCKED! Certainly these people don't support the terrorist organization Hezbollah?!? I mean, American muslims have been claiming they denounce terrorism, haven't they?

(crickets)

Fact is, one of Detroit's most popular Lebanese restaurants has been tied to Hezbollah. The owner of "La Shish" has been charged with tax evasion, and supporting Hezbollah. Last time I checked, he was hiding out in Lebanon. He is probably one of the "Americans" we are footing the bill to transport out of danger.

Update: We're NUMBER 1! From Northeast Intelligence Network:

According to the same federal source providing information to the Northeast Intelligence Network, Detroit is the main center of Hezbollah's fundraising activity in the U.S.

And more:

Many of the 7,000 plus Detroiters in Lebanon are active in Dearborn's Bint Jbeil cultural center (the Lebanese American Heritage Club also features mostly Hezbollah fans). Bint Jbeil is a Hezbollah-dominated city in the South of Lebanon, a frequent destination of Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, who is very at home there. Bint Jbeil is a frequent source of shellings on Northern Israel.

Bint Jbeil natives now living in our country so strongly support Hezbollah that they got Republican Congressman Joe Knollenberg (and his then top staffer, Paul Welday) and then-U.S. Senator Spencer Abraham to give Hezbollah forces in Southern Lebanon about $86 million of our tax money, no strings.

Given this information, and the fact--as I've detailed numerous times on this site--that several Shi'ite Muslim Lebanese U.S. citizens from Dearborn have been indicted and/or convicted of laundering money to Hezbollah, is it a good idea to rush to bring 25,000 such persons back to the U.S. at a time when Hezbollah is at war against the strongest U.S. ally? Does the fact, that Hezbollah numerous times--and especially now--has announced veiled and not-so-veiled intentions to attack Americans on U.S. soil, necessitate urgently bringing these terror-sympathizing Americans back to U.S. soil?

How much ...

DSC00611
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

is that doggie in the window?

If you're not watching

If you are not watching "So You Think You Can Dance", you must click here and watch the modern dance piece done by contestants Ivan and Allison. It moved one of the judges to tears, and was really exceptional.

Steyne

Mark Steyn discusses the myth of the "passive primitive man." You know, the ones who lived in beautiful harmony with nature until Western Civilization had to come and ruin it all.

In his shrewd book Civilization And Its Enemies, Lee Harris writes:

"Forgetfulness occurs when those who have been long inured to civilized order can no longer remember a time in which they had to wonder whether their crops would grow to maturity without being stolen or their children sold into slavery by a victorious foe. . . . That, before 9/11, was what had happened to us. The very concept of the enemy had been banished from our moral and political vocabulary."

It's worse than Harris thinks. We're not merely "forgetful." We've constructed a fantasy past in which primitive societies lived in peace and security with nary a fear that their crops would be stolen or their children enslaved. War has been the natural condition of mankind for thousands of years, and our civilization is a very fragile exception to that. What does it say about us that so many of our elites believe exactly the opposite -- that we are a monstrous violent rupture with our primitive pacifist ancestors? It's never a good idea to put reality up for grabs. You can bet your highest-denomination axe on that.

It is only in our modern times that we have the luxury of clamoring for "peace" above all else. But it is naive and dangerously foolish to believe that peace is what everyone wants. Whether we are dealing with drug gangs, rouge states, or terrorist organizations, peaceful means just simply will have no effect.

For some, war is a means to an end. And, I'm not referring to Bush.Reading through the "7 Phase plane" to establish an Islamic caliphate, it appears that we might now be in "phase three"- AHEAD OF PLAN. Phase one was basically 9/11. Phase Two, or "Opening Eyes", was designed as a recruiting, and making the world aware of the "Islamic community." The current situation in Israel makes me wonder if we are advancing into the Third Phase :

This is described as "Arising and Standing Up" and should last from 2007 to 2010. "There will be a focus on Syria," prophesies Hussein, based on what his sources told him. The fighting cadres are supposedly already prepared and some are in Iraq. Attacks on Turkey and -- even more explosive -- in Israel are predicted. Al-Qaida's masterminds hope that attacks on Israel will help the terrorist group become a recognized organization. The author also believes that countries neighboring Iraq, such as Jordan, are also in danger.

The rest of the phases involve the collapse of the Arab governments (phase four), the creation of the Islamic state, or caliphate (phase five), a great battle between the Islamic army and the "non-believers" (phase six), and the "definitive victory" with a world-wide Islamic caliphate (phase seven).

Some needs to explain to me exactly how peaceful means can be used in this situation. Or with Hezbollah or Iran or North Korea or in Sudan. Because, you know, I like Peace.

Obviously

Yesterday it was too hot for editing as well. I blame my keyboard, it's acting funny.

Please

A Someone go work out for me. It's too hot.

Is this blog on?

Yesterday, a lefty-nitwit posted this on dKos:

Imagine a world without Israel by qrswave

Or is that not allowed?

Muslims, Jews, and Christians could live in peace without fear of mutual destruction.

There would be no more need for US AID or justification for Dimona.
We could bring down the Wall, send prisoners home, and families could be reunited.
We could dismantle checkpoints, open crossings, and pull down barbed wire fences.

There would be no more settlements or armed settlers because the people would be united.
We could replant trees and olive groves and rebuild battered cities.

No more suicide bombers or sniper fire, and no more dead civilians.

No more targeted killings and hell-fire missiles, or systematic demolitions.

Palestinians and Jews could live together and the world could address other issues.

What a simpler place this world would be

if there was no need for a Jewish majority - where there would otherwise be none.

Is it so hard to imagine?

Really, it was even a bit too stupid for the Koskids. But, a commenter on Ace's blog has come up with a wonderful version of the "Imagine meme." One that I fully support. Here's just a bit of it:

Imagine there's no jihad
It's easy if you try
No Islamic Republics
No virgins in the sky
Imagine all the people
Riding buses without fear

The whole poem should be read, but since it's from someone else's comments, I don't feel right doing that. Go click here and look for the comments by Tom at 9:17 this morning.

Trolling the HuffPo

This is a special kind of stupid.

Behold!

Look what I found. It's a list of all the moonbats concerned peace activists who are signing on to fast for a whole day! Twenty-four hours! Some of them are pledging to fast a specific day every week. I am overwhelmed by their idiocy commitment to a venture that will be ignored is sure to get the attention of those in power and accomplish nothing will result in the troops being brought home ASAP.

Unless they are needed in Iran. Or North Korea.

Burka, Burkcha, Burqa

In this defense of the Burka, the author writes:

To those who wear it by choice, the burka is a symbol of faith, modesty and protection. But to the Western mind-set, it symbolizes oppression.

I would say that it is more than just a "symbol" of oppression. It is a tool for the oppressors. You HAVE to click on that (second) link.

h/t: Hot Air

Update: Not to say that there aren't a few days out of every month that I would mind crawling under a burka.

It's Unbelievable

Don't know why that song popped into my head, must be the English accents of the singer. But, this story really is unbelievable.

They paid £5,000 to book a lavish ceremony at the attraction's hotel and planned to spend the first day of their honeymoon on the theme park rides with their 60 guests.

Unfortunately the happy couple did not realise their day out would clash with a special Muslim fun day that means married couples will be banned from going on rides together, all women must cover up their bodies in accordance with religious custom and alcohol is forbidden.

Now the devastated couple must decide whether to put up with the restrictive rules on September 17 and share the attraction with up to 28,000 Muslims or reorganise their 'dream' wedding

The idea behind "Sharia Day?" "The park was hired out to an Islamic company for the fun day aimed at 'integrating Muslims into the wider community." What aspect of this fun day demonstrates the word integrating?. Sounds more like appeasement. Look, if Muslims want to live in a world divided by the sexes- where women are not allowed to dress normally, swim, or drive- they can remain in the Middle East.

Park restrictions for the day include no music, halal-only food, gender segregated rides, and no alcohol. But, there is this:

Yaseen Patel, director of Islamic Leisure, said women would have to wearing clothing that covered up their bodies, although they would not have to wear the traditional Muslim head scarf.

How's that for allowing a little integration?

h/t: Jawa Report

Starving for Peace

These people are, like, so totally inspiring.

I need $52

Seeing as thought I haven't gotten the OK to purchase next year's school supplies, I don't see my hubby handing me fifty-two buck for this.

Justin, whose last name is not being disclosed at the request of the U.S. Department of Defense, is a Navy SEAL and former Spotswood resident who was recently diagnosed with leukemia. The Navy is turning to Justin's hometown community to help him find a bone marrow stem cell donor who could save his life.

For those in his community, the cheek swab is free. But, if you want to join the bone marrow registry (which is where all those tested end up), there is a $52 fee to offset the cost.

For Krista

Or anyone else who have kids who, on occasion, drive them nuts. At least your kids didn't do this.

H/t: Dave of Garfield Ridge.

Islamic Nutter-Animals

I don't care what reasons they give, thisis the work of disturbed animals. The reason?

Here is a film on the remains of the bodies of the two American soldiers kidnapped near Yussufiyah (south of Baghdad). We are showing it to avenge our sister who was raped by a soldier belonging to the same division as these two soldiers," said a preamble by the Mujahedeen Al-Shura Council, an al-Qaeda dominated alliance of armed Sunni groups in Iraq.

Backward, Islamic, nutter-animals. They murdered and desecrated two soldiers in retaliation for a crime committed by another. Here's an idea, how about reporting the rape and murder to the authorities ? How about holding the individual(s) responsible for the crime? The idea that justice is somehow balanced by punishing someone, anyone (even the innocent), for a crime is retarded. By this tit-for-tat system of justice, the actual rapist and murderer, if the allegations are true, should go free since someone has already "paid" for the crime.

Religion of Pieces, update 5

It is never title, or even in the first few paragraphs. It sometimes isn't mentioned at all. But, where there is terrorism, you will almost always find "radical" Islam, or Islamic extremists. Here it is in the very last sentence of the article:

All of India's major cities were reportedly on high alert following the attacks, which came hours after a series of grenade attacks by Islamic extremists killed eight people in the main city of India's part of Kashmir.

Of course, it isn't mentioned that the train bombing was caused by "Islamic extremists". We wouldn't want to jump to hasty conclusions.

Update: Images, courtesy of the Religion of Pieces. These animals need their own island. Free from twenty-first century decadence and technology.

Young Americans

This is, in no way, safe for work. Or in front of children, pets, or grandmotherly types. But, it really kicks arse.

I'm going to go watch it again.

Love notes to Jeff

Remember complaints over using the "moonbat" word? Well, I'd say "moonbat" is much nicer than some of the terms used by this liberal:

Like you facist (sic!) hypocrites never send threats to liberals. Jeff, you got everything you deserved. At least Dr. Frisch didn’t go around pushing the UC-Santa Cruz chancellor to suicide like your chipmunk-faced chink bitch friend Michelle Malkin.

Only conservative fags like to play the victim. You have a small dick.

I really don't know what to say.

It can't be proven

But, you would have to be pretty thick to not suspect that the DoS attack on Jeff is a fine example of the liberal's selective love for "freedom of speech."

Most liberals would be happier than pigs in shinola if Fox News Channel was taken off the air. Or Rush Limbaugh. What I love about living in a Capitalist society, is that if you don't like something or someone, you can speak with your wallet. Turn the TV or radio channel, or boycott their product. The Dixie Chicks are learning that lesson right now; they spoke freely, and now people aren't interested in giving them their money. But, the attack on Jeff is something completely different. This is an attempt to silence by force. Internet terrorism. Lame.

Fund-raising time

Cindy Sheehan admires Hugo Chavez so much, let's all help her move there! Pledges accepted here Her comments have been featured everywhere, but in case you missed them:

MSNBC'S Norah O'Donnell: Would you rather live under Hugo Chavez than President Bush?

Sheehan: Um, yes, (giggle). You know, Hugo Chavez is not a dictator like you, like you introduced him. He's been democratically elected eight times.

O'Donnell: Saddam Hussein was democratically elected.

Sheehan: Yeah, hold on a second, though. He is not anti-American. He has helped the poor people of America. He has sent aid to New Orleans. He has sold heating oil to disadvantaged people in America, in the United States of America, at low cost. The people of his country love him.

Oh, Cindy, you're gonna love it there!

Who, exactly, is closeminded?

Wikipedia defines "Liberalism" as the following:

liberalism is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value. Broadly speaking, liberalism seeks a society characterized by freedom of thought for individuals, limitations on power, especially of government and religion, the rule of law, the free exchange of ideas, a market economy that supports relatively free private enterprise, and a transparent system of government in which the rights of minorities are protected.

While that may hold no resemblance to the politics of today's American liberals, I think my argument (which I haven't made yet) is even further elucidated by the OED definition of "liberal.":

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) indicates that the word liberal has long been in the English language with the meanings of "befitting free men, noble, generous" as in liberal arts; also with the meaning "free from restraint in speech or action", as in liberal with the purse, or liberal tongue, usually as a term of reproach but, beginning 1776–88 imbued with a more favorable sense by Edward Gibbon and others to mean "free from prejudice, tolerant."

So, it is with great irony that I read the following comment over at Blue Girl's joint. Basically, what was said, was that the individual would never date a conservative. Go read it, I'll wait.

What part of "free from prejudice, tolerant" is expressed by refusing to even consider dating a "conservative?" How many liberals have turned away in disgust after discovering the person they thought was "normal" was revealed as a conservative. It has happened to me. I'm not crying crocodile tears, because if someone is so narrow minded that they see no value in diversity of thought than I'm not interested in knowing them.

About nine years ago, I joined a pregnancy board. For the uninitiated, those are internet boards for women who are all "due" about the same time. While pregnant, the topics remained safely within the realm of swollen ankles and false contractions. When the glow of the new baby wore off, things began to get a bit more hectic. Discussions occasionally became political. As the roller-coaster of angry debate ensued, eventually people where kicked off, or banned, or left. Eventually, the group was divided into two groups; a "right" and "left." But even that was not bland enough, and further division ensued. I have no idea if either of the groups exist anymore, but I imagine they both have dissolved into a state of milk toast.

The problem was, there could be absolutely no dissension. What started out as politically driven segregation, was eventually finely tuned down to differences in habits as inane as TV watching. For me, it was an inability for people to deal with differences. Everyone says they do not want to be surrounded by people who think exactly as they do, but that is a lie. Most people do, on both sides of the political isle.

Which brings me back to the man who will not date a conservative. That is fine, he can do what he wants. But, I would be interested to know how he reconciles that with the basic tenets of the "liberal" label he attaches to himself.

I LOVE THIS

Out of the mouths of babes.

Last meal

The demonstrators crouched in the muggy evening next to a piece of pink plastic, spread down the road as a table and table-cloth in one. It was covered with wilted pink sunflowers and plates of vegetarian curry, white rice, and beans.

Of COURSE that would be their last meal. Anti-war, feminist, vegans.

The demonstration aimed at highlighting the costs of the war, in which more than 2,500 U.S. soldiers and thousands of Iraqis have died, said CodePink spokeswoman Meredith Dearborn.

"We have to put our own lives on the line, and I'm willing to do that," said activist Diane Wilson, who pledged to fast until the United States withdraws from Iraq.

Dearborn said 2,700 other activists nationwide, including actors Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn, would work as a relay team passing the fast daily from one to another.

What kind of wussy "fast" is that? Hey, River Rat, how about you and I share a fast. I'll fast all night, up until about 9 am, then you pick it up for an hour or so while I eat my breakfast. Email me, we'll work out the details. I like to eat dinner kinda early, is that going to be a problem with you? I could be done by 6 pm, so you could hand off the fast to me as I'm slipping into a food coma.

OW

I just hit my head really REALLY hard.

Hello? Anyone?

Fridays usually suck around here, so I suppose Fridays before a holiday suck even louder.

Is this blog on?

Christopher Hitchens has some recommendations for the Left. Here's my favorite:

Isn't it time to revive the demand that homosexuals be allowed to wear the uniform of the U.S. military? This was once the united cry not just of all gay organizations but of a wide liberal consensus that helped elect Bill Clinton. How can such a thing have been so vital and yet been so hastily dropped? Surely the slogan should be "Now More Than Ever"? Our enemies are torturing and butchering gays whenever and wherever they find them (as are some of the militias who claim to be our "friends"), and meanwhile the American establishment is not just denying gays the right to join but actually firing those who have joined. (I am thinking in particular of the Arabic and Persian translators, fired by a CIA that can barely read English, let alone any Middle Eastern language.) Which Republican will dare resist?

"Gays in the military" has become a forgotten battle-cry ever since the left has decided they'd rather they had the right to walk down the isle together.

Of course, if my neighbor's behavior is any indication of what a gay man might do in the face of danger ...

H/t: Karol

Friday Catblogging

Cats that look like Hitler.

H/T: Maggie.

Dumbest Dog Ever (sorry Missy)

images
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

Pictured here is a Chihuahua; the dumbest dog on the planet. In the past, as I have mentioned, I have be accosted, while walking my German Shepherd, by a pair of Chihuahuas that live on the next block. You do the math - if that little dog gets within eating distance of my dog, it's gonna get hurt. The dogs have run out from their back yard at Greta, and twice they have even run across the street to "fight" my dog. Before, I had always managed to get enough distance between Greta and the stupid snack. Until yesterday.

That stupid dog came running out, and I had managed to get Greta into the street, but the dog continued to chase us and started nipping at her hind legs. That was not to be endured, and Greta turned and gave that dog something to think about.

I really do hope that the dog was ok. But, even more I hope that dog learned something.

And, as if yesterday didn't totally suck enough, at the end of the walk, a PIT BULL (which wins for ugliest dog ever, and qualifies for Stupidest pet to own, but that really should be awarded to the owner) broke its CHAIN LINK to come after Greta. It was like a mouth of knives - that's the view I got of the hideous beast. I screamed myself horse for help, but the (gay) guy who lived next door was too busy running the other way. A young man did come to my aid. His sexuality will not be questioned.

* Missy is my cousin's wife, who owns a pair of Chihuahuas. I'm sure yours are nice, and would never attack a dog 20 times their own size. And, if it would, then I'm sorry because your dog is stupid too.

Sure, Fateh ....

This from Reuters:

MULTAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - Fateh Mohammad, a prison inmate in Pakistan, says he woke up last weekend with a glass lightbulb in his anus.

Wednesday night, doctors brought Mohammad's misery to an end after a one-and-a-half hour operation to remove the object.

"Thanks Allah, now I feel comfort.

Yes, thanks be to Allah for that, I'm sure.

Mohammad, who is serving a four-year sentence for making liquor, prohibited for Muslims, said he was shocked when he was first told the cause of his discomfort. He swears he didn't know the bulb was there.

"When I woke up I felt a pain in my lower abdomen, but later in hospital, they told me this," Mohammad said.

"I don't know who did this to me. Police or other prisoners."

Yes, tell me another one. Matter of fact, let me know - what does Mohammad (PBUH) say about sticking things up your ass? You may have another sentence coming up.

Grrrr

I just went postal on a postal employee. And, I could do a bit more.

GRRRRRR.

My dog has never chased or bit or otherwise bothered that damn lady. Yet, if the dog is even OUT when she she anywhere near my block, she will complain. I try to keep the dog in totally until she delivers the mail. I even sat outside, this morning, while she did her business in the back yard to insure there was no trouble.

Yet, today, I get a visit. I was polite for a while. A pretty long while, actually. But, then it got to me and I snapped.

Riiddle me this

I can burn the American flag, and it's protected as freedom of speech. But, what would happen if I burned this flag?

From Comments

I read over the weekend that the fine public educational system of Detroit graduates under 50% of it's students.

If you're going to get snarky about the quality of public education, you might not want to use "it's" when you mean to use "its."
Marc | 06.27.06 - 7:53 pm | #


Well, Marc, I did go though the Detroit Public school system. What can you expect?

AND FOR THE RECORD, my blog isn't a dissertation. I have been known to post without editing very closely. Big deal. If your only comment is regarding the grammar of my blog, then spare me.

And, I do I live in the City of Detroit. The horrible condition of the public school system should be an embarrassment to all of its (see, I caught it that time) citizens. Graduation rates are estimated to be as low as 27% - that would be only ONE of my five children graduating from high school, if statistics were borne out by my family.

And, not only do they suck academically, but the corruption that exists is astonishing. Just today, this article came out.

The Detroit Public Schools must repay nearly $1 million to the federal government after an investigation found officials misspent money earmarked for increasing parental involvement in low-income schoo

My favorite example? The five flat-screen TVs that were purchased, but aren't actually IN any of the classrooms. Where do you think we'll find those tvs?

Good Luck with that.

How many days do you think Cynthia McKinney is going to last?

Hilarious

Because conservative talk-show hosts have no right to privacy. Isn't it just the funniest?. You know, because he's a right winger, and he can't get it up.

I'll tell you what's really funny? Incontinence. Every time I see an older person buying depends, I just laugh and laugh.

In New Orlean; Fear the Drag Queen

I really don't know what my favorite part of this story is :

“A couple weeks ago, a group of them was outside and one looked like the guy who came in here and ripped us off so I locked the door on them,” Celino said. “I know maybe that’s rude, if they really were innocent people, but there’s nothing else we can do. You look like the queens who ripped us off so I’m sorry but I have to lock the door.”

Ogle and Bonga say they regret being forced to resort to such profiling but they feel they have no other choice. The transvestites, Ogle said, appear to be drug-addicted and fearless in their lust for designer shoes, jackets and jewelry.

“The city’s not functioning the way it was and I’m sure a lot of them were getting some kind of government aid, which they probably aren’t getting any more so they’re incredibly desperate,” Ogle said.

You must fear the drug-addicted transvestite, driven by lust for designer shoes, jackets and jewelry.

I know, it's not funny. It's not.

Thanks River Rat

Detroit is #12.

And, I read over the weekend that the fine public educational system of Detroit graduates under 50% of it's students. Let's give those teachers a raise.

Story I Missed Over the Weekend

Holy Crap! Over the weekends, I read my local paper front-to-back, but generally skip any other sources. Anyone have any guesses as to why this story didn't make a blip:

The Aksa Martyrs Brigades announced on Sunday that its members have succeeded in manufacturing chemical and biological weapons.

Those would be the Palestinians.

According to the statement, the first of its kind, the group has managed to manufacture and develop at least 20 different types of biological and chemical weapons.

The group said its members would not hesitate to add the new weapons to Kassam rockets that are being fired at Israeli communities almost every day. It also threatened to use the weapons against IDF soldiers if Israel carried out its threats to invade the Gaza Strip.

"We want to tell [Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert and [Defense Minister Amir] Peretz that your threats don't frighten us," the leaflet said.

As a commenter on Aces's site (who gets the H/T) called them: Stupidest people on the planet.

Friday Catblogging

DSC00577
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

That's funny, I don't remember planting that in the garden?!?

Essential VDH

On why it's depressing to be a jihadist:

How do you arrange a marriage, insist on a beheading for adultery, conduct a proper honor killing of your daughter, or calmly call Jews “pigs and apes” when the wider Westernizing world broadcast into your living room, car, and workplace thinks you are some groveling zombie? Can an Airbus or Compaq be constructed according to the principles of Sharia? How can you demand amoxicillin as your birthright, but hate the system of free thinking and rationalism that created it? Does the Islamist despise equally Chinese internet pornography; does he issue fatwas against South Korean video games; does he ostracize Latin American evangelical Protestants, or burn down Bollywood? In the short-term maybe; in the long-term it is not so easy.

And this:

A Cindy Sheehan or Noam Chomsky still resonates with a minority of the public because he can; thanks to Western capitalism and freedom, both jet at will around the globe, live comfortably, and count on the tolerance of the Western bourgeoisie society that they so roundly condemn. But should the Islamist endanger that comfortable embryo — as they almost did on 9/11 — then folks like these would be as quickly forgotten as were Neville Chamberlain and Charles Lindbergh by 1941.

Yes, a little VDH was exactly what I needed this Friday morning.

It's quiet in Mitchieville

The Mayor lost his father; Mitchieville: Goodbye Dad. I'm so sorry for your loss.

The doofus I am, I just read it today.

The News They Don't Talk About

I heard this story last night on Fox. You'd think it would make somewhat of a splash, seeing as though the "Where are the WMDs?" has filled the mind of everyone questioning and criticizing the president for the last three years.

Since 2003, coalition forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent. Despite many efforts to locate and destroy Iraq's pre-Gulf War chemical munitions, filled and unfilled pre-Gulf War chemical munitions are assessed to still exist."

Yes, it was pre-1991, but so what? Saddam was supposed to destroy them, and he didn't; he hid them, and lied about it.

Of course, I had to go online to read more about this story, since not a whiff can be found in my local paper, The Detroit News. Not even one of those small blurb-paragraphs stories in the "World Briefs" section.

There is a huge story about the murder charges against the seven Marines and a sailor.

Of course.

Update: heh.

A funny

Jenna Thomas-McKie: You know, I thought it was just me

I know, I know

So just shut up about it. Did you read that link I posted yesterday? Funny stuff.

It's already been done

And, much funnier than I could ever do. Go read How Not to Blog #38. It's a classic.

Apparently

My only limitation is time.

How many...

short meaningless posts can I put up?

Nothing here folks

Keep clicking along.

I'm a pimp

Manolo says ...

don't wear these shoes.

Are her 15 minutes up yet?

Mother Cindy goes to Canada:

A group of American military deserters publicly embraced their new lives in Canada on Saturday with the support of "peace mom" Cindy Sheehan, who said she wished the son she lost in Iraq was among them.

"I begged him not to go to Iraq," the anti-war activist said through tears at a rally in support of the former soldiers, who wore black T- shirts emblazoned with "AWOL." "And I wish he was standing up here with these people because he didn't want to go."

Sheehan was making her second visit to Canada in support of sanctuary for those fleeing the U.S. military. The Canadian government has so far denied political asylum to U.S. soldiers who have sought it but appeals are pending.

"They're trying to deport me," said Darrell Anderson of Lexington, Ky., who arrived in Canada by way of Niagara Falls in January 2005. He spent seven months in Iraq with the Army's 1st Armored Division and received a purple heart following a roadside bomb attack before deciding during a leave he would not go back.

"When I was in Iraq, we were killing innocent people for oil. It was obvious they didn't want us there," said Anderson, 24, who is petitioning to remain in Canada.

The gathering at a park in the town of Fort Erie, across the border from Buffalo, N.Y., was organized by peace groups on both sides of the border.

About 20 former U.S. soldiers, referred to as war resisters, have applied for refugee status in Canada. Organizers estimated there may be as many as 200 soldiers in the country who have not yet sought formal protection.

"They say we're traitors, we're deserters," said former Marine Chris Magaoay, 20, of the Hawaiian island of Maui. "No, I'm a Marine and I stand up for what I believe in, and I believe the Constitution of the United States of America is being pushed aside as a scrap piece of paper."

I'm all for Canada keeping Cindy and the treasonous, sound-bite-informed, AWOL military personnel.

Today's the big day

Now, if I could only get the web-cam working, you would all be able to see how incredibly buff I am. Since I'm having technical difficulties, I searched the web to find a photo of someone who closely approximated my general appearance; NSFW. Granted, she is wearing a see-through slip, and I'm completely naked, so you'll just have to use your imagination for the rest.

Other naked bloggers:

Dustbury
Miriam
Matt
Lides and Statistics
Diana
Airforce Wife
Curses and Chrome
Armadillo Online
Metaphor Voodoo

Blog-Nekkid Day is tomorrow!

Prairie Biker has the low-down.

Although, i don't know how much there is to it. I mean, you blog, while naked. All day. I'd advise a towel for your chair, especially if you have a vinyl seat.

Important announcement

Just moments ago, I spotted a hummingbird in my front garden.

Certainly, this isn't as big as Jason Leapold's breaking news for the past month, but it was a big moment for the entire household.

Breaking: ROVE not indicted

And the left is silent.

Truthout has been so far ahead of the news cycle on this story, they are apparently reporting from Mars. Where they still stand by their story.

On God

Francis Collins, the scientist who cracked the human genome code, on finding God:

“I was very happy with the idea that God didn’t exist, and had no interest in me. And yet at the same time, I could not turn away.”

His epiphany came when he went hiking through the Cascade Mountains in Washington state. He said: “It was a beautiful afternoon and suddenly the remarkable beauty of creation around me was so overwhelming, I felt, ‘I cannot resist this another moment’.”

Personally, I always feel closest to God when I'm out admiring his handiwork in nature.

Collins joins a line of scientists whose research deepened their belief in God. Isaac Newton, whose discovery of the laws of gravity reshaped our understanding of the universe, said: “This most beautiful system could only proceed from the dominion of an intelligent and powerful being.”

Although Einstein revolutionised our thinking about time, gravity and the conversion of matter to energy, he believed the universe had a creator. “I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details,” he said.

Science and God. Compatible. Unless you view Newton, Einstein, and Collins as intellectual lightweights.

Gross

At least my dad got his kidney from a known source.

Go AWAY, TTLB

One day it calls me a "Flappy Bird", the next it's saying I'm some sort of an insect. I hate the cursed thing, but the last time I tried to delete it, I crapped up the blog.

Garden shot

DSC00573
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

Yesterday, Blue Girl suggested I needed to go hug a tree. Silly, I don't hug trees (at least when people are watching), but I do like to dig in the dirt.

Not an overabundance of things flowering in this shot, but good things come to those who wait.

The Celebrations Begin

Those crazy kids over at atrios are already celebrating the death of Al-Zaraqawi. From the 8:13 open thread, since there is no post regarding the event :

Nothing will change, war will go on, gas prices will rise, stock market will keep heading south. This is all bullshit!
-----------------
NPR is fucking orgasmic over the alleged demise of al Zaarqawi
i mean, hour upon hour, interspersed with occasional bits of GOPuke lore...
jeezisFUCK!
------------------
Bread and carcuses.
Should make the sheep happy.

So, being a sheep, I AM happy. Sheep people celebrate the capture, or demise, of people who behead other people. Who videotape, and celebrate to their God such acts. I'm sure Nick Berg did a little dance somewhere (although his father is still probably blaming Bush.)

So, the question is, how long is it going to take for someone to "question the timing?" I believe it will go something like this:Kind of convenient to have such a victory right when the Haditha story is getting hot. They probably knew where he was all along, and were waiting for when they "really needed" his death to get something else off of the headlines. You know someone is going to say it. Who will it be?

Update:: more fun with comments:

Won't make one wit of difference in the civil war going on there.
Zarqawi was our boy, protected by Bush before the war, promoted as a terrorist rock star during the occupation.
He's like a Jordanian Ziggy Stardust.

And, DING DING DING, we have a winner :

Oh, and isn't the timing on this thing rather fortuitous for the Bushies? The big story last night was Spector whomping on Cheney. We won't be hearing any more about that tonight, I imagine.
B1 Bummer |

Sure, I was wrong as to what/how "the Bushies" would benefit from the timing of the story, but I believe the comment did capture the spirit of my prediction.

Update II: Here's a good one from Kos:

long live Zarqawi!!!

By my reckoning he's been dead for years.  Great photo-op though.  But what news are they trying to keep hidden from us?

The best that liberal bloggers can manage is a grudging admittance that his death is a good thing, quickly followed-up by a pronouncement that his death means nothing because there are thousands more anxious to replace him. Totally ignored is that the U.S. military was able to find Zarqawi because the Iraqi people have had enough. This from Iraq the Model:

In the first official confirmation, PM al-Maliki said that Jordan has provided intelligence that was used in the raid on Zaraqwi's hiding place but he also stressed that tips from locals were the primary lead to Zarqawi's exact location and these were the information according to which the missiles were guided.

Al-Maliki said that among the 7 killed with Zarqawi were two women who were responsible for collecting intelligence for the al-Qaeda HQ cell.

I'll prepare myself for the criticism sure to be coming, that women were killed during the raid. Perhaps they were even mothers.

Blood Money and Haditha

I know, The Nation has already declared that we have enough facts to make the assumption that there was a massacre in Haditha, but what say you that we actually wait until the entire story is revealed before we start shooting Marines? This excellent article dispels the myths being reported regarding "eyewitness" accounts of Haditha, as well as explaining how the of paying "blood money" in Arab-tribal culture may fit into this tale:

The logic in the British case [ed: another case where foreign troops were accused of a crime] and possibly in Haditha is simple: If the coalition did not have a fight with the insurgents, the deaths would not have occurred. The deaths cause a loss in the resources of the tribe. The tribe cannot file a claim with Zarqawi--he might chop their heads off--therefore it is the coalition that owes blood money. In the eyes of tribal people such as Haditha residents, this debt is owed regardless of who actually killed the 24 people in Haditha or the circumstances of those deaths. The payment of blood money is not an admission of guilt; it is a balancing of tribal obligations.

What tribal Iraqis would understand as blood money has in fact already been paid by US military representatives in Haditha. According to the May 31 New York Times payments totaling $38,000 were made “within weeks of the shootings” to the families of 15 of the 24 dead.

In the rush to declare that Haditha is another My Lai, may the facts be damned.

(I wrote this earlier, but for some reason it wouldn't post.)

Cinderella Man

Being way behind the curve on these things, I just watched Cinderella Man last night. Man, Hollywood must really hate Russell Crowe or something, because they wuz robbed. Of course, I really think this is the reason it received little recognition from the Academy.

James J. Braddock (Russells' character) wasn't gay, or transgendered; there wasn't even a gay person in the film. He didn't cheat on his wife, or do drugs, or commit a racially motivated crime. He was merely a man down on his luck, who didn't blame anyone, and fought to keep his family together. How boring is that?

Hitchens: Comparing 'Nam to Iraq

Not one to mince words:

I, for one, will not have them insulted by any comparison to the forces of Zarqawi, the Fedayeen Saddam, and the criminal underworld now arrayed against us. These depraved elements are the Iraqi Khmer Rouge. They have two methods of warfare. One is the use of random murder to create a sectarian and ethnic civil war—perhaps the most evil combination of tactics and strategy it is possible to imagine. The other is the attempt to alienate coalition soldiers from the population.

Even before the fall of Baghdad in 2003, Saddam's foreign minister, Naji Sabry, wrote a memo about how to combat the increasing fraternization between advancing Americans and Iraqi civilians. Send some suicide bombers to the scene, he recommended, and force a wedge between the two. The Americans would then learn to distrust anyone who approached. As with the foul policy above, the awful thing about this charming policy is that it works.

And, of course, the media and the anti-war movements plays along perfectly. The term "useful idiots" comes to mind.

Question

How does one get a yard in which every blade of grass is dead, yet the weeds are green and growing tall? If I can get the courage to snap a picture of such a yard (it's not mine, it's a few blocks from my house), I'll slap it up here. It's really amazing.

The clock is ticking

It has now been 34 minutes that my son has been whining, crying, and yelling about the fact that we are going to do school over the summer.

Updates to follow.

Update I (11:24) : Son #1 did his free reading, then resumed whining. BIG whining. Now, he's resorting to negotiations. Why do they think this is up to negotiations? Son #2 did all his stuff sans whining.

News you may have missed

Massacre in Iraq. I mean, Freedom fighters resist being overtaken by the 21st Century.

Terrorism in Canada.


UK Times smears U.S. Marines. Sure it wasn't intentional.

On Haditha

So, everyone has to wait. I don't care what Murtha said; he isn't exactly the best friend of the military (I know, he was IN the military, and decorated, but he's spent the last 30-plus years in Washington, so he's more of a politician now). Neither am I concerned what Wesley Clark says. What makes Murtha and Clark the authority, the inside scoop, on all things military? Because they have a contrary viewpoint, they must be speaking truth to power regarding Iraq. Heck, we could make my BIL the go-to guy on military information on Iraq, who was actually IN Iraq for a year.

We don't know, what we don't know. I prefer to have faith in our troops, presuming innocence while the wheels of justice turn. W. Thomas Smith Jr. has an interesting article in NRO detailing the stress of combat, and the methods used to prevent events such as those alleged at Haditha. Command may have broken down, and atrocities may have been committed. But, the pieces missing from this story may be pivotal. In a war where the "enemies" wear no uniform, innocence is not easily determined. Especially in the fog of war.

John Temple Ligon, a former Army Ranger officer and artillery forward observer in Vietnam, says that, while he does not condone the killing of 24 civilians, he cannot condemn the Marines, either.  “Chances are, whenever a roadside bomb kills a Marine or a soldier, there are nearby civilians who saw the installation of the bomb and the concealment of the bomb, and the civilians operated at a safe distance when the Marines rolled by,” Ligon tells NRO. “In South Vietnam, I saw soldiers lose their feet, legs, and lives as they walked over land mines hidden in the rice paddy berms. The civilians were planting rice at the time nearby, but never near the mines when the soldiers walked by. They, too, knew exactly where the mines lay.”

Are those who watch a roadside bomb being installed, and then stand off to watch while our servicemen get blown to bits "innocent?" I don't have a good answer to that.

Additionally, some troops on the ground say they are increasingly coming under fire by armed children: a sign of desperation and recruiting woes for the terrorists, but an additional challenge for infantry and special operations units who must confront them.

“This is not new, in war or the Middle East, but seems to be a new trend in Iraq,” says former Marine infantryman Robert L. Rohrer, who claims to have seen “several statements” indicating there is much more to the Haditha story than has been released.

It would be nice if a few more people in the U.S., the media and Murtha especially, could join us in that assumption of innocence. Otherwise, why not just hang them now?

Update: one last thing. The biggest problem with the "Presumed guilty" approach taken by Murtha, and the media, is that it blinds people to any future revelations. HADITHA ATROCITIES gets burned into the psyche, and if (or when) facts later support their innocence, or at least mitigating circumstances that make it a tragedy, but not necessarily a crime, the assumptions (by liberal pundits, Randi Rhodes, Wesley Clark, and Mother Sheehan) is that there is a cover-up. Certainly the Marines are not innocent - BushitlerRovian war machine merely managed to manufacture evidence. I can guarantee that will be the tact taken by terrorists in Iraq. And Randi Rhodes.

Update II: Exhibit A:

Enough details have emerged from survivors and military personnel to conclude that in the town of Haditha last November, members of the 3rd Battalion, 1st regiment perpetrated a massacre.

There you go, we have enough details. Let's hang 'em high! Or, is The Nation one of those "extreme" sides we shouldn't be listening to?

To Detroy the Earth

Rush read this a while back. It's a hoot.

Whatever might have happened at Haditha

We did not do this. BlackFive has the response politicians should have regarding the incident at Haditha.

The difference between the right and the left regarding instances of possible military scandals, is that the right hopes they are untrue, while the left hopes the opposite. Never mind that this would mean that innocent people were murdered, because it would support their political position.

If Haditha went down as Murtha proclaims, it would give advantage to the Democrats this year. If it's only sorta true, well, then they can give it the Abu Gharib treatment; massage the facts, repeat the message over and over again until it's taken as fact. If it's totally untrue, well that won't matter either: Al Gore really won the 2000 election; Bush carved a fake turkey; peeing on Korans in Gitmo. Doesn't matter that not one of these things are true, they still get repeated.

Truth. Facts. Reality. All tangled together by journalists with an agenda.

No no NO!

Yesterday, Detroit City Council voted 8-0 to rename the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel the "John Conyers Jr. Tunnel." The resolution was proposed by Monica Conyers, his Councilwoman wife, who got into office with the help of her husband's congressional staff to campaign for her. And to babysit their children.

But, like all good Democrats, no one cares when corruption points to them. Or hypocrisy. Papa Conyers votes pro-NEA (he has a 91% rating by them) and anti-Vouchers, yet speaks truth-to-power where his own children are concerned: the Conyers send their kids to an exclusive private school in the suburbs.

In one of the most shameful acts for a man who touts himself as a champion for the downtrodden, Conyers accepted turkeys from a food bank a few Holidays back, which he was going to disburse to the needy. the needy, apparently , were in his office staff.

Among the achievements of his 20 terms in the U.S. House (can anyone say term limits?), is Conyers plot for Reparations. He first introduced his bill H. R. 40 in 1989, and says he is going to continue to introduce it until it's passed into law. Of his bill he says this:

But reparation is a national and a global issue, which should be addressed in America and in the world. It is not limited to Black Americans in the US but is an issue for the many countries and villages in Africa, which were pilfered, and the many countries, which participated in the institution of slavery.

You mean, the African villages which sold the slaves to the traders? The African villages which were pilfered by waring factions?

Another reason that this bill has garnered so much resistance is because many people want to leave slavery in the past - they contend that slavery happened so long ago that it is hurtful and divisive to bring it up now. It's too painful.

I'll tell you who doesn't want to leave slavery in the past, Jesse Jackson, John Conyers, and countless others, who have used racial politics not as means to make the world a better place, but for self advancement.

As embarrassed by and opposed to I am to Conyers, the finally analysis is that the Detroit city Council is a bunch of jackasses who spend way to much time on stupid, irrelevant things. Perhaps they should concentrate on the failing schools and the breakdown of inner-city society which corrupts Detroit from within. Or, they could spend some time eliminating the mounds of the red-tape that stands in the way of business.

Nah, that stuff sounds way too complicated. Let's just rename a tunnel.

Continuing Saga

Well, at least it is a saga in my mind. There is a house down the block with a double lot. About a year ago, a family with two kids moved in. I have seen these children a grand total of TWICE in the year. And, one of those times, the kids were walking from the car to the house. I think that's kind of strange. There are still two cars in the driveway, so divorce would appear not to be the reason the children, and the wife I might add, are NEVER outside.

One day, I was walking by, and I could have SWORN the side window's curtain was pushed aside, and a woman was waving at me. The curtains are always drawn on all the windows, front and side, another fact which I think is really strange.

As I mentioned, the house sits on a double lot (oh, the things I could do with a double lot.) This man (I say man, since he is the only member of the family I ever see), had decided to take only minimal care of the exterior of his house; no flowers and often the grass is two weeks behind in lawn mowing. To make matters worse, he had a beautiful tree smack dab in the middle of the lot. He didn't cut it down, he just cut all the upper branches off, leaving the trunk and lower limbs there as a mockery of it's former elegance.

To continue with this - he isn't very friendly. My "hello's" often get met with a cold stare. Once, he was speaking with a friend of mine from church, a very attractive black woman. She was soliciting votes for an upcoming election at the time - and he was pretty gregarious with her. She introduced me to him, and his reaction was odd. Forced politeness. . The man, himself, is black, so I'm going to make the leap that he's a racist. If he is a racist (I have a feel for these things), he's going to be disappointed in my friend, she is married to a white man.

To review; cold, possibly racist man, who doesn't take care of the exterior of his nice house, and doesn't allow his wife or children outside. PLUS, he has a dog, which in only occasionally allows outside to be chained up (when he moved in there was a fence, which he has haphazardly taken down.)

Last night, though, I learned one more piece to this puzzle. He's a preacher! Oh, my mind is going a thousand miles a minute now.

To run or not to run

There is no way I'm gonna run the Chicago Marathon, Ana! LOL. Cheer from the sidelines, I can do that.

I might try to do a half-marathon here in Detroit (in the fall.) But, since the surgery, I've had a hard time getting my "run" back on. I just haven't been able to build up my strength and endurance to the point that I can enjoy my runs.

I thought I would post this right up top, instead of buried in comments. I was pretty much offline all weekend.

What the ...?

I I just got an email sending me to this site. History book titles include the following :

Between Borders: Essays on Chicana/Mexicana History by Adelaida de Castillo
Cinco de Mayo: A Symbol of Mexican National Resistance by R. Cabello-Argandoña
The Druglord by Peter Neissa
Mexican Los Angeles by Antonio Ríos-Bustamante
Oscar Zeta Acosta: Love and Riot in Los Angeles by Roger Moore
Regions of La Raza by Antonio Ríos-Bustamante

They don't sound like books I read. How the heck did I get subscribed to this email list?

Propaganda hypersensitivity

A PS 3 game being developed, Mercenaries2: World in Flames, uses Venezuela as it's setting for an oil dispute with a "power hungary tyrant." From GameSpot :

Supporters of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, an outspoken critic of American policy, are not amused. "[Mercenaries 2] sends a message to Americans: You have a danger next door, here in Latin America, and action must be taken," said lawmaker Gabriela Ramirez. "It's a justification for an imperialist aggression." Ramirez also said that Mercenaries 2 could be banned from the country by laws intended to protect children from violent games.

Chavez isn't actually in the game, but those loyal to him believe the game intends to mar his image and that of the country by portraying it as a war-torn battle zone mired in chaos.

"I think the US government knows how to prepare campaigns of psychological terror so they can make things happen later," said Venezuelan congressman Ismael Garcia.

This isn't the first time game designers' pursuit of realistic situations has angered a foreign government. Ubisoft's Ghost Recon 2 was called "propaganda" by a government-run newspaper in North Korea. "This may be just a game to them now," the article read, "but a war will not be a game for them later. In war, they will only face miserable defeat and gruesome deaths." Ubisoft's development went on as planned, and North Korea eventually banned the game.

Problem is, this game isn't being developed by the US government. Ubisoft's headquarters is in France, and it's CEO is a man named Yves Guillemot. Not exactly a member of the Bushitler/Rovian propaganda machine. But, even more shocking to me than the assertion that the US government is using video games in a modern day version of Goebbels weekly articles for Das Reich, is the thought that they actually have video games in North Korea. They don't have lights but they have Playstations?

Regardless, the idea that children would have their image of Venezuela and Chavez marred by a video game would have a bit more validity if the kids could 1) locate Venezuela on a map, and 2) match up the unnamed "power hungary tyrant" character with Chavez. Given that one-third of American (or, excuse me, United Stater) kids can't locate Louisiana on a map, even after a major disaster, I'm betting that the numbers who can find Venezuela might be in the single digits.

All the news that's fit to slant

And, if you work for Reuters, you can have a far reach.

Here's a conspiracy for you

Every so often I get an email from Amazon, suggesting a few books I may be interested in buying. Yesterday, I got a note saying that since I had bought a book by Peter Schweizer, I might now be interested in buying Bill Bennett's new book America: The Last Best Hope (Volume I).

Why yes, I would be interested in that book. I thought as I grinned to myself at the prospect of buying yet another conservative book from that bastion of liberalism, Amazon.

I eagerly clicked on the link, anxious to see how the hordes of faux "reviewers" had trashed the book. But, surprisingly, the link didn't take me to the Bennett book. Instead,it took me to the Amazon welcome page. The other links on the email worked correctly, but not the Bennett book. Is this JUST a conspiracy involving Amazon commie workers? Or is there also a connection with Opes Dei? Should I keep my eyes open for an albino?

Perhaps I should just get a grip, and assume the numnuts at Amazon made an innocent mistake.

Nah.

Poll supports my long-held assertion

My assertion has been that here is a sizable portion of our society who are simply too stupid to be allowed to vote. A survey was taken in which the respondents were asked about 9/11:

In the telephone survey of 1200 individuals, just 47% agreed that "the 9/11 attacks were thoroughly investigated and that any speculation about US government involvement is nonsense." Almost as many, 45%, indicated they were more likely to agree "that so many unanswered questions about 9/11 remain that Congress or an International Tribunal should re-investigate the attacks, including whether any US government officials consciously allowed or helped facilitate their success."

Forty-five percent?!? Conspiracy nuts used to exist on both ends of the political extremes, but this study seems to suggest that the monkeys are in charge of the zoo on the liberal side of the isle:

This rough balance in opinions is itself a striking finding. It suggests that doubts about the officials accounts of 9/11, far from representing an extreme fringe position, have become a standard component of anti-establishment attitudes.

When asked specificially if they thought there had been a government coverup of evidence that contradicts the official story, the results were again not far from an even split, with 48% rejecting the idea of a deliberate coverup and 42% supporting it. Belief in a coverup was the majority position among Democrats, 18-29 year olds, and a few other groups.

If you think 9/11 was an American plot, or that the US government was in any way involved, you are probably too stupid to be allowed to vote. Possibly, your driving privileges should be revoked as well. And, Lord, PLEASE don't breed.

Update: Malkin does a good wrap-up on the Macbeth story. Anyone who believed his claims that he killed 200 innocent people, or attacked a mosque filled with people praying, or that he "took out" children who threw rocks at the troops can be added to my list of people who shouldn't vote.

Chinese deny involvement

But, really, what would you expect?

More on the Dixie Chicks

I like the title of his blog-post: Dixie Chicks Learn the Difference Between Censorship and Capitalism.

I'm confused

I thought Iran only wanted nuclear power?

Today, Iran has mastered the entire nuclear fuel cycle, from start to finish, thanks to young Iranian scientists," the president said in a speech in the southwestern border town of Khorramshahr.
"The enemies are looking to plot and want to create differences among Iranians to stop us getting our rights," Ahmadinejad said.
"But if they do the slightest damage to the Iranian people, if they commit the slightest aggression, they will receive an historic slap."

Oh, don't worry, I know the drill. This is simply more Bushitler/Rovian bedwetting. We have more to fear from "the Bushies" than we do Ahmadinejad. As for the JOOOOOS, well, they can take care of themselves, thankyouverymuch.. Did I forget anything?

Quandry

The owners of my favorite local restaurant, La Shish, have been charged with four counts of tax evasion, and ties to the terrorist group Hizballah.

I'm torn, because charged does not mean convicted. But, it makes me sick to my stomach that my patronage might have contributed to terrorism.

And, I don't know where else to get good kibbee.

The owners deny supporting terrorism, of course. But, whether or not they skimmed money to support terrorism (they apparently did send money to Lebanon) or orphans, the facts appear to support that they did skim money. So, for that fact alone I guess I should find a new source for kibbee.

I thought only Rethuglians were corrupt?

But, truth be told, I keep $90,000 in my freezer too, so I'm sure he's innocent.

And, I'm not ready to listen to their music

This just in from the Dixie Chicks:

Natalie Maines isn't kidding when she sings, "I'm not ready to make nice."
In a new interview with Time magazine, posted online Sunday, the Dixie Chicks firebrand takes back the apology she extended to President Bush three years ago.
"I apologized for disrespecting the office of the President," Maines says in Time. "But I don't feel that way anymore. I don't feel he is owed any respect whatsoever."

I read the Time interview yesterday, to learn that Maines went to Berkley (go figure!) and that she dropped out of three colleges before she joined the Dixie Chicks. You mean, she wasn't a poli-sci major? Learn something new every day.

What I find endlessly humorous about this is the indignation, by stars such as Maines, when their words have consequences. Consequences, such as plummeting record sales; their current single "stalled" at #36 on the Billboard's Country chart. Entertainers are given a forum in which to spew their political ideas - they are granted freedom of speech but with a bullhorn. But, Joe Q. Pulbic's only available response to the bullhorn is to refuse to buy their product. When Maines, or Sean Penn, or Matt Damon use the celebrity they gained through artistic talent to rant politically, the public's only recourse is refuse to "purchase" their artistic output.

The most ironic thing is that when they are hit financially, many cry "censorship." Silly dip$hits, they aren't being censored; they can say whatever they want.

To their ever-dwindling audience.

I'm here, just not "here"

My mind is on my garden and my house. Nice weather finally appears in Detroit.

The American Royalty

I might just be in a bad mood, but who do these @ssholes think they are? I hope they don't think they are clever, funny, or classy. The only "quality" they have is rich by birth, which is not something to brag about since it was through no achievement of their own. The best thing wealthy parents can do for their kids is to cut them off.

You got to be 'effen kidding me.

Is it time to be concerned YET?

Human rights groups are raising alarms over a new law passed by the Iranian parliament that would require the country's Jews and Christians to wear coloured badges to identify them and other religious minorities as non-Muslims.

"This is reminiscent of the Holocaust," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, the dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. "Iran is moving closer and closer to the ideology of the Nazis."
****
Iran's roughly 25,000 Jews would have to sew a yellow strip of cloth on the front of their clothes, while Christians would wear red badges and Zoroastrians would be forced to wear blue cloth.

I know, I know, nothing to see here. Keep moving. Just more Bushitler fear-mongering/bedwetting.

Einstein's with me

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Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

Another movie to skip

Sean Penn as Richard Clarke.

Here's an idea- how about someone makes movies with engaging characters, and interesting plot lines? I'm done with entertainers trying to "teach" me something. I prefer to get my information from people who "know stuff" versus high school drop-outs, and drama majors.

And another thing, I want music that is GOOD, not something with a message. I know, Young, and Springsteen, and Pearl Jam, and the Dixie Chicks all have a lot to say, but I'm just not interested in a one-way rant about how evil Bushitler went to war for oil.

Lemme know with "artist" are interested in their "art" and not the art of politics.

Oh, good Lord

On May 24, 2006, 1,500 Beverly Hills High School students will be boarding 30 gas-guzzling buses across town to see Al Gore's new global warming film 'AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH' at the Arclight Theatre in Hollywood, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

Sarah Utley, a science teacher at Beverly Hills High School, explained in an e-mail to staff and students: "This field trip has been funded by a very generous alum!... You get to see the film for free!!!"

Anyone who wants to learn more about home schooling, just email me.

Maybe it's just me

But I think Katherine has a screechy voice. AI is dead to me.

AI

For those who miss Chris.

Last night I voted for Elliot. It was actually my second attempt -ever- to vote (maybe third, a few seasons ago I tried voting for Fantasia a few times), and the first time I actually got through.

Snicker

“Class is part of the futility of reality,” says Lacan; however, according to Geoffrey[4] , it is not so much class that is part of the futility of reality, but rather the defining characteristic of class. Sartreist absurdity suggests that sexual identity has intrinsic meaning. Therefore, the subject is contextualised into a dialectic dematerialism that includes narrativity as a reality.

Discuss...

Mother's Day

777-GLM001(1)
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

Thought I'd share what I got from my kids:) Isn't it beautiful?

Names in the News

Last week Gail had a nice long list of "names" we use to disparage each other politically. But she missed (and I didn't mention) my most hated term: Fundie. From what I can gather, it apparently applies to anyone who votes Rethuglian and attends a Christian church on a regular bases.

I was reminded of it as I read dKos.

Update: While I don't care for fundie I can't get enough of the word moonbat. For Moonbats in their full glory go here.

Update 2: From the commenters at Atrios I can think of one... no two, no wait a minute, THREE people I would wish cancer on. Where's the Peace and Love?