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February 28, 2007
Let's Call Them "Phone Homes" Instead
It seems that some people are upset by the term "illegal aliens"
TALLAHASSEE -- A state legislator whose district is home to thousands of Caribbean immigrants wants to ban the term "illegal alien" from the state's official documents."I personally find the word 'alien' offensive when applied to individuals, especially to children," said Sen. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami. "An alien to me is someone from out of space."
She has introduced a bill providing that: "A state agency or official may not use the term 'illegal alien' in an official document of the state." There would be no penalty for using the words.
It's heartening to know that she abides by only her personal definitions of words, not on, say, something so arbitrary and racist as Websters
Main Entry: 1alien Pronunciation: \ˈā-lē-ən, ˈāl-yən\ Function: adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin alienus, from alius Date: 14th century 1 a: belonging or relating to another person, place, or thing : strange b: relating, belonging, or owing allegiance to another country or government : foreign c: exotic 1 2: differing in nature or character typically to the point of incompatibility
especially where 1:b, the "relating, belonging, or owing allegiance to another country or government" bit comes in. No, it wouldn't do to mention that at all.
The best part part is this quote
"There are students in our schools whose parents are trying to become citizens and we shouldn't label them," she said. "They are immigrants, through no fault of their own, not aliens."
Through no fault of their own? Did some tornado touch down and sweep them off to Oz? Did they pay thousands of dollars to some coyote in Chiapas, innocently thinking they were simply getting a ride to the local bodega when in fact the coyote was under orders from Darth Rove to transport them to Tucson?
I will give her credit for this, however
Wilson said the first word isn't as bad as the second."'Illegal,' I can live with, but I like 'undocumented' better," she said.
There may be some hope for her.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:16 PM | Comments (5)
I Swear to God, When I Saw
...THIS...
...I thought it was Graceland.
And trust me ~ that's NOT a good thing.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:29 AM | Comments (5)
February 27, 2007
Ouch On The Dow
Down over 500 points...there won't be many happy faces on the boat home tonight.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:02 PM | Comments (4)
If He Could Talk To The Animals...
Or at least have a smoke afterwards...
A 24-year-old Melbourne man accused of having sex with dogs, goats and horses has failed to have details of the case suppressed.Steven Whittam, of Langwarrin, faces 19 charges of bestiality over incidents which allegedly took place between January 2001 and June 2006 in suburbs across Melbourne's south-east.
Mr Whittam's lawyer Rod Willcox applied to suppress details of the case from the media in Frankston Magistrates' Court today, arguing the defendant had a severe psychiatric disorder.
Gee, yuh think?
Whittam, who did not appear in court for today's hearing, remains on bail.He has not entered a plea.
Probably the only animal he missed.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:51 AM | Comments (6)
I Know This Isn't Funny
...but it is.
"Being known to the world as a male rape victim is not fun. It is hard for them to sit up straight. If they are concerned about their military careers, why say anything?" [military prosecutor Maj.] Reder said.
You'd never hear that in an episode of JAG.
UPDATE: Oy. Not funny at all anymore.
An Air Force officer was found guilty Tuesday of raping four men and attempting to rape two others.A nine-member military jury deliberated for about seven hours in Capt. Devery L. Taylor's court-martial. Taylor gave no reaction upon hearing the verdict.
Taylor, the former chief of patient administration at Eglin Regional Hospital, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:44 AM | Comments (3)
Teach Your Children
I wonder how many more cases like this are out there
TACOMA, Washington (AP) -- A woman admitted Monday that she coached her two children to fake retardation starting when they were 4 and 8 years old so she could collect Social Security benefits on their behalf.Rosie Costello, 46, admitted in U.S. District Court that she collected more than $280,000 in benefits, beginning in the mid-1980s. Most was from Social Security, but the state social services agency paid $53,000.
Costello pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government and Social Security fraud. Her son, Pete, 26, pleaded guilty earlier this month. Federal prosecutors in Seattle said Monday authorities had not yet located her daughter, Marie.
According to the plea agreement, Costello began coaching her daughter at age 4, and later used the same ruse with her son. He feigned retardation into his mid-20s -- picking at his face, slouching and appearing uncommunicative in meetings with Social Security officials.
That's all it takes to be regarded as retarded?
Sounds like a lot of the government officials should be eligible for benefits then...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:39 AM | Comments (1)
The 1993 Bombing
Lawhawk and Michelle Malkin remind us of a sad anniversary that has faded from the public memory: the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. 14 years, my God. I was 6 blocks or so away, and I remember hearing the explosion; not that we thought 'BOMB!' back in those innocent days, mind you. We thought that some construction crew had dropped one of those big honking steel plates that they use to cover up holes in the street. But then we got the phones calls from friends who worked in the Financial Center right across the street and who had a view into the parking lot entrance where the bastards had driven. While that was happening all the commodity markets in the WTC shut down and started evacuating folks...an awful prelude to that horrific day 8 years later.
Michelle also has a link which is hard for me to watch; it brings back such a flood of memories. It is the elevator ride up to the Observation Deck on the 107th floor of the South Tower.
For those of you who took that trip many times, as I did, it's hard to watch.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:14 AM
February 26, 2007
For You Gals Looking For A Little Extra Income
Here's a hot prospect from China
BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese businessman has advertised on the Internet for a stand-in mistress to be beaten up by his wife to vent her anger and to protect his real mistress, Chinese media reported on Monday."When the woman found out her husband had a mistress, she insisted on beating her up," the Beijing Youth Daily said, citing the advertisement posted on a popular online jobs forum on sina.com.
More than 10 people had applied for the job, the newspaper said. The "successful" candidate would be 35 and originally from northeastern China and would be paid 3,000 yuan ($400) per 10 minutes, it said.
$400 bucks for 10 minutes?
That's better pay than the real mistress gets, I reckon.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:18 AM | Comments (6)
February 25, 2007
An Inconvenient Observation
This is your ocean:
This is your ocean on Al Gore:
Any questions?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:20 PM | Comments (3)
February 24, 2007
YES!!!
Thanks to Dave E. and Sheila I just had to watch Miracle again tonight.
I'm blubbering like no kind a'nuthin' all over again.
and loving every minute of it.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:48 PM | Comments (2)
February 23, 2007
A Ballsy Plan In Indonesia
When they need to stop the mud flow they show they've got brass, er, concrete ones
SURABAYA, Indonesia (AP) -- An Indonesian official hit back at critics of a plan to control a gushing mud volcano by dropping concrete balls into its crater, saying something must be done to stop a nine-month-long eruption that has displaced 11,000 people.A team of geologists and engineers hope the plan, believed to have never been tried before, will reduce the amount of mud flowing from the geyser at a gas exploration site on Java island by up to 70 percent. The mud is now surging out at a rate equivalent to about a million oil drums a day.
It seems to me that this might just build up the pressure for a big kaplooey later, but what do I know.
Critics have said they doubt the new attempt will work, and that it may be dangerous or cause the mud to flow out from different points."Those experts can say what they want, but we have to do something," said Rudi Novrianto, a spokesman for a government task force handling the disaster. "There is no time to debate and sit around."
That's the spirit!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:00 AM | Comments (10)
Costa Rican Muggers No Match For Gringo Retirees
Quien es mas macho now, hombre?
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) -- A tour bus of U.S. senior citizens defended themselves against a group of alleged muggers, sending two of them fleeing and killing a third in the Atlantic coast city of Limon, police said on Thursday. One of the tourists _ a retired member of the U.S. military aged about 70* _ put assailant Warner Segura in a head lock and broke his clavicle after the 20-year-old and two other men armed with a knife and gun held up their tour bus Wednesday, said Luis Hernandez, the police chief of Limon, 80 miles east of San Jose....The tourists left on their Carnival cruise after the incident and Hernandez said authorities do not plan to press any charges against them, saying they acted in self defense.
"They were in their right to defend themselves after being held up," Hernandez said.
I like this police chief, too. We could use his type in some places here.
*No, it wasn't Major Dad.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:03 AM | Comments (2)
February 22, 2007
Any Bets On Who Did This?
And I bet we can guess who they voted for
SANTA FE, New Mexico (AP) -- Three CD players hidden under a cathedral's pews blared sexually explicit language in the middle of an Ash Wednesday Mass, leading a bomb squad to detonate two of the devices.Authorities determined the music players were not dangerous and kept the third one to check it for clues, said police Capt. Gary Johnson.
The CD players, duct-taped to the bottoms of the pews, were set to turn on in the middle of noon Mass on Wednesday at the Roman Catholic Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.
The recordings, made on store-bought blank discs, featured people using foul language and "pornographic messages," Johnson said. He would not elaborate because of the ongoing investigation.
How disgusting can you get? And I'm sure the people who did this will scream to high heaven about their right to free speech and demand 'respect' for their views, while at the same time trying to drown out and restrict the speech of others.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:27 PM | Comments (2)
Ah, Those Wacky College Kids
Ooh, are the knickers all a-twisted at NYU today
A contest called "Find the Illegal Immigrant" - a mock hunt for a student posing as just that - is being met with widespread protest on campus and receiving local and national media coverage.The event, sponsored by NYU's College Republicans, is planned for today in Washington Square Park from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The student posing as the illegal immigrant will wear a name tag saying so. Other students will try to find him or her, playing the part of border patrol agents and wearing nametags that say "INS," referring to the former Immigration and Naturalization Service.
If they are really playing their part, the 'agents' won't try (or even be allowed to try) too hard to find the 'illegal'.
Of course, Chuck Schumer's panties are twisted
"What I really find obnoxious - and that's how I'd describe what the College Republicans are doing - is it dehumanizes [illegal immigrants]," the senator told WSN during a question-and-answer session after his speech. "A person who's making a dollar a day in Oaxaca, who risks their life to come and make two dollars an hour here in America, is not to be ridiculed. It's not to be despised. So what I think they're doing is obnoxious."
I think having wide open borders is obnoxious. I think ignoring illegal acts is obnoxious. I think denying thousands of educated people who are playing by the rules and trying to emigrate legally but encouraging millions to come illegally so they'll vote for your party is obnoxious.
But that's why I'm not the Senior Senator from NY, I reckon.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:06 PM
CNN BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!
"Lawyer nearly faints at the hearing on the fate of Anna Nicole Smith's body. Witness offers protein bar. "
This is CNN.
What a joke.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:17 PM | Comments (3)
I Think We Need Some More Marinara...
Imagine getting some of this on your plate
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- A fishing crew has caught a colossal squid that could weigh a half-ton and prove to be the biggest specimen ever landed, a fisheries official said Thursday.If calamari rings were made from the squid they would be the size of tractor tires, one expert said.
The squid, weighing an estimated 990 pounds and about 39 feet long, took two hours to land in Antarctic waters, New Zealand Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton said.
"The size of tractor tires". I've had some calamari that was rubbery enough to be tractor tires, as well.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:18 AM | Comments (7)
I Guess As Long As You Say "This is for your own good!"...
Than it doesn't count as torture
DAXING, China - Sun Jiting spends his days locked behind metal bars in this military-run installation, put there by his parents. The 17-year-old high school student is not allowed to communicate with friends back home, and his only companions are psychologists, nurses and other patients. Each morning at 6:30, he is jolted awake by a soldier in fatigues shouting, "This is for your own good!"Sun's offense: Internet addiction.
...The clinic in Daxing, a suburb of Beijing, the capital, is the oldest and largest, with 60 patients on a normal day and as many as 280 during peak periods. Few of the patients, who range in age from 12 to 24, are here willingly. Most have been forced to come by their parents, who are paying upward of $1,300 a month -- about 10 times the average salary in China -- for the treatment.
Led by Tao Ran, a military researcher who built his career by treating heroin addicts, the clinic uses a tough-love approach that includes counseling, military discipline, drugs, hypnosis and mild electric shocks.
As long as you charge the "patients" you can do whatever you want to them, evidently.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:36 AM
"Wish Island" Is Not Quite Fantasy Island
I wonder if the tvs there will get Oxygen?
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran plans a female-only island to boost tourism in a northwest province, the Tehran-e Emrouz newspaper on Wednesday quoted a local official as saying...."There will be no men on the Arezou (Wish) island. Public transport, restaurants and other facilities will be staffed only by women," Aghai said.
I can't imagine that the bars will be too hopping.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:03 AM | Comments (10)
When the Students Get to Choose Everything From the University President
...to, probably, the color of the vegetables on their plastic tray ~ and then indulged during their predictable, juvenile histrionics when someone dares proffer a choice based on qualification without consulting said student body ~ what would you expect?
Commission: Gallaudet at risk of losing accreditation
The nation's only liberal arts university for the deaf could lose its accreditation unless it addresses concerns about weak academic standards, ineffective governance and a lack of tolerance for diverse views, an education oversight group warned.Gallaudet University was rocked by student demonstrations last fall that shut down the university for several days and forced the board to revoke the appointment of a new president.
Afterward, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education said it was delaying a decision on whether to renew the school's accreditation because of concerns raised during the protests and because of a 2005 federal report that rated Gallaudet "ineffective." The federal Office of Management of Budget this month gave Gallaudet an improved evaluation, to "adequate."
A letter from the commission, dated Jan. 13 and disclosed this week, summarized the issues the university must address to retain its accreditation. Commission Vice President Linda A. Suskie said the fall protests raise questions about the university's governance and whether the board is out of touch.
University spokeswoman Mercy Coogan said interim president Robert Davila had shared the letter with campus leaders, who were addressing its concerns.
The campus 'leaders' were addressing the letter's concerns? NOT the president? 'Out of touch' seems a kind way to phrase it.
I think the commission could have saved itself a stamp.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:50 AM | Comments (2)
February 21, 2007
The Greatest Threat To World Peace Today
Is, of course Israel
...The aggressively photogenic John Edwards was cruising along, detailing his litany of liberal causes last week until, during question time, he invoked the "I" word -- Israel. Perhaps the greatest short-term threat to world peace, Edwards remarked, was the possibility that Israel would bomb Iran's nuclear facilities...
Makes you think he really was involved in hiring those two charming lasses.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:10 AM | Comments (6)
February 19, 2007
So I Baked A King Cake Today
...and somehow I ended up with the Easter Anus™
I'm a little hesitant to dive right in...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:27 PM | Comments (20)
President's Day, 2007
I love long weekends.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:36 AM | Comments (5)
Nanny Rising
Anybody remember in the dim far distant past when a certain party bitterly attacked another certain party for its arrogance and presumption in interfering in the internal affairs of other nations, for its cultural insensitivity and lack of nuance in how it dealt with foreign leaders and peoples, for how its heavy-handed idealistically-driven actions that only created animosity towards our country and made other nations not like us (oh, the horror!)? And how certain folks pledged that once they got the reins of power they would show such suavity and sophistication of statecraft that they would rapidly return America to its warm and comfy spot in the bosom of humanity? Well, I guess they changed their minds
Japan has expressed its displeasure at a resolution before the US Congress calling on Tokyo to apologize for the country's use of sex slaves in wartime.Foreign Minister Taro Aso said the resolution was not based on facts.
Sponsored by several members of the US House of Representatives, the proposed text urges Tokyo to formally resolve the issue of so-called "comfort women".
Hmm, seems quite cowboy-like to me to tell Japan this. And then there's H. Res. 106
Calling upon the President to ensure that the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the United States record relating to the Armenian Genocide, and for other purposes.
"And for other purposes"...like, say, really pissing off Turkey?
The measure is likely to touch raw nerves in Turkey, which rejects the charge that genocide was at the root of the deaths. The Bush administration has warned that even congressional debate on the matter could damage relations with Turkey, a vital Muslim ally and member of NATO.Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a co-sponsor, acknowledged that the resolution might harm U.S.-Turkish relations in the short term. Nevertheless, he said, "I'm optimistic that the relationship will go on. We will move beyond this."
...Turkey has adamantly denied claims by scholars that its predecessor state, the Ottoman government, caused the Armenian deaths in a genocide. The Turkish government has said the toll is wildly inflated, and Armenians were killed or displaced in civil unrest during the disarray surrounding the empire's collapse.
After French lawmakers voted in October to make it a crime to deny that the killings were a genocide, Turkey said it would suspend military relations with France. Turkey provides vital support to U.S. military operations.
"We will move beyond this." Oh puh-lease. Such a firm grasp of history and the region displayed there, as if all of these discussions and resolutions take place in the rarified atmosphere of a college classroom.
Lets keep passing resolutions condemning other nations for things done generations ago by completely different governments, and let's see how well they "move beyond this."
And let's see the response in Congress when those other countries start, justifiably, passing resolutions condemning our slave trade and 'genocide' of the Indians.
Maybe we'll get a national "Ward Churchill Day"; hell, I could use another day off.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:55 AM | Comments (4)
February 16, 2007
So. Off He Went to Work in His Marine Corps Uniform Today
...for the last time. After 30 years, 5 months and fifteen or so days. He's always been a Marine's Marine, fiercely protective of his troops and his Corps, and so damn proud to wear that green. It's like his second skin. From the time he was a young leatherneck ~ bluntly answering the CG's innocent "How's it going, Corporal?" with "It's all fucked up, General" ~ to a mellow Captain assuring Bell V-22 Osprey mucky mucks that their vaunted program was "a train wreck". And then he was the major ~ 2 weeks removed from massive shoulder reconstructive surgery ~ who wound up being the senior Marine on station when Ivan wiped out the command's buildings. He's always been the common sense, 'take charge', 'straight scoop' guy people turn to immediately. Ebola and I adore him beyond all reason.
And we're so damn proud of him. We always have been.
OO-rah, love. And Semper Fi.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:22 AM | Comments (60)
AP/CNN Reality Distortion Field
Global warmering has gotten so severe that it is directly affecting established scientific standards of measurement! It's true! In a normal, idyllic, happy Gaia Pre-Bushitler world, a 3 degrees Fahrenheit change would be the equivalent of a roughly 1.7 degree Celcius change...but not now!
WASHINGTON (AP) -- It may be cold comfort during a frigid February, but last month was by far the hottest January ever.The broken record was fueled by a waning El Nino and a gradually warming world, according to U.S. scientists who reported the data Thursday.
Records on the planet's temperature have been kept since 1880.
Spurred on by unusually warm Siberia, Canada, northern Asia and Europe, the world's land areas were 3.4 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) warmer than a normal January, according to the U.S. National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina.
Bushcheneyhalliburton: Altering Laws of Nature since 1980.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:25 AM | Comments (5)
February 15, 2007
I Swear ~ Is This a Bizarro MSNBC Headline
...or what?
Guess it goes with the territory.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:47 PM | Comments (8)
The Naivete Of The Anti-Americans
So it seems that, shockingly, al-Qaeda has called for attacks on oil suppliers to the US
CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Venezuela's defense minister said Thursday that the nation would reinforce security measures after a branch of al Qaeda called for attacks on suppliers of oil to the United States.Venezuela provides around 11 percent of U.S. oil imports despite diplomatic tensions between Caracas and Washington over leftist President Hugo Chavez's self-styled socialist revolution.
But military advisor to El Jefe seems somewhat surprised that such measures are really needed
Luis Cabrera, a military adviser to the president, earlier had questioned the authenticity of the threat in comments published by local media.He said it was illogical that "al Qaeda, which is against North American imperialism, would go against a state that is fighting, though in a different way, against that hegemony."
I think that al Qaeda is against a bit more than simply "North American imperialism", and that 'logic' should never be used in the same sentence as 'al Qaeda". But to acknowledge such would require these folks to give up the central tenet of their religion.
If America were to sink beneath the waves tomorrow, do they really think that al Qaeda and the other muslim extremist groups would say 'yippee' and quit their jihad?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:27 PM | Comments (3)
Welcome to Today's
...'Washington Weasel' winner ~ rookie Rep. Keith Ellison!
Smoking has become the hot topic on Capitol Hill....And in the latest installment, staffers for Rep. Keith Ellison tattled to Capitol Police that Rep. Tom Tancredo was smoking a cigar inside his congressional office.
"We already have the biggest air-purifying unit you can get, and I would be happy to try to make sure that it's even less odiferous around here, but I'm not going to stop because we still have the right to do so," Mr. Tancredo, Colorado Republican, told The Washington Times.
An officer investigating the report informed Mr. Ellison, Minnesota Democrat, that smoking is allowed in the private offices, the Hill newspaper first reported yesterday.
Calling his office in the Longworth building "our own little castle," Mr. Tancredo said he would have preferred a personal visit from his next-door neighbor.
That would have been neighborly ~ the polite thing to do, even. What ill-mannered, pissy little people ~ I'll bet there are some noses out of joint now and not from the smoke.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:50 PM | Comments (7)
The Headline
...is hilarious.
French industry warns of brain drain
The article? Not so much.
If Ségolène Royal is elected president in May it will trigger an exodus of people from France's financial and biotechnology sectors to London and other foreign cities, according to some of the country's top business leaders.The warning – fuelled by fears that the Socialist candidate would raise taxes for the highest earners and biggest companies – came as it emerged that the number of people fleeing the country's onerous wealth tax doubled between 2003 and 2005.
Each day France loses two people who pay its wealth tax, representing a loss of €2.2bn ($2.9bn, £1.5bn) of taxable assets for the government in 2005, according to a senate finance committee report.
"If Ségolène Royal wins, we will go back to the situation we had with Mitterrand between 1981 and 1983. But it would be three-times worse," said the chairman of one CAC 40 company, referring to François Mitterrand, the last leftwing president of France.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:19 AM | Comments (6)
February 14, 2007
We **HEART** Swillers!
Happy Valentine's Day, each and every one! In the spirit of the day (the ancient spirit, not the Chicago-style celebration), we'd like to open the post to poetic odes scribed by YOU, celebrating the personage who most exemplifies 'joie de vivre' (politics, entertainment, global warming, whatever) in your humble eyes. (A WSS to Capt. Ed) We will have a POETRY contest, you will all cast votes, the winner will be announced and awarded an authentic, good as new, "Sod Off Swampy" mug! Hot DAMN!
So, unquiver those iambic arrows and let the love shafts fly!
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:54 AM | Comments (22)
Muqtada al-Skeedaddle?
This is interesting if it is true
As details of the border closure became public, senior Bush administration officials said radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr fled Iraq for Iran two to three weeks ago out of fear for his safety.However, Iraqi sources have not confirmed this information and call it a rumor. Salah al Agaili, a spokesman for al-Sadr and a member of his parliament bloc, told CNN that al-Sadr is still in Iraq.
As recently as Thursday, al-Sadr's office said he was in Najaf.
If he is in Iran, it is not his first trip there. Al-Sadr has made half a dozen official trips and an unknown number of personal visits to Iran in the last few years.
Senior administration sources said they believe al-Sadr fled in anticipation of the U.S. military's troop buildup and a crackdown on militias, and because of fractures with extremist elements within his militia.
Very interesting. Going back to base to get more instructions?
Update: I see Sis posted a wee bit ahead of me. Oh well.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:31 AM | Comments (4)
Has Anyone Checked the Local
The chief U.S. military spokesman in Iraq said Wednesday that Muqtada al-Sadr has left the country and is believed to be in Iran, despite denials from the radical Shiite cleric's supporters.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:04 AM
February 13, 2007
NYC School Uniform: The Burqa
Imagine the Sex Ed classes here
The Department of Education says that it will open a public school next fall dedicated to Arabic language and culture.The Khalil Gibran International Academy is one of 40 new schools that will their debut in the city next September.
Education officials say although half the classes at the school will be taught in Arabic, they want to enroll a diverse student body.
The school is set to open in Brooklyn.
Will they have courses with titles such as "Beheading Or Stoning: A Critical Perspective"? No course list posted yet, but we'll keep an eye on it.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:46 PM | Comments (5)
Jeez Louise, I KNOW It's 31 Pages Long!!
But READ it ANYWAY.
For the children.
UPDATE: Bypassing cranky pdf files, I give you the HTML cached version.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:24 PM | Comments (1)
I Know That Rabbit Be Sayin'
..."Where Jimmay Cartah?"
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:15 PM | Comments (7)
"Is That Fissionable Material in Your Pocket
...or are you just glad to see me?" 'Denial Central' comes face-to-face with an inconvenient truth.
Iran on course for nuclear bomb, EU told
Iran will be able to develop enough weapons-grade material for a nuclear bomb and there is little that can be done to prevent it, an internal European Union document has concluded.In an admission of the international community's failure to hold back Iran's nuclear ambitions, the document – compiled by the staff of Javier Solana, EU foreign policy chief – says the atomic programme has been delayed only by technical limitations rather than diplomatic pressure. "Attempts to engage the Iranian administration in a negotiating process have not so far succeeded," it states.
..."At some stage we must expect that Iran will acquire the capacity to enrich uranium on the scale required for a weapons programme," says the paper, dated February 7 and circulated to the EU's 27 national governments ahead of a foreign ministers meeting yesterday.
"In practice . . . the Iranians have pursued their programme at their own pace, the limiting factor being technical difficulties rather than resolutions by the UN or the International Atomic Energy Agency.
"The problems with Iran will not be resolved through economic sanctions alone."
The admission is a blow to hopes that a deal with Iran can be reached and comes at a sensitive time, when tensions between the US and Tehran are rising. Its implication that sanctions will prove ineffective will also be unwelcome to EU diplomats. Only yesterday the bloc agreed on how to apply United Nations sanctions on Tehran, overcoming a dispute between Britain and Spain over Gibraltar.
How do you solve a problem like a whirling nuclear dervish?
And 'head-tilt' on my count, in...three, two, one...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:58 AM | Comments (1)
February 12, 2007
It Seems To Me She's Been "Sacked" Too Much As It Is
Maybe his next movie will be The Australian Patient
A flight attendant accused of having sex in an aircraft toilet with actor Ralph Fiennes was in hiding last night after being grounded without pay.Other crew members claimed Lisa Robertson had a seven-mile-high fling in business class with The English Patient star.
...Qantas has taken suggestions of a liaison seriously and has stood her down while it investigates.
She will be sacked if it finds sex did take place.
...But she said she was simply doing her job, adding: "This is common practice on long flights to build a rapport with passengers."
Now that's service!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:32 AM | Comments (9)
You Dirty Rat
Well, I'm really not surprised they found Meth on him
EUGENE, Oregon (AP) -- A snorkeler who was shot in the face after he was apparently mistaken for a swimming rodent was in good condition after surgery, a hospital said Saturday....William Roderick, 60, of Reedsport, has been charged with assault, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of methamphetamine and marijuana. He was being held in the county jail.
Roderick told deputies he thought Cheesman was a nutria swimming in the Smith River near Reedsport, about 90 miles southwest of Eugene, and shot him with a .22-caliber rifle, police said.
A nutria is a water-dwelling South American rodent species that is larger than a muskrat but smaller than a beaver. It was introduced to U.S. waters in the 1940s, according the National Wildlife Federation.
I at least hope the guy who got shot has a full beard...
"Don't Shoot!"
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:17 AM | Comments (8)
February 10, 2007
Picture That
...Marines from Golf Company said they recently fished two bodies out of the local river: a man had been decapitated, and his 4-year old tied to his leg before both were thrown into the river and the little boy drowned......when 'run away' is broached. I guarantee you those Marines will.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:54 AM | Comments (2)
Ladies and Gentlemen
...the Queen !!
Muslim women don't have to wear veils: Queen Rania
Islam does not require women to wear veils, Queen Rania al-Abdullah of Jordan has said in an interview, calling on Muslim moderates to "make their voices be heard.""Islam neither requires one to be practising, nor to dress in one way or another," the stylish 36-year-old queen told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera during a visit to Rome on Friday.
"So imposing the veil on a woman is contrary to the principles of Islam," said Queen Rania
...Queen Rania urged "all moderates to stand up and let their voices be heard."
..."Over the last three years, most victims of terrorism have been Muslim. So there's not a war between Muslims and non-Muslims, but between extremists and moderates of all the religions," the queen said.
"What is important is not to live in fear. The most dangerous (thing to do) is to give up and lose hope. The main enemy is not terrorism or extremism, but ignorance," she said.
Please Allah watch over her.
She's going to need all the help she can get.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:27 AM | Comments (10)
February 09, 2007
Mares Eat Oats and Does Eat Oats and
...Al Zedong zee divey. Is it an occident?
Or something more sinister...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:09 PM | Comments (8)
February 08, 2007
Dear Jerry Jones
Well, it sounds like you're about to sign the caliber of coach you deserve.
Phillips reportedly to become Dallas coach
Chargers defensive coordinator apparently beats Turner, Rivera, others
A lard-assed, pinheaded loser to go with that trophy wide mouth receiver you had to have.
Have a hot time in the Big 'D', fellas. You've earned it.
Signed,
th "I will never forgive blubber butthead Bum's Boy for f*cking over Doug is a GOD Flutie" sister
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:48 PM | Comments (12)
On This Day in 1587 a Different Redhead
...whacked a rival...
...who just happened to be a babe, too. (No mention in the historical record of 'diapers'.)
What a way to get ahead.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:00 AM | Comments (19)
To Stay This Cranky, I'd Have to Guess He's Still Pissed About
...the whole Steny Hoyer thing.
...Late Wednesday afternoon, one of Pelosi's closest allies in the House, Rep. John Murtha, D-Penn., chairman of the key Appropriations Committee subcommittee on defense, told CNN that the Pentagon was making "a mistake" by leaking information unfavorable to the speaker "since she decides on the allocations for the Department of Defense."
Blustering gasbag.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:56 AM
February 07, 2007
Wa-Hoo-Wa, Baby!
I know it won't last, but man it was nice to wake up this morning and see this:
Atlantic Coast Conference TEAM CONF W-L Virginia 8-2 Boston College 7-2 North Carolina 6-2 Virginia Tech 6-3 Duke 5-4 Florida State 5-4 Clemson 4-5 Georgia Tech 4-6 Maryland 3-6 North Carolina State 3-6 Miami (FL) 2-7 Wake Forest 2-8
I love this line
And now, Virginia - yes, Virginia - stands atop the standings ahead of such powerhouses as Duke and North Carolina.
It's probably been since 1982/83 that we've been here this late in the season. I don't expect it to last, but I will enjoy it while it does.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:29 PM | Comments (7)
"Cake or Death?"
Cake, please. It's his birthday.
"There's no Church of England fundamentalism. We can't have Church of England fundamentalism. You know, like they have Islamic fundamentalism. Jihad! … Ah ha … Church of England fundamentalism is impossible because you can't have: "You must have tea and cake with the vicar or you die!" Tea and cake or death! Students with beards, "Tea and cake or death! Tea and cake or death! Little Red Cookbook! Little Red Cookbook!" Ca – you know, 'cause, "Cake or death?" That's a pretty easy question. Everybody – anyone could answer that. "Cake or death?" "Uhh, cake please." "Very well! Give him cake!" "Oh, thanks very much. It's very nice!" "You! Cake or death?" "Uh, cake for me, too, please!" "Very well! Give him cake, too! We're gonna run out of cake at this rate. You! Cake or death?" "Uh, death, please. No, cake! Cake! Cake, sorry. Sorry …" "You said death first, ah-ha, ah-ha, death first!" "Well, I meant cake!" "Oh, all right. You're lucky I'm Church of England! Cake or death?" "Uh, cake please." "Well, we're out of cake! We only had three bits and we didn't expect such a rush! So what'll it be?""What, so my choice is 'or death?' Well, then I'll have the chicken, please.""
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:46 AM | Comments (18)
February 06, 2007
And All This Time I Thought 'Bingley'
...was a nom de plume? 'Twould appear someone knows him.
"For the past 10 years at least, the conservative movement has been dominated by a bunch of pudgy, pasty-faced kids in bow ties and blue blazers who spent their youths playing Risk in Gothic dormitories while sipping port and smoking their fathers' stolen cigars."
If they'd said 'scotch', it'd be a fer sure.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:22 PM | Comments (7)
Did Anyone Else See Bashar al-Assad on World News Tonight Last Night?
Gosh. He seems like such a nice guy. And Diane was really tough...
Sawyer: But in America they believe that you are all powerful, and you say the word and the border [crossings into Iraq] will stop.Assad: Powerful is different from being omnipotent — power that you can control everything completely. You cannot control your border with Mexico, can you? You're the greatest power in the world, you cannot control it with Mexico, so how do you want Syria to control its border with Iraq?
....(Oooo, ZING!) and you still just wound up wanting to hug him.
I think Forest Whitaker should play him in the movie version.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:23 AM | Comments (7)
You Can't Have It Both Ways
You either hand out money willie-nillie in the aftermath of a natural disaster or you keep track of where it's going and get tarred with the 'racist, class warrior' brush.
In the neighborhood President Bush visited right after Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. government gave $84.5 million to more than 10,000 households. But Census figures show fewer than 8,000 homes existed there at the time.Now the government wants back a lot of the money it disbursed across the region.
The Federal Emergency Management Administration has determined nearly 70,000 Louisiana households improperly received $309.1 million in grants, and officials acknowledge those numbers are likely to grow.
Can you imagine that! People got money they didn't rate when the till was open and the dollars flying out like honeybees on their way to fragrant fields.
Oh, well, hell ~ who we kiddin' here? You get tarred, don't make no nevermind what you do.
Mayor Ray Nagin told a Senate committee Monday he doesn't see the will to fix his hurricane-battered city when compared with the billions spent on the war in Iraq."I think it's more class than anything, but there's racial issues associated with it also," Nagin said.
Race, schmace. And as for class...what would Nagin know about that anyway? He's certainly never shown any.
So let's just leave the lucre levee open...
Gov. Kathleen Blanco said Monday that she will ask leaders on Capitol Hill this week to release Louisiana from about $1.7 billion in debt that the state owes to cover the local match for federal recovery grants and repayment of disaster loans....Further, Blanco said she will request forgiveness for roughly $1 billion in community disaster loans that were awarded to local governments so they could keep operating in the wake of unprecedented devastation brought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Kopplin said the White House traditionally has converted those loans to grants, ostensibly giving disaster-ridden governments free cash for operations.
...While criticizing the rules governing FEMA reimbursements, Blanco announced a pair of initiatives aimed at speeding up the notoriously laggard process of getting federal dollars to local agencies working restore basic services.
..."I think we're going to have some luck in Congress," Blanco said. "If we don't, God help us all."
...and watch it all drain away. Rules be damned! Accountability be damned! Let's free ourselves from those fiscal chains of integrity that bind! Waste, fraud and entitlement are New Orleans' peculiar institutions and who are we to naysay their right to unlimited funds unhampered by unreasonable restraint?
'Free cash' it says? Well, then, free cash it should be!
No one could doubt our good intentions then. Not even the cannibals.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:07 AM | Comments (1)
When in Doubt...
...REHAB !!
In that time honored recent tradition of 'everything stupid and hateful I do is because of my underlying addictive personality and NOT the fact of my weaselness' ~ traveling in the vaunted footsteps plowed through the detritus of their personal loser lives ~ emulating such weasel rehab pioneers before him, like Miss USA, Patrick Kennedy, Isaiah Washington, Jim McGreevey ("More than a coming-out memoir, The Confession is the story of one man's quest to repair the rift between his public and private selves, at a time in our culture when the personal and political have become tangled like frayed electric cables. Teeming with larger-than-life characters, written with honesty, grace, and rare insight into what it means to negotiate the minefields of American public life, it may be among the most honest political memoirs ever written.")...the San Francisco playboy, the City by the Bay Mayor who looks enough like McGreevey to be his hetero hound dog brother...is headed to rehab.
Mayor Gavin Newsom said Monday that he plans to seek counseling for alcohol use, following the disclosure that he had an affair with the wife of a trusted aide.Newsom, 39, said that although "my problems with alcohol are not an excuse for my personal lapses in judgment," he had stopped drinking and wanted professional help staying sober.
"Upon reflection with friends and family this weekend, I have come to the conclusion that I will be a better person without alcohol in my life," Newsom said in a statement.
Of course you will, you smarmy, revolting lizardoid.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:58 AM | Comments (7)
February 05, 2007
More Global Warmering
The bay is starting to ice over.
I love when my commute resembles scenes from Titanic.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:46 PM | Comments (8)
Nowak Is, Um...
A NASA astronaut is charged with attacking her rival for another astronaut's attention early Monday at Orlando International Airport, the Orlando Sentinel has learned.Lisa Marie Nowak drove from Texas to meet the 1 a.m. flight of a younger woman who had also been seeing the male astronaut Nowak pined for, according to Orlando police.
Nowak -- who was a mission specialist on a Discovery launch last summer -- was wearing a trench coat and wig and had a knife, BB pistol, rubber tubing and plastic bags, reports show. Once U.S. Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman arrived, Nowak followed her to the airport's Blue Lot for long-term parking, tried to get into Shipman's car and doused her with pepper spray, according to reports.
Good Lisa!
Bad Lisa!
Police said that along with the weapons and other items in Nowak's car, they found e-mails from Shipman to Oefelein, Mapquest directions from Houston to the Orlando airport, and diapers, which Nowak told police she used so she wouldn't have to stop on the drive.
From Tang to diapers. Not quite the same caliber as The Right Stuff, now is it?
I can see the new ad slogan already: "NASA depends on Depends!"
Monday's arrest is the first-ever on felony charges for an active-duty astronaut, that the space agency was aware of, according to a spokesman."Her status as an astronaut with NASA is currently unchanged. I cannot speculate on what might happen beyond that," said James Hartsfield, a NASA spokesman at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where Nowak and Oefelein work.
Somehow I'm thinking our little Tonya Harding wannabe ain't going back into space any time soon.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:14 PM | Comments (20)
Sacre Boom!
In this life there are times when you can ignore that rattle in your basement, and times when you can't:
Estate agents are used to talking up the good points of a property while drawing a veil over its less attractive aspects. But it would take a particularly resourceful one to gloss over the downside of La Basse Cour in Belgium.The first bit is easy: "Attractive farm consisting of seven buildings set in 150 acres in the heart of historic Flanders on the Messines Ridge near Ypres. Ideal getaway for the busy metropolitan family. One hour 30 minutes from Channel Tunnel."
The problem lies with one of the original features: the bomb. Not any old bomb, but the world's biggest unexploded bomb - 50,000lbs to be exact. Still there, 80 feet under the farm, waiting for its big day. "Potential for redevelopment" might cover it.
The bomb - or more accurately mine - was the product of one of the greatest and most secret engineering exercises of the First World War. It lay half-forgotten for 80 years until British researchers were able to establish its exact whereabouts using maps of the period.
How do you say "AFLAC" in french?
(via email from Crusader)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:33 PM | Comments (17)
Baby It's Cooooold Outside
It was 9 here when I left the house, and the harbor at the ferry terminal was starting to ice up. Maybe we should transplant some of those homeless drowning polar bears down to New Jersey?
Of course, for real thrills...anyone want to hop in the car with me for a road trip to Mount Washington?
Temp -22.5°F Wind 283° (W) Gust 91.5 mph W. Chill -71.7°F
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:38 AM | Comments (9)
"Sexpresso" Shops
There's something about the West Coast that just affects people's minds, I think. I mean, sure, there's a Starbucks on every corner so if you want to have your own coffee shop the competition is pretty fierce. But have we gone so adrift as a culture that we really need these?
At the Sweet Spot Cafe in the northern suburbs of Seattle, you get more than a foam topping on your cappucino. You get a waitress in a bikini, or maybe a tight-fitting T-shirt, and a choice of drinks with names such as Wet Dream (with caramel and white chocolate), Sexual Mix (a caramel macchiato) or Erotic Pleasure.South of the city, in Tukwila, the baristas at Cowgirls Espresso wear sheer negligees and visible pink panties. It's the same story in any number of other suburban bars and drive-through stands, like the Natte Latte in Port Orchard or Moka Girls in Auburn - bikinis, racy lingerie, fetish clothing, and plenty of suggestively exposed flesh.
...Welcome to "sexpresso" - the latest coffee fad to hit America, in which the country's seemingly boundless fascination for Italian-style Java is combined with its equally boundless fascination for half-naked women.
I'm not morally offended/outraged by these places and I certainly don't want to ban them or any such nonsense. But I do find it...sad is the word, I guess...that a bunch of these places have popped up and are accepted with such indifference. And it's not just coffee shops; look at the images in ads on TV. It is the ultimate irony: after 40 years of feminism our society is more permeated with images of women as sexual objects than ever before (which is pretty amazing considering how we constantly hear about how the country has been turned into a rightwing religious theocracy).
And it makes being the dad of a teenage daughter that much harder.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:27 AM | Comments (11)
Maybe We Should Be Asking
...the boots ON the ground what they think.
Mahdi Army gains strength through unwitting aid of U.S.'... "Half of them are JAM. They'll wave at us during the day and shoot at us during the night," said 1st Lt. Dan Quinn, a platoon leader in the Army's 1st Infantry Division, using the initials of the militia's Arabic name, Jaish al Mahdi. "People (in America) think it's bad, but that we control the city. That's not the way it is. They control it, and they let us drive around. It's hostile territory."
The Bush administration's plan to secure Baghdad rests on a "surge" of some 17,000 more U.S. troops to the city, many of whom will operate from small bases throughout Baghdad. Those soldiers will work to improve Iraqi security units so that American forces can hand over control of the area and withdraw to the outskirts of the city.
The problem, many soldiers said, is that the approach has been tried before and resulted only in strengthening al-Sadr and his militia.
Amid recurring reports that al-Sadr is telling his militia leaders to stash their arms and, in some cases, leave their neighborhoods during the American push, U.S. soldiers worry that the latest plan could end up handing over those areas to units that are close to al-Sadr's militant Shiite group.
"All the Shiites have to do is tell everyone to lay low, wait for the Americans to leave, then when they leave you have a target list and within a day they'll kill every Sunni leader in the country. It'll be called the `Day of Death' or something like that," said 1st Lt. Alain Etienne, 34, of Brooklyn, N.Y. "They say, `Wait, and we will be victorious.' That's what they preach. And it will be their victory."
Quinn agreed.
"Honestly, within six months of us leaving, the way Iranian clerics run the country behind the scenes, it'll be the same way here with Sadr," said Quinn, 25, of Cleveland. "He already runs our side of the river."
Then again, maybe it's not what they want to hear.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:59 AM | Comments (1)
If You Finally Start Winning "The BIG One"
...how nice to start with the biggest one of all. And how nice it was a team mostly full of...well...nice people, from the coach, to the quarterback...
...The AFC’s Colts are loaded with Louisiana boys. Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, Joseph Addai, and Brandon Stokely are players that I know grew up here and played ball here in high school or college. The Mannings are New Orleans royalty. They have been magnificent ambassadors for New Orleans and Louisiana for nearly 40 years. I can't root against them ... unless they were playing against the Saints.
...and the running back.
After LaJuan Moore made the tackle that changed his life, his mother warned him that friends would disappear. Other children will distance themselves, she said, from the one who was suddenly paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair.But Joseph Addai moved closer.
“Joseph stuck like glue,” Charlotte Beverly said.
...After the accident, Addai put together two chairs and slept with Moore in the hospital room. He learned to bathe his friend, dress him and help him use the bathroom. When Addai went to Louisiana State, he got a dorm room that was wheelchair-accessible so that Moore could visit. They spent last April’s draft day together, celebrating Addai’s first-round selection by the Colts.
Addai and Moore call each other every day. Sometimes, they barely speak. They just hold the phone to their ears and hang out together...
And I don't think a single Colt has dated Paris Hilton. (Yet.)
How nice is that?
Of course, as champs, they are now forever doomed to press conferences full of the elites of the sports writing world, peppering them with questions like...
"Since you're the 'Colts', will you be dedicating this game to the memory of Barbaro?"
How nice to have something to look forward to.
Raise a glass, Shriners. To the Colts!
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:55 AM | Comments (1)
February 03, 2007
Lamb Update: Soup's On!
"Can I have some please?"
No.
But I can.
Quite tasty. Next time I will cube the spudlies and add a dash or two of worchestershire, I think, just to give it a touch more body.
But over all very yum.
Now I beg your indulgence as I go back for another bowl!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:44 PM | Comments (7)
Insta On The Lamb
Reading about Insta's Lamb Stew got me hungry and made me want to try his recipe. It's 23º degrees outside and this stew sounds yum. More importantly, it gives me a chance to indulge in New Kitchen Pørn!
C'mere, Fluffy...
So, following his rather spartan recipe (which I like, btw, as it allows for lots of artistic interpretation) and conveniently having several pounds of boneless leg of lamb in the freezer I defrosted Fluffy and cubed her and got a little browning action going on
I rinsed the spudlettes in the new deep stainless steel sink
Mmmm, Fluffy sauteé
Hey! Where'd this come from? Well, can't let it go to waste
a leetle on-yon
Some browned, salted, peppered and paprikaed (?) Fluffy
My, what a handsome pair standing so proudly on that living Gaia flesh!
Into the Crockpot of Death rode the 700...
(I added some fresh sage in lieu of fresh thyme because, well, I had some)
Gratuitous Kitchen Pørn shot of the tiled backsplash! and Guinness...and wine...
Oh Guinness! How can I pour thee into something other than me?
Must...
Be...
Strong!
That was one of the hardest things I've ever done. My sole consolation is that those two cans were part of a four-pack.
Fluffy, I hardly know ya' now!
And now we get to wait for 8 hours!
The house is starting to smell yum already!
Now where are those other two Guinnae...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 04:14 PM | Comments (30)
February 3rd Is Known As "Four Chaplains Day" Now
...because of a terrible night on the USS Dorchester in 1943.
...Outside it was another cold, windy night as the midnight hour signaled the passing of February 2nd and the beginning of a new day. In the distance a cold, metal arm broke the surface of the stormy seas. At the end of that arm, a German U-Boat (submarine) captain monitored the slowly passing troop transport. Shortly before one in the morning he gave the command to fire.Quiet moments passed as silent death reached out for the men of the Dorchester, then the early morning was shattered by the flash of a blinding explosion and the roar of massive destruction. The "hit" had been dead on, tossing men from their cots with the force of its explosion. A second torpedo followed the first, instantly killing 100 men in the hull of the ship. Power was knocked out by the explosion in the engine room, and darkness engulfed the frightened men below deck as water rushed through gaping wounds in the Dorchester's hull. The ship tilted at an unnatural angle as it began to sink rapidly, and piles of clothing and life jackets were tossed about in the darkness where no one would ever find them. Wounded men cried out in pain, frightened survivors screamed in terror, and all groped frantically in the darkness for exits they couldn't find. Somewhere in that living hell, four voices of calm began to speak words of comfort, seeking to bring order to panic and bedlam. Slowly soldiers began to find their way to the deck of the ship, many still in their underwear, where they were confronted by the cold winds blowing down from the arctic. Petty Officer John J. Mahoney, reeling from the cold, headed back towards his cabin. "Where are you going?" a voice of calm in the sea of distressed asked?
"To get my gloves," Mahoney replied.
"Here, take these," said Rabbi Goode as he handed a pair of gloves to the young officer who would never have survived the trip to his cabin and then back to safety.
"I can't take those gloves," Mahoney replied.
"Never mind," the Rabbi responded. "I have two pairs." Mahoney slipped the gloves over his hands and returned to the frigid deck, never stopping to ponder until later when he had reached safety, that there was no way Rabbi Goode would have been carrying a spare set of gloves. As that thought finally dawned on him he came to a new understanding of what was transpiring in the mind of the fearless Chaplain. Somehow, Rabbi Goode suspected that he would himself, never leave the Dorchester alive.
Before boarding the Dorchester back in January, Reverend Poling had asked his father to pray for him, "Not for my safe return, that wouldn't be fair. Just pray that I shall do my duty...never be a coward...and have the strength, courage and understanding of men. Just pray that I shall be adequate." He probably never dreamed that his prayer request would be answered so fully. As he guided the frightened soldiers to their only hope of safety from the rapidly sinking transport, he spoke calm words of encouragement, urging them not to give up. In the dark hull of the Dorchester, he was more than adequate. He was a hero.
Likewise Reverend Fox and Father Washington stood out within the confines of an unimaginable hell. Wounded and dying soldiers were ushered into eternity to the sounds of comforting words from men of God more intent on the needs of others, than in their own safety and survival. Somehow, by their valiant efforts, the Chaplains succeeded in getting many of the soldiers out of the hold and onto the Dorchester's slippery deck.
In the chaos around them, life boats floated away before men could board them. Others capsized as panic continued to shadow reason and soldiers loaded the small craft beyond limit. The strength, calm, and organization of the Chaplains had been so critical in the dark hull. Now, on deck, they found that their mission had not been fully accomplished. They organized the effort, directed men to safety, and left them with parting words of encouragement. In little more than twenty minutes, the Dorchester was almost gone. Icy waves broke over the railing, tossing men into the sea, many of them without life jackets. In the last moments of the transport's existence, the Chaplains were too occupied opening lockers to pass out life jackets to note the threat to their own lives.
In less than half an hour, water was beginning to flow across the deck of the sinking Dorchester. Working against time the Chaplains continued to pass out the life vests from the lockers as the soldiers pressed forward in a ragged line. And then....the lockers were all empty...the life jackets gone. Those still pressing in line began to realize they were doomed, there was no hope. And then something amazing happened, something those who were there would never forget. All Four Chaplains began taking their own life jackets off....and putting them on the men around them. Together they sacrificed their last shred of hope for survival, to insure the survival of other men.... most of them total strangers. Then time ran out. The Chaplains had done all they could for those who would survive, and nothing more could be done for the remaining...including themselves.
Those who had been fortunate enough to reach lifeboats struggled to distance themselves from the sinking ship, lest they be pulled beneath the ocean swells by the chasm created as the transport slipped into a watery grave. Then, amid the screams of pain and horror that permeated the cold dark night, they heard the strong voices of the Chaplains. "Shma Yisroel Adonai Elohenu Adonai Echod." "Our Father, which art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done."
Looking back they saw the slanting deck of the Dorchester, its demise almost complete. Braced against the railings were the Four Chaplains...praying...singing, giving strength to others by their final valiant declaration of faith. Their arms were linked together as they braced against the railing and leaned into each other for support, Reverend Fox, Rabbi Goode, Reverend Poling, and Father Washington. Said one of the survivors, "It was the finest thing I have ever seen this side of heaven."
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:54 AM | Comments (7)
February 02, 2007
Who's Crying When Oil's at $50 Barrel?
Jim Jubak has some pretty interesting ideas.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:39 PM | Comments (2)
Dear Prof. Reynolds ~ Please Do Not Confuse the IDIOTS in South Florida
~ with their shrieking Democratic operatives and multitudes of Gramma Yettas (bless their hearts) ~ 
...who are costing the state $32+ MIL to get rid of electronic machines we KNEW wouldn't work (copious eyerolling the instant the idea surfaced)...
...with us paper ballot obsessed Rednecks in the Riviera.
When you say "Florida", we ALL get tarred with the fugly stick.
I reiterate: It's called a BIG FAT MARKER and a STRAIGHT LINE.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:33 AM | Comments (2)
Honestly ~ ARE We That Stoo-pid?
I hope, I hope, I hope the answer for the general population is "no". Otherwise, these fascists are going to be able to take over every morsel headed toward our ignorant, gaping maws.
Organics spreading to snack food aisles
Companies offer natural, organic versions of chips, cookies, mac & cheese...That’s been good news for the food industry because it offers a new venue to potentially boost sales. But the trend raises concerns for some nutrition experts, who worry that people don’t realize that even organic snacks can still be packed with as many calories and fat as more traditional junk food.
“You still need to read the food label,” said Christine McKinney, a registered dietician with Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. “Just because it’s organic doesn’t meant it’s healthy.”
It's the potato chip versus rice cake thing that always kicks my ass. Why does my brain always say "potato chip"?
I think I was abused as a child. So it's not my fault, hence I'm not stoo-pid. I'm 'decision challenged'.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:15 AM | Comments (7)
In Case You Didn't Have a Chance to Read It Yesterday
...when the Drudge link crashed their server. It's pretty freakin' entertaining.
...“WOW," SAYS GIEG AS Al Gore struts onto the stage of The Oprah Winfrey Show. “He looks like he’s had Botox or something.”It’s afternoon in America, and Oprah is offering her millions of viewers a class with Dr. Gore that the producers are calling Global Warming 101. I’ve asked Gieg to watch it with me.
The show turns out to be pretty much a synopsis of An Inconvenient Truth, with Gore clicking through his hyper-produced PowerPoint program and Oprah exclaiming “Wow! Wow!” with dramatic concern. To dramatize the melting of the floating ice cap at the North Pole, Gore has inserted an animated clip of a polar bear swimming desperately to a tiny ice floe that isn’t strong enough to hold him. Global warming is drowning helpless bears. Oprah thinks it’s the coolest and saddest thing in Gore’s whole movie. Gieg starts shouting:
“We don’t know that. We don’t know that! We don’t know that polar bears haven’t drowned in every interglacial period. Nobody was watching them back then.”
It’s got to be a frustrating experience, seeing a topic you’ve spent some 50 years studying turned into an Oprah episode. “I like her,” Gieg says. “She’d beat Al Gore if she ran for president.”
Then Gore clicks again to dramatic footage of a collapsing polar ice shelf. “That’s irresponsible,” Gieg says. “What he’s doing is no less than the scare tactics used by people like Karl Rove.”
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:52 AM
Sorry Lisa
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:54 AM | Comments (3)
February 01, 2007
Headline Of The Day
AWOL seaman nabbed in makeup, false lashes
Again, it's best if I refrain from comment.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:46 PM | Comments (3)
As Long As It's NOT the Smell of 'Napalm in the Morning'
...or the 'baby shit' we used to strip drop tanks with (in those looser, pre-'Superfund Site' days)...
A manly foo-foo juice for a good cause, none the less.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:00 PM | Comments (7)
Stupid Human Tricks
"All Your Retards Are Be...On Second Though, You Keep Them"
By now everyone has heard about the Little Ad Campaign that blew up.
BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) -- Two men pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges they created panic by placing "bomblike" electronic light boards displaying a cartoon character with an upraised middle finger throughout Boston.Assistant Attorney General John Grossman called the light boards "bomblike" devices and said that if they had been explosive they could have damaged transportation infrastructure in the city.
Now, I won't go into how, um, inappropriate shall we say an ad campaign like this is in the post-9/11 world. It's just retarded. No, what I want to talk about is how misguided Assistant Attorney General John Grossman is.
...if they had been explosive they could have damaged transportation infrastructure in the city.
Well, if your sister had balls she'd be your brother, goober. But since she doesn't you can't call her a female impersonator.
The judge was suitably leery of Mr. Grossman's hyperbole
Judge Paul K. Leary told Grossman that, according to law, the suspects must intend to create a panic to be charged with placing hoax devices.It appears the suspects had no such intent, the judge said, but the question should be discussed in a later hearing.
The question that should be asked by every resident of a city where these Lite-Brite creations went up weeks ago is, after all of the billions and billions of dollars that have been spent on Homeland Security how the hell did people climb all over buildings and bridges in 10 cities and no one notice? That's what should be investigated.
That's what scares the hell out of me.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:53 PM | Comments (12)
NOBODY Puts Baby in a Corner
Except the snooty toots in East Hampton...
...The East Hampton Town Board will meet tomorrow to mull lifting its longtime ban on live music in restaurants. But there will be plenty of restrictions if the proposal gets the green light. The music will have to end by 11 p.m., and eateries will be prohibited from clearing tables and chairs to make room for dancing, the East Hampton Star reports.
So where are footloose and fancy free Hamptonians supposed to go when the Bonjangles mood strikes, huh?
Everybody knows there's sharks in the sound...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:48 AM | Comments (4)
That's a Good Question
A recent standoff between National Guardsmen and heavily armed outlaws along the Mexican border has rattled some troops and raised questions about the rules of engagement for soldiers who were sent to the border in what was supposed to be a backup role....And some lawmakers have questioned why the rules prohibit soldiers from opening fire unless they are fired upon.
"Why would this be allowed to happen?" Republican Arizona state Rep. Warde Nichols said. "Why do we have National Guard running from illegals on the border?"
Unfortunately, the National Guard might be used to whack rules of engagement, considering all the time they've spent in Iraq. But in a perfect world, the National Guard, the Marines...NONE of them should be watching the border. The BORDER Patrol and law enforcement agencies along the BORDER should be policing the BORDER. Our military is: a) stretched thin enough b) was never meant to be a police force. They're trained for combat and extraordinary circumstances/natural disasters.
...Several soldiers said the Arizona confrontation worried them."I didn't think they were going to get that bold," said Sgt. Samuel Perez of Savannah, Ga. "It's kind of been chilling that somebody is going to be that crazy."
First Lt. Wayne Lee, a spokesman for the New Mexico National Guard, said soldiers "are not supposed to get into a firefight. It's not the Sunni Triangle."
No, it's not. But chances are it might sound like it sometimes. The first National Guardsman who hears rifle shots ~ maybe even hears them zing by his ear ~ and fires back will have his own firestorm to handle, I guarantee it.
...Weinacht told OneWorld he hopes the military has learned some lessons from the last time around, but he doubts any military deployment can be successful. "When you have soldiers on the border, you have to make sure they're properly trained. But if you're going to spend a lot on training why not just train more border patrol?"
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:04 AM | Comments (6)
Good Mornin'
...Mr. Sunshine.
...It's one thing to arrive an hour late for church on the first day of daylight saving. It's another for a security system to log the wrong time of crucial events, for pilots to misunderstand their takeoff times or international communications components to stop synchronizing. But such scenarios are possible without the fix to vast numbers of the nation's technical systems .As IBM notes on its Web site: "Any time-sensitive functions could be impacted by this change. . . . It is important for users to assess their environments and develop appropriate plans for applying the necessary changes."
..."After building bunkers in the desert for Y2K, we're not even talking about this, and it's happening in less than two months," said Matthew Kozak, an information technology specialist at Rutgers University who monitors numerous sites and discussion groups.
Even in the banking industry, where ATMs time-stamp every customer transaction, awareness of the March 11 change is limited.
"I haven't heard about it," said Barry Koling, spokesman for Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks. "It seems to me, we managed to get through Y2K. If we can accomplish the change of the millennium, we can handle a change in daylight saving time."
'Spring forward' will be sprung March 11 this year, vice the time honored April date.
I hadn't heard.
I'm hoping my computer, cell phone, cable, credit union, et al...has.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:46 AM | Comments (1)