Buckley Talk

From an article by George Handlery in the Brussels Journal, concerning his children's accents:

This makes them to be probably the only native speakers that had a “foreign” accent put into their cradle. The drawl is a consequence of a long story. Their dad learned much of his English while watching Bill Buckley’s “Firing Line.” (They also had wrestling on KTLA Channel 5 at the same time but in the end the “man from Yale” won.) Mr. Buckley inculcated in me a love for words even though their pronunciation suffered from some studied neglect.

I know what he's talking about. When I was a leftist punk, I'd listen to Bill Buckley and Gore Vidal debate not for the content (remember, I was a liberal, I had my beliefs handed to me, no critical thought involved) but just to hear the way those guys used words. I'd have the dictionary at hand and I'd write down any word I thought I might want to incorporate into my own lexicon. I think of those days fondly, and I wince in recognition every time I hear some kid twist his sentence in order to inject "anathema" of "aver" into the flow of words. (BTW - I see nothing wrong with doing the same in order to use the word "kerfuffle")

When God's Answer Is No

Got the link via Drudge:

DAPHNE, Ala. -- Worried about the safety of her family during a stormy Memorial Day trip to the beach, Clara Jean Brown stood in her kitchen and prayed for their safe return as a strong thunderstorm rumbled through Baldwin County, Alabama.

But while she prayed, lightning suddenly exploded, blowing through the linoleum and leaving a blackened area on the concrete. Brown wound up on the floor, dazed and disoriented by the blast but otherwise uninjured.

She said 'Amen' and the room was engulfed in a huge ball of fire. The 65-year-old Brown said she is blessed to be alive.

Wise people will tell you that God answers all prayers, "but sometimes the answer is no." And sometimes He adds, "..and don't ask again!"

Too Hot to Work

If I weren't so ruggedly handsome, all this sweat would be off-putting.


Don't know why it is that every year I forget just how miserable it is to work in this heat. I made it through my section of forest today but only just barely. Have you seen that Diet Coke commercial where the office women are all gathered around the window to watch the ripped and sweaty construction worker as he arches his muscled back and pours the chilled beverage down his throat? Well, that's me today except for the office women, and the window, and the muscled back, and everything except the sweaty part.

Bad, Bad, Child

I'm not big on punishment but something has to be done with lumberkid. She came home and asked why it takes longer to build a blond snowman (snowoman) than it does a "regular" snowman (snowoman). Dunno, I said.
"Because you have to hollow out the head," she says. Disrespectful child.

At Long Last

Finally, I think I've found a cat that Lumberdog can chase.




And I'm not even saying Lumberdog could catch the cat -- just that it'd be a fair race. Well, ok maybe we'd have to hobble the cat as well. OK, and maybe put Lumberpuppy on roller-skates and give her a push.

Symantec confirms high-risk flaw

I'm sticking with the drive-a-mac solution.

Researchers have exposed a flaw in Symantec’s corporate anti-virus software, which could allow hackers to gain control of an affected computer....

Tribute To Our Armed Forces

Did I link this before? Probably. Regardless, it's worth
watching again on this day when we remember those who have
given so much so that we can have liberty.
A Tribute To Our Armed Forces

Kharijism

Some history from the American Thinker, attempting to explain why moderate Muslims are so hard to find. And suggesting strategies we might use to communicate with the umma, the Muslim man on the street. What I can't understand is how the umma came to reside on our street. No, I'm not saying, "America/Europa, love it or leave it," I'm wondering what would make someone want to immigrate to a land that is so obviously Muslim-Kansas anymore. Hey, you guys knew Madonna was here before you packed your bags. Gay Disneyland days were a fact of life before you set foot here. So whydja come? Anyway, interesting article:

So what does all this ancient history tell us? It tells us, first and above all, that the common Western belief that the Muslim umma is supportive of or at best indifferent to terrorism is seriously flawed. Muslims possess their own understanding of terrorism, derived from their own history and experience and based on their own principles. The Muslim view of terror, unsurprisingly, concentrates on the effect that it has on Islam and the Muslim community. The impact on the world beyond in strictly secondary.

Sniper Trial

I remember thinking at the time of Malvo and Muhammad's arrest that there must be some kind of tie to Islam. Still, the news downplayed it, maybe rightly so, because Muhammad had tried to use the attacks to extort money. Remember? He wanted millions "put on a credit card," - possibly the stupidest method ever for the transfer of extorted money. There was also a report that he wanted to use the shootings as a cover for the planned murder of his ex-wife. But maybe all three reasons apply to this spectacular loser. From NBC4:

Malvo grew up in the Caribbean and was largely abandoned by his parents. He said a few months after meeting Muhammad, he "basically took me under his wing. He began introducing me as his son."

He said Muhammad introduced him to the Nation of Islam and said he was told that for many incidents in history, "the explanation was that the white man is the devil."

..........Earlier, Malvo testified calmly during Muhammad's second trial related to the October 2002 sniper shootings. Muhammad is on trial on murder charges for six Maryland sniper shootings.

Malvo said Muhammad devised a two-phase plan to shoot as many as six random people each day for 30 days in the Washington area and then target children and police officers with explosives. They planned to place explosives on school buses in Baltimore, kill a Baltimore police officer and then set off explosives packed with ball bearings at the officer's funeral.

Like the SUV Jihadist, Muhammad is just a sick and twisted imitation of a human being, who used Islam as a vehicle to focus his hate, and as an excuse for the killing he wanted to do. Maybe he's just another Jeffrey Dahmer.

Are the Germans Waking Up?

From the Jerusalem Post, a survey finds:

German public opinion believes a "clash of civilizations" is under way between Christians and Muslims that will lead to further domestic and international conflict, a report commissioned by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung finds.

If they think it's a clash between Christians and Muslims; I hope they don't delude themselves that being non-Christian will guarantee safety. I think a better description of the conflict would be "between Muslims and non-Muslims." Some numbers:

The Allensbach survey of 1,076 German adults in early May found that 83% of the respondents associated Islam with "fanaticism," an increase of 8% from a similar poll in 2004.

Over 71% believed Islam to be "intolerant," a rise from 66% in 2004; 62% saw it as "backward," up from 49%; while 60% saw it as "undemocratic," an increase of 8% since 2004. Only 8% of the survey participants characterized Islam as peaceful.
When asked what keyword or phrase they associated with Islam, 91% of respondents stated that Islam implied discrimination against women.

Some 61% of Germans said they believed a "clash of cultures" already existed, while 65% said "they counted on such conflicts" to worsen in the future.

While two-thirds of the survey participants said they blamed religious fanatics, not Islam, for the conflict with the West, 40% of the participants said they would favor curtailing Germany's constitutionally guaranteed right of freedom of religion in order to safeguard national security.

And here's a question, will an increasing threat from radical Islam make it harder to maintain an atmosphere of anti-Americanism? Could it be that Germany will be friendlier towards America -- like in the old days when they were constantly looking East to be sure those Soviet tanks weren't rolling yet?

Jesse Macbeth

Michelle Malkin has got a bunch of information on Jesse Macbeth. In fact the buzz is everywhere. Most of it is criticism from people who have no idea what they're talking about. I say that unless you've personally falsely posed as a war veteran, you have no room to judge. I propose a new organization, Foreign War Imposters For Jesse Macbeth. If you've posed as a veteran, only to later be found out and humiliated, and would like to join in support of Jesse, please contact me.

(please note - your background will have to be checked as there have been cases of people claiming to be veteran imposters who later were found out to be nothing of the kind. So please, genuine imposters only.)

***** Update I:
No, Mr Kerry, lying about aspects of your service doesn't qualify you. Pretending to "walk a mile in Jesse's shoes" isn't good enough for membership.

Revisionist History

An article in the Opinion Journal, by Peter Wehner
pretty much sums up where we're at today:

Iraqis can participate in three historic elections, pass the most liberal constitution in the Arab world, and form a unity government despite terrorist attacks and provocations. Yet for some critics of the president, these are minor matters. Like swallows to Capistrano, they keep returning to the same allegations--the president misled the country in order to justify the Iraq war; his administration pressured intelligence agencies to bias their judgments; Saddam Hussein turned out to be no threat since he didn't possess weapons of mass destruction; and helping democracy take root in the Middle East was a postwar rationalization. The problem with these charges is that they are false and can be shown to be so--and yet people continue to believe, and spread, them.

Fwd:Fwd:Fwd: Conspiracy

I got the mail from good people, concerning a gold mine in Chile. Of course they're good people, that's why they forwarded the e-mail:

Please read about this absolute atrocity that is happening in Chile,
that could eventually happen in your own home, or maybe already is. And may this inspire us to say NO MORE! and start changing the world we live in!

Is it an atrocity? Well, could be, but Chile has approved an environmental impact estimate and Argentina's response is due in a few months. The mail describes in general terms something that may or may not be a bad thing: a project to mine gold from under a glacier. Mines are never clean things but whether this one will be environmentally sound or not is a question that should be argued by people who know mines and know the environment. I can guarantee you that whoever wrote this letter doesn't fall into either of those categories. This is the fact the letter writer is relying on to win you over:

The project is called PASCUA LAMA. The company is called Barrick Gold.

The operation is planned by a multi-national company, one of whose
members is George Bush Senior.

Except he's not on the board of directors, as claimed on half the sites that reference this. The other half claim that GHW Bush is on the International Advisory Board of Barrick Gold. He's not on that either. See, if the few things that can be fact checked turn out to be lies; how can you trust the other, unverifiable, claims? Barrick Gold is a public company and is happy to tell you who is on its International Advisory Board. The three American members are:

Vernon E. Jordan Jr. - Ring a bell? Clinton's lawyer during the Lewinsky scandal.

Andrew Young - Bells yet? This one is harder; long ago, Carter administration? He was Carter's ambassador to the U.N.

William S. Cohen - You should know this one: Clinton's Secretary of Defense.

Does that mean the gold mine won't be an environmental disaster? I don't know. Would linking George Bush Sr. to Barrick Gold tell you anything about the project? Read my lips: It would tell you nothing. If you feel this might be a bad project, then research the stinking project. Resist the lazy link-a-republican-name-to-it approach. It means nothing. The same way the Jordan, Young, and Cohen link means nothing.

Can This Be?

Well color me dumbfounded, from AFP:

LONDON (AFP) - The French have been voted the world's most unfriendly nation by a landslide in a new British poll published. They were also voted the most boring and most ungenerous.

A decisive 46 percent of the 6,000 people surveyed by travellers' website Where Are You Now (WAYN) said the French were the most unfriendly nation people on the planet, British newspapers reported.

Maybe with the influx of immigrants they'll rise in the polls.

Kristallnacht on the way

From Canada.com:

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."

Iranian expatriates living in Canada yesterday confirmed reports that the Iranian parliament, called the Islamic Majlis, passed a law this week setting a dress code for all Iranians, requiring them to wear almost identical "standard Islamic garments."

Not surprising that they would do this. Not surprising that
converts from Islam will be stoned to death, or that women
rape victims who can't prove it was rape will be stoned as
adulteresses. What is surprising is that, should we come into
conflict with Iran, we will be the bad guy in a lot of peoples'
eyes.

Update: Well good. I'm glad to find out this was one of those internet things.

Jewish MP denies Iran badge plan
From correspondents in Tehran
May 20, 2006
IRAN'S only Jewish MP strongly denied reports in a Canadian newspaper overnight that Iran may force non-Muslims to wear coloured badges in public so they can be identified.

"This report is a complete fabrication and is totally false," Maurice Motammed said in Tehran. "It is a lie, and the people who invented it wanted to make political gain" by doing so.

Story: false. Iran: still a bad place to be if you're anything other than a devout Muslim.

Trouble in Turkey

From Militant Islam Monitor:

Islamist shoots five Turkish judges to protest headscarf ban -

A senior judge was shot dead in Turkey's highest administrative court today in an apparent protest at a ruling against the Muslim headscarf, which is barred from many places in this secular country.

The gunmen chanted "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) as he sprayed bullets across the courtroom before police guards had time to react.

This was over headscarfs. But the conflict is deeper than that. It's about Turkey trying to westernize to a level that will get them into the EU. And about the majority Muslim populus wanting to remain in the stone age. They do have freedom of the press though:

In February the Islamist Vakit newspaper published a picture of some of today's victims, under the headline "Here are THOSE members." The newspaper is currently under investigation for inciting attacks against the judges.

Jodie Foster

Jodie says, "The U.S. "squandered" the goodwill and sympathy other nations offered after the Sept. 11 terror attacks"



Then they adjusted her brain.

More Nightmares

How is it that rich, mansion owning, big car driving, private plane riding, cupcake eating fools like these can act smug about energy use? OK, maybe that Begley guy actually makes an effort to "live green" but he's the exception. These folks are the big energy consumers; they'll never conserve in their real day to day lives. Well, unless someone invents a car that runs on hypocrisy.

More Jihadist Playing Cards

"Aid Workers! In fact, all people working to rebuild
Iraq. Must they throw it in our faces? We were going to
get around to it one day."



The Children of Beslan. How dare they... well, we're
not sure what they did to offend Islam but it must
have been bad. After all, we gave them the ace of spades.

Nightmare

(via opinion journal)Imagine you go in for an IT job at the BBC but they mistake you for a guest expert and start interviewing you on camera... Watch as the "guest expert" realizes with a bang what has happened to him. (and the host slowly comes to enlightenment) ... har
or download the wmv

Update: From Annanova:

Mr Coma, who gamely bluffed his way through the interview, has since been asked for interviews by news organisations worldwide.

He said: “I feel like Prince Harry. Everyone wants to speak to me. I never imagined anything like this would ever happen.”

But he added: “I never really wanted to be famous. I just want to be an accountant - I hope I get the job at the BBC."

Hillary Ooops

Hillary speaks:

NEW YORK - After telling an audience that young people today "think work is a four-letter word," Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton said she apologized to her daughter.

"I said, 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to convey the impression that you don't work hard,'" Clinton said Sunday in a commencement address at Long Island University. "I just want to set the bar high, because we are in a competition for the future."

What? You say one right thing, out of all the stuff you say that is other-than right, and you have to rush off and retract it? Kids don't start out with a work ethic, Hillary. A huge number of them, those that don't go into the government, are slapped in the face when the first boss starts requiring effort from them. That's ok; it doesn't mean they won't learn - most of them do in this country. For those who can't there is the civil service and emigration to France.

Jihadist Playing Cards

"This is the infamous Uncle Sam and he is assigned
the ace of spades because he runs the United States,
the Great Satan. We have reason to believe he is in
Iraq and will be captured soon."




"This is the Jewish Man. He has caused us much trouble
because he continues to exist, despite all our efforts
to try and change that. For this reason we give him
the Ace of Spades, the most important card."



"The next card is the Ace of Spades, the most important
card, and it is reserved for the Buddhists. First, because
they aren't Muslims, but also because they resist becoming
Muslims. Even the usually effective beheading conversion
doesn't work on them."



"Catholics! Same thing. Convert or die. Ace of Spades."



"This is the Sikh card. It is the Ace of Spades because
the Sikhs are trying to steal our title of "religion
of peace." They do this through the subterfuge of
nonviolence, with full knowledge that this is our weak
spot.



"Who have we reserved the highest card for? Cowboys, all
cowboys. And the horse they rode in on. Ace, spades, get
used to it."



"Gay men. They must be stoned to death because they do
not accept the normal relationship of one man, one wife,
another wife, another wife who accepts her beatings with
good cheer, oh, and the other wife."



Harlots, for the same reason. Also, have you heard her
music lately? Ace of Spades for sure."

UPDATE: More

More cards, some of them so high on the list that they
rate the "Ace of Spades"

Muslims Upset (there's a oddity)

Pakistani religious students chant during an anti-Germany rally after the death of a Pakistani student in a Berlin jail, in Islamabad May 12, 2006. Amir Cheema, 28, died in custody after he was arrested in Germany in March on charges of attempting to kill the editor of a German newspaper, Die Welt, for reprinting cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad first published in Denmark last year. Islamist party activists organised small but fiery protests in Islamabad and several other cities of Pakistan on Friday against Cheema's death.
REUTERS/MIAN KHURSHEED

Hope someone will be investigating the Germans soon. Where's the Red Cross? Where's the UN? Course, now all the good will that Islam felt towards Germany goes right out the window. The theoretical good will, I mean. Possibly we're talking about theoretical good will that Islam might have had towards Germany one day. At the very least, this moves Germany up from the coveted spot at the bottom of Islam's list of countries to conquer.

I'm still looking for that one magical place in the world where Islam gets along with its neighbors.

Eugenics, scientific racism

Every once in awhile I can be struck dumb. Via NRO, a letter from Ron Weddington to Bill (compassionate) Clinton regarding RU486:

[Y]ou can start immediately to eliminate the barely educated, unhealthy and poor segment of our country. No, I'm not advocating some sort of mass extinction (sic) of these unfortunate people. Crime, drugs and disease are already doing that. The problem is that their numbers are not only replaced but increased by the birth of millions of babies to people who can't afford to have babies. There, I've said it. It's what we all know is true. . . .

I am not proposing that you send federal agents armed with Depo-Provera dart guns to the ghetto. You should use persuasion rather than coercion. . . . You made a good start when you appointed Dr. Elders, but she will need a lot of help. . . .

[G]overnment is also going to have to provide vasectomies, tubal ligations and abortions. . . . There have been about 30 million abortions in this country since Roe v. Wade. Think of all the poverty, crime and misery. . . and then add 30 million unwanted babies to the scenario. We lost a lot of ground during the Reagan-Bush religious orgy. We don't have a lot of time left.

We don't need more cannon fodder. We don't need more parishioners. We don't need more cheap labor. We don't need more poor babies

Here's Weddington's more-information-than-I-wanted PS:



So was this nutjob's letter trashed? Nope:

Compassionate liberal

Alec Baldwin plays pull-ma-finger.


From E-online a story about sharing a child, that just as easily could have been about dividing the assets of a 401k plan:

"Mr. Baldwin has a demanding professional career and he has the desire to change the schedule when it is not consistent with his professional obligations," Nelson said. "Miss Basinger has a career and can at times be very inflexible in changing the schedule. The issue here is balancing that tension."

The couple, who cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for their divorce after seven years of marriage, have been battling it out over their little girl ever since.

The sense I got out of it is that the best this kid can hope for is a stable nanny. The picture, by the way, is originally captioned, "Alec Baldwin arrives at the 5th Annual Adopt-A-Minefield Gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills." Let's hope he does a better job raising his minefield than he's doing with his real kid.

Girlfriends

Good news from Yahoo, terrorists are dumb:

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Nine Muslim men arrested in Australia's biggest security swoop, and charged with planning a terrorist act, pretended to be women texting girlfriends to secretly communicate, a prosecutor told a court on Friday.

"Hi babes, I'm missing you," one message read, while another said: "How you going love, did Sue want to meet me."

During a bail application for one of the men, Khaled Cheikho, 32, in the New South Wales Supreme Court, a prosecutor said the men used "covert phones" under false names and code to communicate, Australian Associated Press reported from the court.

One message between Cheikho and co-accused Mohammed Elomar referred to the purchase of some insulation tape allegedly used to make explosives, said prosecutor Wendy Abraham.

"Hello darling, could you let me know if you still have rolls of the silver tape," a message from Cheikho read.

Hopefully they'll be able to continue refining their code in prison. "Hi sweet face, missed you in the shower this morning." "Darling, be a love and loan me your shiv this weekend?" "Babydoll, come visit soon, we've got raisin wine brewing in the toilet."

NSA

From the USA Today article:

One major telecommunications company declined to participate in the program: Qwest.

According to sources familiar with the events, Qwest's CEO at the time, Joe Nacchio, was deeply troubled by the NSA's assertion that Qwest didn't need a court order - or approval under FISA - to proceed. Adding to the tension, Qwest was unclear about who, exactly, would have access to its customers' information and how that information might be used.

Oh good. Not only do you tell terrorists about the program, you also tell them how to avoid coming under scrutiny.

Unable to reach agreement, Nacchio's successor, Richard Notebaert, finally pulled the plug on the NSA talks in late 2004, the sources said.

The good news? Might be that there are some aspects of this that are still secret. I don't think that should deter Justice from thoroughly thrashing, stomping on, and eating alive whoever is responsible for this leak.

David Blaine

OK I respect David Blaine's super powers as much as the next guy, but if he's been in there for a week, shouldn't the water be getting yellow?

Goofy?

Armoured suits are 'too goofy' say US troops
By Francis Harris, in Washington
(Filed: 09/05/2006)

American troops have complained that a new armoured body suit designed to be worn in Iraq makes them look "goofy".

The water-cooled "alien spacesuits" are being handed out to turret gunners in their notoriously vulnerable Humvee vehicles.

OK, granted, they're not macho. But they're every bit as manly as what
the opposition is wearing.



I know, they don't all wear pink tutus.


Some of them wear blue ones.

Good News in Iraq

I am so sick of the constant negative coverage of Iraq. Sure there are problems, but the situation is nothing like what CNN or the WP would have you believe. How can you know this for sure? Ask anyone who has been there; they're amazed at the US media's coverage of the conflict. Want to know for sure? Ask the insurgents. From CENTCOM concerning captured insurgent documents:

“The discovery of theses documents is extremely relevant. This information confirms what the Government of Iraq, Coalition Forces and ultimately the people of Iraq already know - that AQIZ’s role only attempts to impede Iraqis in following the road to prosperity, security and national unity,” said MNF-I spokesman, Brig. Gen. Rudy Wright.

According to the translated al-Qaida in Iraq’s documents, the Mujahideen’s only power lies in surprise ‘hit and run’ attacks, or setting up explosive charges and booby traps that predominantly target civilian men, women and children.

According to the author of the Baghdad State of Affairs document (translated), “The actions of the Iraqi Security Forces are having a significant negative impact on the Mujahideen’s ability to operate in Baghdad. Al Qaida in Iraq attacks Mosques and other public places to draw media attention and is having difficulty recruiting members because the people of Iraq do not support its cause.”

Iraqi Security and Coalition Forces continue to conduct operations that provide for the safety and security of all Iraqis. The Government of Iraq is presently working on forming its new National Unity Government according to its constitution voted on by all Iraqi people and is a hindrance to the terrorists who do not support this cause.

Mark Steyn

Mark Steyn: New coalition of willing needed in Darfur
Writing in the Austrailian, just a bit:

The good people of Darfur have been entrusted to the legitimacy of the UN for more than two years and it's killing them. In 2004, after months of expressing deep concern, grave concern, deep concern over the graves and deep grave concern over whether the graves were deep enough, Kofi Annan took decisive action and appointed a UN committee to look into what's going on. Eventually, they reported back that it's not genocide.

Atwar Bahjat

I've been debating weather to link to the Atwar Bahjat story for several days. The subject matter was one deterrent - it's a gruesome story - but also, it was being well covered by others. Now there's news that the video, muslim-porno really, was of a different victim. Does that matter? Well, to me it doesn't so much. See, the tragedy of Atwar Bahjat wasn't so much the fact of how she was killed, it was that she was killed, at such a young age, and for such stupid reasons. But that is the story of the twenty-first century Muslim isn't it? They don't need much to trigger the urge to kill.

Anyway, from The Jawa Report:

A gruesome beheading video delivered to the Sunday Times purporting to be of slain journalist Atwar Bahjat is a hoax. On Sunday, May 7th, the Times reported that they had received a low-quality video of Atwar Bahjat being slowly beheaded. That video is now being circulated on the internet as the "Atwar Bahjat" beheading video.

Well, it's not really a hoax, is it? Someone was murdered and their body, the one God gave them btw, was mutilated. I haven't seen the video, and I won't, but the description is bad enough. The description is instructive in that it shows you what these brave Muslim warriors are made of. (excrement) This is porn for the twisted Muslim mind. And don't worry that moderate Muslims will be offended. They're all obviously asleep.

Norwoojans Gone Wild

From Aftenposten:

Drunk Norwegian tourists nearly lynched in Egypt
Two Norwegians, part of a group of intoxicated Scandinavian tourists on holiday in Egypt, were nearly lynched at the resort town of Hurghada this week, after their antics deeply offended the local population.

The two Norwegians and three Swedes ended up being arrested by local police, who protected them from an angry mob.

The troubled started after the five Scandinavian tourists got drunk, dressed themselves up like Muslim pilgrims and started dancing around the statue of a mermaid located in a town square, and pretending she symbolized Allah.......

Norway's foreign ministry was pulled into the case, but an official at the Norwegian Embassy in Cairo said he hoped to be able to get the Norwegians released and sent home.

He said the embassy had been in contact with Egyptian authorities. An official at the Norwegians' tour company, Apollo, could confirm on Friday that the men, all aged 35-40, had been released and were free to leave Egypt.

Free to leave Egypt? Hungover or not, I hope they left
a trail of dust in their wake.

May Day Protests

We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore.






OK, I shouldn't make fun. But the real protest was even more strange -- these are old communists yearning for days gone by. And I guess I can understand the being stuck in the past; look at Neil Young.

What's her excuse though?



Know what communism gets you sweetie? Old guys like this, whose net worth Forbes estimates at $ 900 million.



While "the people" are forced to replace their broken eyeglass lenses with the bottoms from pickle jars.

Wisdom

Oh, I love hugging. I wish I was an octopus, so I could hug 10 people at a time!
-Drew Barrymore

Well, eight arms really, Drew. But if you bundle them up...
Ah, but some are bound to escape.

More Drew Wisdom:

I've been a vegetarian for years and years. I'm not judgemental about others who aren't, I just feel I cannot eat or wear living creatures.
-Drew Barrymore

Well duh. Isn't it just like the Hollywood Elite to be unaware that you need to kill the animals before you eat or wear them?

More Still:

I don't want to be stinky poo poo girl, I want to be happy flower child.
-Drew Barrymore

OK, Drew Gets Serious:

I aspire to be that, to be a voice of reason one day.
-Drew Barrymore

Patrick Kennedy

Kennedy Family Motto: "I can explain this."


Michelle Malkin, as usual, has extensive coverage.
OK, it's dangerous to have Kennedys on our roads, but it's also kind of funny. I'll have to see if somewhere there isn't a bookie taking bets on which Kennedy will run amuck next.

Update I: I found the Kennedy coat of arms and, sure enough, the clan motto is, "I can explain."



Just needed to know where to look.


Update II:
Well darn it. It's no fun ridiculing them if they're going to accept responsibility for their actions. Ha! I just said in effect, "Darn it he's getting help for his problem." But no, that's a liberal trick, wishing ill on your opponents. I'm glad he's getting help, and now, of course, further making of fun would be in bad taste. I'm saving the images though. They can be reworked for the next Kennedy who goes off the rails. Oh come on, you know one of them will before the year is out.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One day after he crashed his car near the U.S. Capitol, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, son of Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy, said on Friday he would seek treatment for a long-term drug abuse problem.

Good luck Patrick. Really.

Update III: But now as for Ted. (click on image to make it big, like the senator's head)


tech tags: patrick kennedy

Why Sudan But Not Iraq?

Oh, the horror.

Austin Bay asks George Clooney why the disconnect. Why is Dafur
worthy of intervention and not Iraq?

....a terrible genocide directed by the Sudanese government is occurring in Sudan's western Darfur region. George Clooney essentially wants the United States and United Nations to invade Darfur to stop the genocide.

My question is: how long will it take for this same bunch to begin their opposition to our effort after we go into Darfur? Will they condemn us for killing civilians? Will they say we're breeding more terrorists? Will they encourage our opposition by marching in the streets and demanding that the Bushitlers get out of Africa?

First, Stop Doing Evil

Or, maybe, Do Less Evil.

Tim Robbins

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Tim Robbins has turned his massive acting and directing skills towards the problem of the War on Terror. No, not towards the problem of terrorists -- the problem of the war on terror. Well, he can tell you:

"In my country we seem to be sanctioning renditioning of innocent people without trial ... put them in jail without telling anyone ... and torture them out of suspicion of what we think they might do," Robbins said.

See, that's what we seem to be doing. Not sure how Tim found out who was transported, how they were treated, how innocent they were, or why we would do it. Still, his White Flag Plan, developed with input from John F Kerry, who was in Viet Nam, will put an end to "rendition". Thank goodness for actors. Is there anything they can't do?

Update I - Tim, Mentor Mr. Depp Please
By the way, doesn't Tim Robbins look like he's ready to say something brilliant in that picture? Chalk that up to the glasses and long hours of rehearsal in front of a mirror. I bet he'd be holding a pipe if that stupid flag wasn't in the way. Anyway, he looks like the go-to guy if you have a question about anything. Got a question about Descartes' influence on Sartre? Just ask, Tim will knock one out of the park for you.

Not so much on the looking-brilliant train is Johnny Depp. Who said a few years back:

The Pirates of the Caribbean star — who lives part time in France with Vanessa Paradis and their two children — told the German magazine Stern, “America is dumb, is something like a dumb puppy that has big teeth — that can bite and hurt you, aggressive.”

Good Johnny, now put on the glasses and look pensive. That's it, remember pensive, pensive, pensive, good, now contemplative, yes, contemplative..... Ah, dammit Johnny, wrong glasses.


Update II - Didn't I say Tim looked like he should be holding a pipe?




Oh and I did find a picture
of Johnny doing the grown-up face, glasses and all.