German archeologists say they have discovered the toilet on which Martin Luther wrote the 95 Theses that launched the Protestant Reformation. Luther frequently alluded to the fact that he suffered from chronic constipation and spent much of his time in contemplation on the toilet.
Been there. Done that.
Experts say they have been certain for years that the 16th century religious leader wrote the groundbreaking Theses while on das klo, as the Germans call it. But they did not know where the object was until they discovered the stone construction after recently stumbling across the remains of an annex of his house in Wittenberg, southwest of Berlin, during plans to plant a garden. "This is a great find," Stefan Rhein, director of the Luther Memorial Foundation, said.
And how many times has that been said about a 450 year old dumper?
"Particularly because we're talking about someone whose texts we have concentrated on for years, while little attention has been paid to anything three-dimensional and human behind them. The 450-year-old toilet, which was very advanced for its time, is made out of stone blocks and, unusually, has a seat with a hole.
Pooping was a much messier business before they put that hole in the seat...
Underneath is a cesspool attached to a primitive drain.
"It was air-conditioned in the winter time!"
Luther, a professor of biblical theology at Wittenberg University, nailed his 95 Theses to the church door at Wittenberg, attacking the corrupt trade in indulgences. The act led to his excommunication, but he was protected by Frederick II of Saxony and was able to develop and spread his ideas. Rhein said the foundation would stop at letting the annual 80,000 visitors to Wittenberg sit on the toilet. "There's a point where you have to draw the line," he said.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/22/2004 20:24 Comments ||
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Actually, as a lifetime, baptised and confirmed Lutheran, this is really a very special discovery. Tell us more, tell us more...Was there a special rack for the books and all?
JAPAN awoke yesterday to scenes of widespread devastation as efforts to recover from the country's deadliest storm in a decade got under way. At least 57 people were killed and more than 300 injured in powerful winds and some of the heaviest rainfall in memory. Typhoon Tokage is the third to blow onshore in as many weeks, making 2004 a record year with ten landfalls so far. So far this month, typhoons have claimed more than 150 lives. Last night 32 people were still missing, including drivers whose cars were swept out to sea and members of emergency services called to deal with a cave-in on a main route near Kyoto.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/22/2004 4:51:15 PM ||
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Some members of the Chicago Bears received flu shots despite a nationwide shortage of the vaccine. The Chicago Bulls also were vaccinated. The shots were offered to everyone on the team, but Bears officials said less than half of the roughly 60 members received vaccinations, mainly those with "asthma-type conditions." Remaining doses were returned to the distributor.
A local health official described the vaccinations as regrettable, saying he doubted anyone on the team was in a high-risk category. "I'd like to know why an athlete in top shape is being given a flu shot," said Dale Galassie, executive director of the health department in Lake County, north of Chicago, where the team trains. Some players said they declined the shots, preferring to reserve the vaccine for people at greater risk for severe flu complications. "I didn't get one because with what's going on everywhere, I shouldn't," defensive end Michael Haynes said. "I don't need one as bad as some people, so I said no."
The Bulls also train in the county north of Chicago. Bulls players received the vaccinations Oct. 4 -- one day before the shortage was announced. "We absolutely need them," guard Eric Piatkowski said. "The way we travel, we're going in and out of cold and warm climates. I won't say we need them more than some 85-year-old person, because obviously we don't. But I'm glad we got them."
The vaccine shortage was caused when one of the United States' two flu vaccine suppliers, Chiron Corp., was barred from shipping its vaccine because of contamination. That cut almost in half the 100 million doses U.S. officials were expecting. Healthy Americans were urged to forgo shots so there will be enough for those at highest risk of getting seriously ill from flu. Those at risk include babies and toddlers ages 6 months to 23 months, adults 65 or older, and people with chronic illnesses.
#1
So, are Kerry and the Democrats gonna hammer them for taking flu shots that could be used to save the lives of elderly voters in Florida? Didn't think so.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/22/2004 13:25 Comments ||
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Somewhat OT: if there are so few vaccine providers for such crucial prevention of common diseases, what are the odds of terrorists attacking them? There have been arguments about the limited number of vaccines producers in the US, and blame goes mainly to trial lawyers and government intervention. What about ensuring a diversified supply of vaccines based on the needs of homeland security? a vigorous free market protected from lawyer-ghouls is our best defense against many types of terrorist attacks.
To echo a question I've asked elsewhere, who do I contact if I have opinions on specific dangers to the West and ideas on how to better protect ourselves? is there a structure in place to allow citizens to think, plan, and contribute to Homeland Security? (other than an 800 number)
#3
Kalle - Here's a quickie link for contacting Homeland Security in your state. I'm sure there are more / better links - but I don't have better at hand, sorry.
#4
"We absolutely need them," guard Eric Piatkowski said. "The way we travel, weâre going in and out of cold and warm climates. I wonât say we need them more than some 85-year-old person, because obviously we donât. But Iâm glad we got them."
NBA Groupies and hookers in the big cities of North America thank you, Eric.
#5
For what it's worth, the story has been updated on the sports radio station in Chicago (I'm in the northwest suburbs). The Bears received the doses before the shortage situation developed. Only two players actually received the doses (the team is declining to name them because of the laws on medical privacy). Both of the players have ashmatic conditions that are in line with the guidelines the CDC issued for dispensing what vaccine is available. The remainder of the doses have been returned to the distributor.
None of which changes the fact that the Bears have been playing like they were brain-dead, not sick. But at least we beat the Packers.
Posted by: Darth VAda ||
10/22/2004 20:58 Comments ||
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thanks .com -- not quite what I was hoping for, probably because they're not really interested in citizens' defense. I'll dig.
Edited for brevity.
Constructing random monuments is all the rage in Russia. After decades of the obligatory statues of Lenin and Stalin on every town's main square, people are acquiring a taste for sculptures that honor everyday things or overlooked characters from Russian culture. Famous poet Alexander Pushkin is an ever popular monument item, and a cultural figure that is a constant source of folklore. However, a new sculpture in Pskov region depicts not the poet, but a hare that supposedly ran across Pushkin's path in 1825, when Pushkin was fleeing exile to St. Petersburg. One new statue in the Moscow metro commemorates the misery of all homeless dogs. Entitled "Empathy", the dog sculpture is situated in a metro passage where two years ago a stray dog was viciously butchered by 22-year-old model Juliana Romanova. Other new projects feature products that are symbolic for a particular city, or beloved Russian foods. One such sculpture will be a tribute to the processed cheese "Druzhba" (friendship). This year the cheese turns 40 years old, and many consider it a true symbol of the Soviet era. In Minusinsk, Krasnoyarsk Region, the mayor announced a contest for the best design of a tomato sculpture, to be set up on the central square. In Novgorod, pensioner Nikolai Zaryadov has constructed a makeshift potato monument in his home village: a two meter pipe with a large rock, presumably a potato, on top. At the foot of this potato shrine is the inscription "Thank you Columbus, thank you Peter the Great, for our beloved vegetable!" Zaryadov says he constructed the sculpture so that the current generation of Russians can remember that the vegetable saved millions of people from starvation. We can't let the Russians outdo us on this front. I suggest we start collecting funds immediately for a giant bronze statue of Cheez Whiz!
Posted by: Dar ||
10/22/2004 11:54:14 AM ||
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#1
All the above mentioned is obviously the work of TROTSKYITE DEVIATIONIST WRECKERS! One day these capitalist lapdogs will meet their fate...
#2
"Zaryadov says he constructed the sculpture so that the current generation of Russians can remember that the vegetable saved millions of people from starvation."
And source of vodka, of course, Russia's Breakfast of Champions.
#3
Russian vodka uses grain, not potatoes. You're thinking of the Polish crap.
As to or in the significance of the potato, that persists. Perhaps as many as a third of the population live off of potatoes and other vegetables grown in their backyard or in communal plots.
#4
Oops - Did this change over time - or was it always the case? I recall reading this factoid in multiple places, mainly the spy novels of my earlier years, when there was this nasty Cold War thingy on. Sorry!
#5
Russian vodka's the best in the world, by far. Next time you're leaving Sheremetyevo stop by duty-free and get some Gzhel'. About $10 per liter and far superior to western junk priced many times higher.
#6
Now a citizen, my wife, about to cast her second vote for "W", grew up there, and remembers all the statues, now asunder. The Stalin ones are gone, some melted for doorstops, others for kitchen utensils. Don't mention Stalin to her though, or you'll get a 30 minute litany about how this "Crazy Georgian cockroach who had everyone scared or duped!" Melt down statues? Excellent.
#8
I really liked the dog one. I work in rescue and get some dogs that have been really abused, like a beautiful Samoyed (is there any other kind?) that was used as a paintball target.
#9
jackal - Ah, Samoyeds - my absolute favorite breed. I've had 2 and they were, hands down, the smartest dogs I've ever personally dealt with. Just amazingly fast learners and perfect even temperament. If I lived in a colder climate, I'd finagle / rearrange things so I could get one. My last one, King, weighed 80 lbs and was incredibly intimidating, lol! Scared the shit outta everyone, man and beast alike! But he was sweet to everyone I permitted "in" - and he waited for me to invite them, too. Awesome companion.
A Georgia family is trying to figure out why a woman moved into their home while they were away on vacation. Beverly Mitchell, of the Atlanta suburb of Douglasville, said she returned from 2œ weeks in Greece to find that her personal belongings -- including clothes, furniture and dishes -- had been removed. She said most of the carpet had also been taken out and the house had been redecorated. "I was ready to strangle this woman," Mitchell said. "How could you not know someone lives here?" Sheriff's deputies found Beverly Valentine, 53, in a bathroom and charged her with burglary. Police said Valentine told them she used a shovel to break into the house. Mitchell said the woman had the electricity switched over to her name and also moved in a washer and dryer. She brought in her own furniture, clothes and decorations and even repainted rooms in the house. "Now we have portraits hanging on the wall that we didn't have before," Mitchell said. "And we've got all kinds of new appliances." Mitchell has moved all of Valentine's belongings out but doesn't know what to do with them. She hopes the woman's relatives will reclaim the goods. "It's the most bizarre thing I've ever seen," Mitchell said. Investigators at the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said they are unsure why Valentine moved into the woman's home. The suspect has not yet explained her actions. "She's never met her before so we really don't know why this lady picked this particular house," said sheriff's Lt. Bobby Holmes.
Posted by: Dar ||
10/22/2004 11:27:17 AM ||
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Anybody who has ever moved into a new house knows that this urge to redecorate is a sign of insanity. Except my wife, of course.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
10/22/2004 12:19 Comments ||
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#2
all that in 2-1/2 weeks, huh? WTF???
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/22/2004 14:00 Comments ||
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#3
I can forsee a new show on one of the cable channels: "House-Break Makeover"
There's no way in hell this would happen in any neighborhood I've ever lived in (except possibly in my NYC apartment building - who would know?). Somebody would have been over there investigating why lights were on, deliveries being made, etc.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/22/2004 19:27 Comments ||
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#6
tu3031 you have to get us that picture. I will archive it in the moonbat folder I am starting.
#8
As South Africa in the nineties was gaining a well-deserved reputation as the world's best haven for criminals, a family arrived home from holiday to find that their entire house had been stolen. The thieves had demolished and removed it, brick by brick. Imagine driving up to your front gate, thinking it's great to be home ....
A bull moose was suspended 50 feet in the air after its antlers became tangled in a power line under construction southeast of Fairbanks. The incident happened on October 5 on the Pogo Mine Road. The moose apparently became tangled in electrical wires while the line, under construction to the Teck Pogo gold mine about 80 miles southeast of Fairbanks, was close to the ground. Workers noticed something wrong after tightening the line, and backtracked to find the moose hanging by its antlers.
"Hummm, I don't recall that being there before."
The moose was alive when it was lowered to the ground, but Department of Fish and Game officials decided to kill it rather than tranquilize it before removing the wires. Officials say they were worried the stressed moose would die and the drugged meat would not be salvageable.
Lunch is now being served.
"The only unfortunate part is we had to shoot the moose," said Gabriel Marian, president of City Electric Inc., the contractor erecting the power line to the mine. "It would be more of a feel-good story if we had let it down and it ran off."
"But this is Alaska, winter is coming and my freezer is empty."
The moose may have weighed as much as 1,200 pounds. Dave Davenport, a technician for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Delta Junction, said he is trying recover the antlers.
This would be the Alaskan version of a car swarm.
"My guess is he was in full rut and probably seen that line moving out there," and decided to fight, said Marvin Pickens, line construction manager for City Electric in Anchorage.
Horny, ready to jump anything that moved, sounds like my years in Alaska.
Crews can lay up to five miles of line at a time before tightening it with a giant hydraulic winch, said Pickens. The line is pulled through leaders on the crossties at the top of the power poles and then winched tight with as much as 5,000 pounds of pressure, he said. "As you're pulling, it constantly droops up and down," said Pickens. "My guess is that he was right in the middle of one of the sections when it got pulled up." The moose was likely suspended in the air for only a matter of minutes before workers investigated and found it, Marian said. It was tangled in static, the half-inch cable that is strung up next to the power lines to serve as a lightning rod, said Pickens.
Moose fishing, next on Fox.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/22/2004 9:04:08 AM ||
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1-4 lbs. moose roast
3-4 strips bacon
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. dry mustard
4 tbsp. brown sugar
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
2 tbsp. chopped onions
3 tbsp. flour
1 cup cranberry juice
1 cup milk
Remove fat from moose and wipe well with clean cloth.
Lard the roast as follows - cut bacon into 2" strips, pierce the roast with a sharp knife at 2 " interval and insert bacon into holes - place roast into glass or earthenware bowl .
Mix the following ingredients and pour over roast.
Cover and marinate roast for 24 to 48 hours in the refrigerator.
Turn roast often if marinate does not cover completely.
Marinate - salt, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, mustard, brown sugar, water and vinegar -remove roast from marinate and place in covered roaster at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour
Add onion flakes, cranberry juice and continue cooking roast until tender, approximately 1 more hour
When cooked, remove from pan to hot platter.
Add flour to pan dripping and cook for 5 minutes
Add milk, stirring constantly until gravy is desired thickness.
Britain's geologists are about to celebrate the fact that the universe is exactly 6,000 years old. At 6pm tonight at the Geological Society of London, scientists will raise their glasses to James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh, who in 1650 used the chronology of the Bible to calculate the precise date and moment of creation. Working from the book of Genesis, and risking some speculation on the Hebrew calendar, he calculated that it began at 6pm on Saturday October 22, 4004 BC. Actually, he put the date at October 23, and then pedantically realised that time must have begun the night before, because the Bible said that "the evening and the morning were the first day."
The geologists selected the anniversary for a day-long conference on some of the fakes, frauds and hoaxes that have plagued geological and palaeontological research for centuries. "It's not that we think Archbishop Ussher's date was a fraud," said Ted Nield, the society's communications officer. "It's just that it was spectacularly wrong." Dr Nield conceded, too, that in toasting the archbishop's calculations the geologists were committing another error. More than 6,000 years have passed since 4004 BC. The symmetry is only apparent. The date is a mere numerological reflection. The real anniversary passed unnoticed, in 1997.
#1
This is really a celebration of the Bishop Ussher's dedicated use of Freshman Logic.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/22/2004 13:27 Comments ||
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Finite Universe - Infinite God? Don't think so.
Infinite God - No Beginning - No End
Multiple Big Bangs - Ours 15 billion years +/- past.
God : Initiates Big Bangs, life, self-realization (Man "like us" knows good & evil),
and - placing of giants - Moses, Buddha, Jesus
as true prophets, also equivalent souls on other worlds...
soul immortal - Person Good/Evil in life determines afterlife where Heaven & Hell exist - physical body is mortal -
Rest in Universe is up to physical laws written by God, but rarely interferred with...
Genisis is parable....
#5
Thanks .com -- I needed something to calm me down - God can help. I absolutely lost it when I saw the Mozambiqui on Drudge, holding up a beer and looking drunk, and so I posted an opinion, but I may have gone to far...
PRINCE Harry's brawl with a snapper came at the end of a night's clubbing that saw him swigging vodka cocktails, tequila and beer... This situation should not have happened. Unless the royal family wants to be reduced by a member or two, the young Prince should have about four SAS gentlemen around him--ones that would insure that *nobody* uninvited got within 25 ft. of his highness without getting ought broken.
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
10/22/2004 11:59:12 AM ||
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So what's wrong about having his picture taken? Big f'ing deal.
Posted by: Rafael ||
10/22/2004 13:27 Comments ||
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It's not that simple. They swarm him every time he steps out on the sidewalk.
Posted by: Tom ||
10/22/2004 13:43 Comments ||
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#3
And just one of them needs to scream "Al Ackbar!"
Posted by: Capt America ||
10/22/2004 21:49 Comments ||
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Remember, Harry is the spare in Diana's "heir and a spare." None of the rules are the same for him as for Crown Prince William. Just as the rules for Fergie were so much less stringent than for Diana.
Casanova put his faith in oysters and ate 50 a day. But a better bet for fighting the infections that flourish at this time of year are the vitamins and other antioxidants found in cranberry juice.
THE BELIEF THAT the thrushes in the garden are better than meteorologists at long-range forecasting and can replace the now-retired Michael Fish seems a bit daft. It sounds just as unlikely that some scientific magic alerted the hollies when flowering last spring that there would be a need for more berries in the autumn, so that the birds could be well fattened to survive the winter. But amateur forecasters noted the profusion of berries, which, along with other alleged signs of a harsh winter ahead, provoked them to issue dire warnings.
Berries are just a old wives tale. Everyone knows you have to check the woolly caterpillars to see how bad the winter is going to be.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/22/2004 3:21:08 AM ||
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#1
Casanova put his faith in oysters and ate 50 a day
Silly journalist. Don't people recognize a metaphor when they see one?
Russia has deemed Sudan a major arms client and a model in the use of Russian military platforms to quell an African insurgency, the Middle East Newsline web-site reports. Russian officials and industry sources said Sudan has become a leading importer of Russian weapons in Africa and an example of Moscow's new policy to finance arms sales. They said Sudan has procured MiG-29 fighter-jets, Mi-24 attack helicopters and a range of weapons and munitions. "Since 2002, there have been positive changes in military-technical cooperation between Russia and the African states," the state-owned Russian arms export agency Rosoboronexport said. "There has been a noticeable activation in relationship between Russia and its traditional partners —- Angola, Ethiopia, Sudan, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Uganda." In August, Russia completed its delivery of 12 MiG-29s to Sudan. Officials said the delivery was completed five months ahead of schedule at the request of Khartoum. Be sure to ask for the Darfur Discount.
Posted by: Dar ||
10/22/2004 12:02:41 PM ||
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The Russian government will auction the license to develop the Far East Sakhalin-3 oil fields within three months of a new law on mineral reserves coming into effect, the official newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta reported Friday. Rights to explore the Sakhalin-3 fields were originally granted in 1993 to U.S. oil giants ExxonMobil Inc., Chevron Texaco Inc., and Russian state oil company Rosneft. The consortium had hoped to develop the block under a production-sharing agreement but the license was never issued in the absence of a legal framework for such agreements. Exxonmobil has said that it would view a re-auction of the development license as a violation of its rights.
Posted by: Dar ||
10/22/2004 12:00:53 PM ||
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#1
Customarily, this sort of bullshit is pulled by backwater shithole countries because:
a) There is no real Rule of Law, so they can
b) The requisite palms were not (sufficiently) greased
[ranty-rant]
In the case of Russia, the "but the license was never issued in the absence of a legal framework for such agreements" argument certainly puts Russia squarely in the backwater / shithole category.
Why did they make a deal? Why did they even imply they could make a deal? Because the game hadn't been rigged, yet. The Tsar hadn't gained total control of the power mechanisms (co-opted or replaced those in the key decision-making positions) at that time, I guess.
Now, it's different, heh. He's got the whole of the Gov't in his pocket. Time to get rid of those pesky deals made before you came to total power. Now he can simply change the rules, rape, loot, and pillage anyone who steps forward. In this case, the verbiage indicates to me that Tsar Putty didn't approve the old deal (see reasons a & b, above), and now he can simply reneg - who's to stop him? Anyone think he'll send this to The Hague? Lol!
Yeah, yeah, I know there is a small army of Putty Apologists present hereabouts, but this guy is a major scumbag, cutthroat, and totalitarian. Sure, he might be better than some Nationalist alternative who wants to reignite the Cold War and resurrect the Sov Union, but that does not make the Tsar worth warm spit. IMHO, he's not.
"All for me, and all for me, let's hear it for me!"
-Tsar Putty the Grate
[/ranty-rant-rant]
#3
The Russians know they have the upper hand, and they're exercising it to the max. Ain't many massive oilfields left the size of Sakhalin-3, and the oil majors desperately need new reserves.
Posted by: Dar ||
10/22/2004 11:43 ||
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Russia's parliament ratified the Kyoto Protocol in a historic vote meaning that the UN global warming pact is now virtually guaranteed to enter into force.
A key question confronted the European Union last week: Should grown men and women who get their kicks by pretending to shoot one another with toy weapons have the freedom to do so? Um...Wait a minnut, lemme think...
German authorities, and now the EU's highest tribunal, think the answer to that question is no. On Oct. 14, the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice upheld a ban on the Bonn "Laserdrome", where participants simulated killing each other with lasers. The court said nothing about whether the lasers can actually inflict physical pain. Instead, it found that the game operated by the Bonn-based company, Omega Spielhallen-und-Automatenaufstellungs-GmbH, is an affront to human dignity. It's actually the horribly agglutinative nature of the German language that's the real affront...
"The prohibition on the commercial exploitation of games involving the simulation of acts of violence against persons, in particular the representation of acts of homicide, corresponds to the level of protection of human dignity which the national constitution seeks to guarantee" in Germany, reads the seven-page judgment. Yeah, right. Pay no attention the the actual death and dismemberment ongoing in europe, it's the people playing a game that are the clear threat to civilization here!
#4
If you don't let them work off their spare energy shooting each other with harmless lasers and paintballs, they are going to continue their present practice of shaving their heads and attacking dark-skinned foreigners.
Polish lawmakers narrowly voted against reintroducing the death penalty Friday, seven years after abolishing it to meet European human rights standards. Parliament's lower house voted 198-194 with 14 abstentions to reject the proposal by the center-right opposition Law and Justice party. President Aleksander Kwasniewski has said he would veto any law restoring the death penalty, calling it a "mistaken concept that goes against European standards" and the teachings of Polish-born Pope John Paul II.
Premeditated murder apparently isn't...
Friday's vote followed a series of headline-grabbing murders in Poland, including the case of a young woman who was tortured and killed on a train, then dumped out of the window. The killings prompted conservative legislators in June to propose bringing back the death penalty for murders committed with "extreme cruelty" and with motives "deserving special condemnation."
Premeditation would be enough to meet my personal criterion. It's my opinion the perps should join their victims as a simple matter of justice.
Poland, which joined the European Union on May 1, eliminated the death penalty in 1997 while moving to adopt EU standards. In 2000, Poland ratified a protocol to the European Charter on Human Rights that pledges it not to use capital punishment.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2004 11:14:46 AM ||
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#1
Could they backdate their ruling to say, 1941? Might have avoided Auschwitz...
#2
If they had mandatory life without parole, there wouldn't be as much tension about death penalty between the US and Europe; but when cannibalistic pre-med murderers get 8 years in Germany, and other categories of murderers get "counseling", we start seeing that Atlantic rift split wider and wider.
English should be made compulsory for all French schoolchildren, according to an official report which appeared yesterday to howls of outrage from politicians and teaching unions.
Sacre Bleu!
Rest at link.
Posted by: ed ||
10/22/2004 7:06:47 AM ||
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My favorite:
Jacques Myard, an MP from the ruling UMP [Chirac's] party, said that English would be displaced as the world's most-spoken language because of growing competition from Spanish and Chinese. "If we must make a language compulsory, it should be Arabic," he said.
Posted by: Ben Dover ||
10/22/2004 8:54 Comments ||
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"If we must make a language compulsory, it should be Arabic," he said.
He then wiped the fecal residue from his tongue and lips.
#3
Note that this maroon is from the right-of-center party in France. Forget the rhetoric: for the French elites, this is all about winning muslim votes. Given the corrupt and inbred nature of the French political class, we can expect more of the same in future years.
As regards middle east policy, France will tilt toward the jihadists regardless of who occupies in the Elysee Palace.
#5
And another thing. English isn't the world's most spoken language and has never been. I believe Mandarin claims that spot.
However, English is the language of aviation, banking, medicine, science, etc. You know, areas that Arabic culture hasn't contributed to in about 600 years.
#6
I believe the distinctions go this way. Mandarin is spoken by more people in the world. Spanish is the dominant language of the most nations in the world. English is spoken by people in more countries throughout the world (as first and/or second language).
#8
DB - I would feel the same way if it weren't for the lucky fact that I didn't take French until my Freshman year in college - and dropped the class to minimize conflicts of interest... I was sleeping with the 25 yr old Prof, heh. Her French was awesome!
#9
It's a great language and has a great literature full of examples of clear thinking, courage and heroism. France's problem is of recent origin and has to do mainly with a corrupt and desiccated elite. That can change; let's hope it does.
#12
My degree is in French-it's very depressing to note that I won't likely be using it as a tool of cooperation in the foreseeable future. OTOH, I shouldn't get too depressed-when I look at the demand for Arabic right now (the language spoken by so many of our current enemies) and at the state of French-US relations, I can take comfort in the thought that my skills may be in demand again in my lifetime. Sigh.
#13
"The spacecraft has apparently been taken over â "conqured" if you will â by a master race of giant space Arabs. It's difficult to tell from this vantage point whether they will consume the captive French men or merely enslave them. One thing is for certain: there is no stopping them; the Arabs will soon be here. And I for one welcome our new Islamic overlords. I'd like to remind them that as a trusted TV personality I could be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground sugar caves." â Kent Brockman (paraphrased)
#15
No language is ever useless -- if only because it gives one new ways to think about things, and grows new connections between the brain cells. Literally! I studied Flemish for one year -- my mother teases me that it isn't even proper Dutch. But being able to say 'Ik wil dat ook doon' (I'll do that, too), and almost not giggling as the words come out of my mouth, makes every minute worthwhile. RWV, you can curse in Russian, knowledge that was kept from me because the university kept cancelling the class (not enough students signed up, darn it).
Y'know, if the French students all are taught Arabic, they'll be able to read the Koran in the original, and then its much less likely they'll be fooled by talk of "the religion of Peace." And the alphabet is stunningly beautiful.
More than a third of Turkish women believe they deserve to be beaten if they argue with their husbands, deny them sex, neglect children or burn a meal, according to a survey reported by the Anatolia news agency yesterday. The survey found that 39 per cent of women said their husbands were right to beat them. In rural areas, the figure rose to 57 per cent. As many as half of all Turkish women are estimated to be into that sort of thing victims of physical violence in their families. The survey and report come at a crucial moment as the European Union, which Turkey is seeking to join, has put pressure on the government to protect women.
Sounds like a great business opportunity. Somebody could make a lot of money selling the Turks leather crotchless underpants, handcuffs, leashes, leather corsets...
In the Anatolia poll, arguing with one's husband topped the list of justified reasons for domestic violence, followed by spending too much and neglecting children. The poll of 8,075 married women by Hacettepe University, Ankara, was funded by the EU and the Turkish government.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/22/2004 3:16:29 AM ||
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#1
Disgusting.
Posted by: Tom ||
10/22/2004 8:13 Comments ||
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#2
Bet you feel pretty manly now, Murat--you big stud, you!
Posted by: Dar ||
10/22/2004 11:32 Comments ||
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#4
but we must not judge their customs, like the evil scarf-ban, right, Lex?
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/22/2004 11:35 Comments ||
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#5
Frank G -- you're right: we must not judge, lest we appear arrogant and insensitive. Who are we as big, mean Americans to tell someone they shouldn't get beaten by their husbands?
#6
RN--Good question. For that matter, we haven't determined if Murat is human either!
Posted by: Dar ||
10/22/2004 14:52 Comments ||
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#7
More than a third of Turkish women believe they deserve to be beaten if they argue with their husbands, deny them sex, neglect children or burn a meal...
Great. So the next time some lefty rag prints a sob story about how we need to send money to help those poor, helpless women in the Middle East with fnancial support of one kind or another, we can say that we are cutting it 39%, based on the number of women over there who like being abused. Sounds like a plan.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2004 9:51:53 PM ||
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#1
Chirac stated to Er'dogman, "International cooperation depends on trust. You can trust France and likewise, France can trust Turkey. The EU took note of the outcome of Turkey's sensitive negotiations with the Americans, prior to the Iraqi war. This is the type of trust that we are looking for and this is the type of trust that Turkey can count on from the EU."
#2
Has there ever, in the history of the West, been a more pathetic, mewling, foolish, pitiful, contemptible, shameful, (did I say pathetic?) display of unrequited fawning and unrelenting fellatio? Masterful diplomacy, Yippie. You stab the truest, most faithful ally you've ever had, and will every have, square in the back for the chance to lick Chirac's pointy shoes. Good choice, motherfucker. You'll be a second-class dog in the EU household, made to sleep on the porch, forever. Live with it, fuckwit.
#5
What's funny is that what is only beginning are TALKS over membership, not the actual membership process itself. There's still plenty of time to get shafted, and it would come as no surprise at all if that indeed comes to pass.
#6
"We ask for only one thing: to be treated just like the others.â
Ask all you want. (1) You're not like the others. (2) The others are members and you are not. (3) The rules can be modified at any time. (4) Your lip prints on Chirac's behind will not gain you any respect. You have to start with some self-respect.
Posted by: Tom ||
10/22/2004 8:24 Comments ||
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#7
.com-
...A bit too nuanced for me.*S*
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
10/22/2004 11:38 Comments ||
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#8
The EUnichs will play Turkey like a fish. They do not want Turkey in the EU. This crap will go on for years. Turkey will go nowhere.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/22/2004 11:49 Comments ||
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#9
Wow. What an impressive amount of kissy kissy! And I thought I had seen the pros in action when I saw middle management's behavior during the recent Reorganization...
#10
If he's willing to kiss this much ass over getting invited to talks, imagine what he would do for an actual chance at membership???
Anyone who could call Chirac a "genius" without laughing deserves the EU.
#1
Our funds should be spent on helping immigrants learn English, not contributing to disunity through multilingual efforts.
Not going to happen, as long as votes can be had, business can be gained, and ethnic egos can be stroked by licking the asses of some particular ethnic group.
#2
An excellent anecdote on why English must be the only official language of the US.
Incidentally, I learned the other day from a teacher friend that an administrator of their school district was forced out of her position because she was trying to force bilingual ed (and whole language) into the district instead of working with the ESL curriculum THAT WAS ALREADY WORKING. The teachers were the ones who finally revolted and pushed to get her out.
#3
The only problem I see here is that the multi-culti solution does not go far enough. What about blind people, admittedly a vanishingly small part of the driving population, whose rights are violated by traffic signs designed only for the sighted?
And what about the rights of whales and dolphins, our fellow mammals, who are not even mentioned in the article. Yes, the fascist US 9th Circus Court has ruled they have no standing to sue the US Navy, but does that mean their rights should be trampled simply due to their lack of legs?
Also, in closing, I would like to nominate Canada is the Official Country of Scrappleface.
#4
What about blind people, admittedly a vanishingly small part of the driving population, whose rights are violated by traffic signs designed only for the sighted?
Well, at least here in California, drive-up ATMs have Braille markings on them.....so we're halfway there...
The Swift Boat Vets need financial help to air their last ads in Pennsylvania - an important swing state. Zell Miller will campaign there for Bush this coming week. If you possibly can, and if you support the Swifties in airing the truth about Kerry, dig down and send whatever you can. The election's only 2 weeks away! (You can use a credit card. Help defeat Kerry -- he is not fit to be Commander in Chief.)
At this rate, if the election is lost, this will be how ... see this E-mail posted on The Corner of National Review:
Michael [Graham],
Danny Devito and his wife held a Kerry rally at the ENTRANCE of a South County (Palm Beach) polling place today. They blocked the entrance for 20 minutes before my colleague protested."
He tells me the Democrat Party workers have been swarming the early polling sites in Florida, while the GOP has had a much smaller presence. He also says Democrats are regularly interfering with voters as they head to the polls, blocking access to parking and confronting clearly identified Republicans as they approach the polls.
Where's the GOP?
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
10/22/2004 9:27:27 PM ||
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Cincinnati's headquarters for the Bush/Cheney re-election campaign was broken into overnight. Money and a sign were taken from the office, on Seventh Street near Court Street. The thieves got in by breaking out a window. The office was also ransacked, officials said. It also houses other Republican organizations. No one had been arrested.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/22/2004 8:11:12 PM ||
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#1
It's only a matter of time until somebody gets killed. And then there will be some Democrat spokesman to shrug it off. Are we sinking into anarchy?
Posted by: Jonathan ||
10/22/2004 22:55 Comments ||
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#2
Yeah - this one was about the money, I'll bet - and hoping to use the others (political) as cover. Eventually something worse than a broken arm, if this continues. There is no shame left anywhere in DhimmidickLand.
#3
So, does somebody get killed before or after Nov 2? If there's a big slide in the polls towards Bush, I'm betting one or more leftist lunatics gets murderous before the election.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
10/22/2004 23:39 Comments ||
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#3
Great! Was going to buy the video anyhow. Just caught Holbrook on Orielly and he was trying to tell him the Kerry has changed with respect to Iraq. He says he will meet with Arab leaders, train Iraqis, and hunt down terrorists. A good plan! The same one that Bush is using right now!
#4
CS - Holbrooke makes me want to punch out my television. Gawd that man pisses me off with his glib lies and straight-faced pandering. I watched Stolen Honor, instead.
#6
Right back at you .com, it takes great restraint not to put my foot through the tube when i hear his voice. I am not sure if itâs the whine or the condescending tone in his voice or both. I think ORielly wanted to slap him after the interview.
#7
I looked over, saw that fucking smirky face, and decided that would be an excellent time to view the Stolen Honor flic I had previously downloaded. He pisses me off almost as much as Skeery - and I'm sure you're right - it's gotta be that condescending tone and arrogance. I hope I never encounter him in the real world. I have a woodie for another guy, too - McNamara. That's one guy I would toss restraint to the wind to flatten.
#8
Sinclair Broadcasting ends up caving to Kerry lawyers, end up broadcasting a pro Kerry puff piece. This was a major disappointment given the controversy.
Posted by: Capt America ||
10/22/2004 21:57 Comments ||
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What's up is down and what's down is up, and yes, I do realize they FINALLY elected a pubbie after 50 years of statehood. Via Bros. Judd:
Often dismissed as too small, too isolated and too Democratic to worry about in presidential contests, Hawaii suddenly has a close race. Democrats say Sen. John Kerry still has an edge over President Bush in the contest for Hawaii's four electoral votes, but the race has become awfully tight for their comfort. With late poll closings - 11 p.m. EST on Nov. 2 - and a slow count, Hawaii politicians are talking about offering a dramatic conclusion to what could be an ultra-close national election. "We may make the difference," said Linda Chu Takayama, campaign manager for Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye, who is all but assured of victory in his own race for an eighth term. "Surprise, surprise. The polls I've seen show it up and down but always within the margin of error."
The only statewide media poll, more than two months ago, showed Kerry leading Bush, 48-41. Private polling reviewed by strategists for both Kerry and Bush more recently suggests the race is still that close. Hawaii may not be a big-vote, difference-making tossup state like Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania, but the race is remarkable in a state Democrat Al Gore won by 20 percentage points in 2000 - and one that has been solid blue on most election maps. Democratic strategists in Washington privately admit they have neglected Hawaii, but no more. They have dispatched political operatives to shore up Kerry's support and believe the race is now about as close as Washington state and Oregon, two long-standing battlegrounds that both parties think are leaning toward Kerry. (Does HI have a ban gay marriage proposal on the ballot???)
Open campaigning for the presidency is just getting started in the islands. The first major rally for Kerry and Sen. John Edwards was Friday near the state Capitol. Campaign signs for Bush and vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney are just now popping up along roadsides. Local candidates in leis line major thoroughfares and freeway entrances with their own signs in Hawaii's colorful honk-and-wave style of campaigning. But during the campaign no major national political figure, much less Bush or Kerry, has set foot in the state, 4,800 miles from Washington. "They're going to rely on us to carry the election here," said Republican Gov. Linda Lingle. Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon are the only GOP presidential candidates ever to win Hawaii's vote. They, like Bush, were running for second terms.
Republicans say Bush has been helped by cable television ads running in the islands, where cable viewership is high. Bush and his party have outspent Kerry $17 million to $5 million on national cable TV ads that include Hawaii. Also, with the tourism industry recovering from the Sept. 11 attacks, Hawaii's unemployment rate is 3.1 percent, lowest in the nation. And Republicans say they're doing better than expected among the state's large number of veterans. On the other hand, Democratic Sen. Inouye told The Associated Press while campaigning on Oahu this week that anger over the deployment of a disproportionate number of National Guard troops from Hawaii, the state's highest-in-the-nation gasoline prices and Bush's support for gun legislation are factors that help Kerry.....
#1
Alaska will probably go for Bush, but we have a very hot senate race going now between R. Lisa Murkowski and D. Tony Knowles. The airwaves have literally been smoking with political ads, like chemtrails, heh heh.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/22/2004 17:23 Comments ||
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What does the polling say about that race, AP? I heard that the Dem is ahead...
#3
Knowles ahead of Murkowski about 48 to 45. The outcome will depend upon who screws up least before Nov. 2, some pundits say. This will be a tight one. The stakes are enormous.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/22/2004 17:34 Comments ||
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#4
They have dispatched political operatives
Pick me, pick me. For two weeks in the tropic sun I'll pretend to be a Skerry supporter
#5
The Bush/Cheney campaign should exploit this opportunity immediately. Send Jenna and Barbara to give speeches and play pickup volleyball games at Waikiki Beach this weekend. Arrange lots of media coverage.
Please!
Posted by: Mike ||
10/22/2004 18:05 Comments ||
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#7
I read somewhere...that the DNC in Hawaii had taken to handing out Michael Moore's DVD to likely voters. That dog don't fight when a good portion of the main islands are inhabited by Navy, ex-Navy or someone who knows someone in the Navy. Also,you might be surprised at the number of Vietnam Vets who reside in Hawaii...That was a jumping off point to Vietnam...as well as a return gate. A significant number made their homes there...
for what it's worth.
Posted by: IR ||
10/22/2004 18:29 Comments ||
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#8
#3 Alaska Paul - did my bit & sent her some money last week. Hope it helps.
John Thune, who has an excellent chance to unseat Tom Dash-hole, is here
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/22/2004 19:22 Comments ||
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#9
Hawaii's economy has been in the tank since Japan melted down years ago. More than anything, Bush is probably benefitting from their first economic upswing in more than a decade.
Jesse 'The Body' gone bonkers!
Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura has officially endorsed Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. The announcement was made during a 30-minute news conference at the State Office Building. The former Minnesota Governor was there, but did not make any comments. Just days ago, Ventura had said that he did not plan to support Kerry or President Bush this election year. Also at the news conference was former Maine Gov. Angus King, who was the only other third-party governor during Ventura's years in office. He said Ventura changed his mind and decided to endorse Kerry. Organizers didn't even know Ventura was going to show up until the news conference started. He told reporters who followed him out to his car afterward that he'll be doing interviews in Los Angeles.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/22/2004 4:32:48 PM ||
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Damn it Jesse. your endorsing Hanoi John? You've lost your honor as well as your WWF belt too.
Posted by: Bill Nelson ||
10/22/2004 16:40 Comments ||
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#2
he was in predator wasn't he? thought he was good till now, now i'd hurl abbuse at him if i ever saw him. foul man.
Posted by: Shep UK ||
10/22/2004 16:51 Comments ||
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#3
Looks like all those piledrivers he took are starting to have an effect...
#7
Apparently the SEALS consider him one, by defination. The AuthentiSEAL site discusses that question and in these sorts of cases, it's best to defer to them I think. Link below.
#8
As a Minnesotan, I can tell you that Jesse is the biggest blow hard on earth. There is not a conservative bone in his body (no pun intended). This is a guy who even his closest friends try to avoid, he is pro legalization of drugs and prostitution. The only thing good about the guy is his wife.
Posted by: Capt America ||
10/22/2004 21:28 Comments ||
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#9
What happened to him? Too many hits to the heads, perhaps?
#10
CA - I saw a documentary-ish movie about him - and, that was what I got from it: his wife was very cool and level-headed, while he came off as a showman / blowhard / zipperhead.
#11
Having watched Jesse for years here in Minnesota, this comes as no surprise. He has always been a liberal and you should know that most surprised person when he was elected gov was Jesse.
Posted by: Douglas De Bono ||
10/22/2004 23:15 Comments ||
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#12
Is there any interest in funding an organization that engages in doing clandestine wetwork? It seems to me that ultimately it will be necassary to cull the ranks of the institutional moonbats.
Institutional Moonbats: Democrat Polititions, Celebs, Activist Judges, Media Personalities, EFL, AFL and others.
I volenteer (sp?) to be the first WWT...(wet work tech).
#15
No Dakota Longbow (nice!) but I'm real proficient with my Win Model 70 Featherweight in .308.
The org should be structured as a non-profit Political Education entity focusing on conservative values.
The *ahem* "Direct Action Unit" would have to be VERY secret and undercover. Obviously.
Preferably the DAU would not engage in high profile hits, this only scares the sheep. Instead, the Individuals of Interest that are selected should just vanish or have an accident or sudden health problem. Stroke, heart attack etc.
Under no circumstance would any sort of announcement be made. The frequent and regular dissapearance & demise of prominent moonbats would strike fear into their hearts.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
10/22/2004 17:04 Comments ||
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#4
Hey!
I use linux for everything except plaing the high end computer games.
I'm using it now - with Firefox browser Fred can validate someone with a linux variant and Firefox posts here), OpenOffice. Easier to secure and a far better OS for everything except playing games. And even the Dept of Defense uses it for that for specialized wargaming.
You'd be surprised who the Linux lovers are: Look up Eric Raymond and his page on 2nd Amendment rights for example...
Not the typical snot nosed leftie grubby college kid. The real heavy lifting gets done by peopel with a more libertarian bent. The headlines (other than the apolitical Linus Torvalds) are made by Commie Stallman and the loud lefties who (other than Stallman and Cox and a select few others) really dont contribute that much.
#5
I would guess that this one is good for pushing about 20K swing votes into the Bush column.
We should start a runnning commentary on the numerical results of the left showing its true colors like this. To be fair, we will have to push some back the other way if someone on the right also behaves badly; say, if a kidnapped Al Reuterist is videotaped begging for his life in some wingnut's basement.
Tens of thousands of Florida voters are also registered to vote in a second state, and more than 1,600 may have cast ballots in Florida and one of two other states in recent elections, taking advantage of an absence of safeguards to prevent illegal double voting. An Orlando Sentinel examination of voting records from Florida, Georgia and North Carolina found more than 68,000 cases in which voters with the same names and dates of birth were registered in two states. In 1,650 cases, records indicate those voters cast ballots in Florida and another state in the 2000 or 2002 elections.
The study focused on Georgia and North Carolina because, among states with voting databases that are public record, they have the largest populations of Florida-registered voters. The potential number of double voters in Florida could be in the thousands, enough to have affected Florida's 2000 election, which George W. Bush won by 537 votes.
It is a felony for voters to cast ballots in two states in the same election. But those who double vote face little chance of being caught, because election officials seldom check whether voters are registered or voting in another state. Election officials and voting experts said they've long known that some voters flouted the law to cast extra ballots. "For years there's been speculation about how much of it goes on," said David Cardwell, a Windermere attorney specializing in election law and the former director of the Florida Division of Elections.
Continued on Page 49
#2
...their names are not removed from voting rolls when they move away. That seems like a prety darn significant point. Makes me wonder about exactly how this topic has been covered in the media (which has made it sound like all double registered voters are cheating).
So maybe a little public info like "you are required by federal law to notify xxx when you move to another state. Anyone failing to do so risks having his vote disqualified and imprisonment of x years"...or whatever.
Also, is it correct to infer that there is no way to determine how many Florida votes were double votes and how those split along party lines? I'd love to see that relentless whine about the 2000 election having been stolen get snuffed out.
#3
Just some ideas for a system that would make "one person, one vote" true and accurate. Edit, amend, improve as needed.
1) Standardized Computerized voter registration - each card is bar-coded. Voting machines require valid card to register vote.
2) National / Absentee / Military Clearinghouse DB.
3) Photo ID to vote - human checked by polling judge: Pic matches person, name matches reg card.
4) Absentee Ballot (in country) must be collected in person with Photo ID - allow 6 month period prior to election for applying / receiving ballot.
5) Absentee Ballot (out of country) - US Embassies / Consulates serve as their voting "Precinct" - same rules as above: 1-3.
6) Military Battalion HQ serves as voting "Precinct" - same rules as above: 1-3/
Just a suggestion as a starting point. At some point, everyone who registers gets a unique system-wide registration number (not hard to do because they don't have to be sequential and certian locale criteria can be group coded) and registration card is bar-coded. Standardize the machines. Scanning the code in the booth logs / flags record as "voted" - with choices. Canvassing will exclude individual info from record, only voted flag + choices. Choices, of course, are "localized" to ballot info in each voting locale.
Anyone could vote anywhere anytime within the voting time window if it was done right.
Something like that, though I can hear the ACLU and LLL screaming that there would be a connection between who voted and who they voted for. Oh no! Fug 'em. Lol!
#5
CF - Better, yes. And, BTW, if NOT voting in registered locale, then local issues and local candidates are not even presented for the voter. Why should someone registered in locale A but showing up in local B have a voice in B's issues / local candidates?
In effect, when the bar-code is scanned, a customized ballot - keyed to the group codes mentioned above, is presented reflecting the correct ballot for the registered locale. Cached local master DB records in each locale will make lookup fast for local registrants voting locally. Asshats who wanna show up in Terra Del Fuego to vote, well, they get shuffled off to side to wait in line for special Asshat Voting Booth with National DB acces, lol! Make 'em wear a Dunce cap while waiting in line, too... Fug 'em!
#6
It is not hard to fix the voter registration mess. It is a step-by-step rational plan. It will involve databases. It will involve identification. You cannot get on a plane without ID, so what is the big deal?
We have the means, but collectively we do not have the will. Both political parties have failed in their responsibilities to this country. Both parties need to have their political asses kicked big time, especially after 4 years since 2000 to do it.
The Greek planners and muckity mucks needed their asses kicked to make the 2004 Summer olympics happen, but they did make it happen.
The Dems and Republicans have let this thing fester for 4 years, by accident and/or design.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/22/2004 17:10 Comments ||
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How about this. 1 year before each presidential election *all* the voting registration rolls are purged. Everyone gets 11-odd months to re-register (in person, showing photo proof-of-citzenship id).
#2
Well I think I saw Kennedy, Moore, Biden, Boxer, McAuliffe et al in this video also. Good piece.
Posted by: Bill Nelson ||
10/22/2004 13:32 Comments ||
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#3
KerrySpot talks about it and says they got such a powerful reaction in focus testing that they decided to hold it back until the closing weeks - going to spend big bucks showing it...
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/22/2004 13:43 Comments ||
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#4
I don't like the choice of critters. There are too many positive associations with wolves. They should have used hyenas.
#5
well if they were referring to the Democrats, they could've used lying crapweasels, but for the terrorists...wolves are OK
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/22/2004 14:17 Comments ||
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#6
well, at this point of the campaign given the activities the Dems are involved in (scare campaign), crap flinging simians would work to represent the Dems, but it hardly makes for as dramatic a commercial.
I ran across my first Keerite the other day(must shamefully adimit it is my cousin)I found a web page listing some of Kerry's flipflops.Now I'm trying to find the record of his congressional voting and not getting anywhere.Can someone point me in the right direction.Any help in showing that voting for Kerry would be a huge mistake will be appreciated.
Posted by: raptor ||
10/22/2004 11:15:10 AM ||
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#1
I would definitely start with the Kerry Spot and The Corner to see if they can have an open mind. You know links to the Bush or RNC sites would be ignored by anyone inclined to Skeery. Perhaps they'll actually read NRO stuff.
#2
"I'm an internationalist," Kerry told The Crimson in 1970. "I'd like to see our troops dispersed through the world only at the directive of the United Nations."
Then his 1994 statement just released.
Then his global test statement.
He hasn't changed.
Also how is VVAW moved their meeting 3x so the FBI couldn't find them. They were discussing murdering senators.
#3
Today (yesterday?) a post here from Buffalo, NY, about how back in the day their chapter of the VVAW refused to have Kerry speak because he was too upper class for them -- The Man in drag, so to speak.
#5
many thanks Guardian! - we have some more ideas we'd like to share...
Posted by: Karl Rove ||
10/22/2004 9:56 Comments ||
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#6
I still don't think the Guardian gets it, though, folks; they think it was a success. No doubt many well-written objections came alongside the more colorful ones, but they are not paying attention to those. It doesn't promote their message that Americans are morons who need help walking across the street or voting for a president.
#7
When this idiotic GU campaign started, I sent the GU a note in response to the hilarious letters from those three anti-American snobs, Lord Daw Daw Dawkins, John Le Carre, and Pinter's wife:
Karl Rove's handiwork is clearly visible in the "letter" from "Richard Dawkins," who outdoes Lord Haw Haw for sneering, condescending nastiness. A special touch is the "Tony Martin" reference, from which ironically-- or rather, intentionally-- small-town Ohioans will draw the exact opposite conclusion from that intended by Lord Daw Daw.
Another brilliant Rovian touch was to select an obscure France-based author of thinly-veiled anti-American pulp fiction as the mouthpiece for this gem:
...please don't feel isolated from the Europe you twice saved.
The cringing Uriah Heap tone is superb! Who knew Rove had such powers of literary characterization? And perfectly calculated to have the opposite effect upon Americans living in Ohio, the home of arch-isolationist Robert Taft and the Dayton Accords: bitter reminders of yet another abject refusal by Europeans to deal forthrightly and courageously to stop fascist slaughter.
Rove also uses this mouthpiece to re-cycle an obvious canard that "Bush was waging his father's war." As if Bush's father, who refused to overthrow Saddam and abandoned the Shi'a and Kurdish rebellions, was not decisively rejected by his son, who broke ranks with his father and Scowcroft and all the other cynical realpolitikers in finally summoning the will and courage to end Saddam's slaughterhouse! So sly and subtle, these inductions dangerous!
As to the third Rovian mole, "Lady Fraser," this seems an odd choice, but surely the master judged that any British female would do, given that the only contemporary British woman known to most Ohioans-- she of People's Princess fame-- died years ago, her memorial teddy bears having been diverted recently to Mr Bigley, the latest symbol of Euro-fortitude.
Auntie Antonia is a suitable vehicle for yet more sure-to-backfire "advice": If you vote for Kerry, you will help to avert a move backwards towards women's suffering. Perfect timing, that: the same week that Ohioans see joyous scenes of Afghan women celebrating their right to vote, run for office, attend school, run businesses-- and all of this due to Bush's war to overthrow the Taliban-- and a barmy old Englishwoman announces that day is night. Bravo, Karl!
Here's hoping the Rove/Guardian machine drafts and sends a thousand such letters to every Ohio household. More, please.
#8
Robin Burk has an interesting thesis: al G did it to generate the foaming at the mouth anti Kerry letters that they published to contrast with the oh so reasonable pro-Kerry letters to further the divide betwen Britain and the US.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/22/2004 10:15 Comments ||
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#9
Simpler than that, Mrs D: it's all about generating publicity and increasing market share. Like Pee Wee Herman's little foray into the peep show.
#10
If you read the unbelievably snide, patently ridiculous letters to Ohioans from Dawkins et al published as part of this campaign, it's hard to avoid the conclusion that the GU's editors did not bother even trying to think through the implications of what they were doing.
I mean, really, a renowned Christian-baiting atheist like Dawkins sending such a snide little (dis)missive to rural midwesterners? And trying to persuade them with a horror story about the wickedness of shooting a burglar?!
This is either a complete Rovian setup, or else an idiotic marketing stunt dreamed up by the business heads. I do not believe that the GU's journalists are so completely clueless as to allow such an obviously backfiring stunt as this.
And hey--the Guardian hasn't even paid the county clerk for the public records list they "purchased." Stupid liberal Brits. So very typical of liberals anywhere.
#14
...they think you mean London, Ohio, which is in the next-door county. Another is, we have some issues with literacy round here."
When I was younger I thought that libs worked at being condescending. Now I realize that it just oozes out of them. They just can't help it. They honestly think that anyone who disagrees with them is an uncultured, uneducated, cousin-marrying, shotgun-toting, nose-picking, Fox News-watching rube.
#19
#7, lex
Excellent letter, it deserves a story all by itself. I'm still roflmao over "Lord Daw Daw" and the image of LeCarre as a cringing Uriah Heep.
How like the backward, parochial Euro-left media for Al Guardian to limit its discussion of the backlash to Clark County and Ohio itself, as though new media and the blogosphere didn't exist and therefore this couldn't have been a national story.
Their ideological fellow-travellers in the Hollywood/Madison Avenue Axis chose not to cover it, so in the minds of the smug Euro-bigots and Hate America cultists who comprise the Guardian audience and staff, no such coverage existed.
In fact, Euro interventionists have made a cataclysmic blunder.
The Guardian fiasco, combined with the attempt to pawn off anti-American propaganda shills as "impartial election observers," may be enough to make the difference in a close election.
The key error seems to be an assumption that the authority of the institutional media is still as respected and influential here as it is in Eurabia.
The 70's have been over for a long time on this side of the pond.
They know their audience, but not ours. Their monumentally arrogant fantasy ideology, and the resulting intellectual corruption and decay, will not allow them to learn.
#20
I liked the bit where the Guardian wouldn't believe the person who told them it wouldn't work because they knew better. Captures the Looney Left mentality perfectly.
Posted by: Stephen ||
10/22/2004 20:27 Comments ||
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Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/22/2004 03:02 ||
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#1
Heh, I found this to be rather illuminating:
Though Missouri took action after the 2002 election to shore up its voting system by requiring that voters produce ID at the polls--a move many Democrats call "racist"--the nation as a whole has done nothing, apparently content to let this year's election spiral into chaos.
It's "racist" to be forced to positively identify yourself? Uhhhhhh, oooookay....
A longtime Kerry ass-kisser chronicler of John Kerry sued Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. on Thursday to stop it from using free speech and the truth his pictures and film in its program that features parts of an anti-Kerry documentary. Filmmaker George Butler's free speech squelching lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, says the program scheduled for Friday violates his copyrights of material covering much of the Democratic presidential candidate's adult life. Butler seeks unspecified damages.
Posted by: OIdSpook ||
10/22/2004 1:33:13 AM ||
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#1
So, you wrote a book on Kerry and now you think everything in his past is protected under copyright and no one else can mention it? Nice try, asshole.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/22/2004 8:41 Comments ||
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#2
Its ok for Mike Al-moore to steal copyrighted material but not ok for a conservative to show
public record?
#4
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!! My eyes!!!!! She must give great bank acount cuz there ain't enough beer in the world to make anyone hit on that.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/22/2004 13:32 Comments ||
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#5
I don't recognize the label - anyone know? Do the French make beer? Lol! I'm sure the "handlers" rushed the cameraman and put a bag over her head about 5 seconds after this snap, lol!
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/22/2004 13:38 Comments ||
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#7
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!! My eyes!!!!! She must give great bank acount cuz there ain't enough beer in the world to make anyone hit on that.
#9
It couldn't be French beer. The French are required to keep German beer at all times . . . in case some Germans happen to come marching down the Champs Elysees.
One of the few unchallenged accomplishments of Myanmar's military junta — securing peace with the country's armed ethnic rebel groups — may be in jeopardy after Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyunt lost his job this week. A delegation of Karen ethnic guerrillas — among the last rebel groups that has not signed a cease-fire with the government — returned to their jungle bases Thursday from a peace mission to Myanmar's capital, staying only two days for what were supposed to be weeklong talks. The interruption came after Khin Nyunt, architect of 17 ceasefires reached with ethnic separatists, was abruptly ousted on Tuesday and replaced with Lt. Gen. Soe Win, who is associated with a more hard-line army faction disinclined to compromise with its opponents. Myanmar officials have quickly underlined that policies won't change on some of the major issues facing the regime — a promised timetable for gradual democratization and the cease-fires with ethnic minorities seeking greater autonomy.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been under military rule since 1962. The current group of generals has been in power since 1988 and has attracted widespread international criticism for its widely documented human rights abuses and refusal to allow democracy. It held elections in 1990, but refused to hand over power when the party of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi won a landslide victory. Suu Kyi is currently in detention. Amid the government assurances, the Karen are taking a wait-and-see attitude to the new premier. But another group, the Shan State Army, believes the future is bleak. "The generals are clinging to a military solution, we believe that once they settle their internal affairs, the military will launch more offensives on the ethnic nationalities," said the group's spokeswoman, Khur Hsen.
Burma "has been under military rule since 1962." I'd call that one of the most gradual transitions to democracy imaginable, second only to Soddy Arabia and North Korea. The generals have made Burma — historically Thailand's rival — into a backwater basket case. I'd call them one of the best imaginable arguments against military rule.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2004 11:07:16 AM ||
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A Minnesota movie that turns the tables on liberal filmmaker Michael Moore opens in Twin Cities theaters this weekend. The documentary "Michael Moore Hates America" is a takeoff on Moore's film "Roger and Me." It follows Minnesota filmmaker Mike Wilson as he tries to interview Moore. Wilson said there's no political agenda behind his movie. "I don't agree with his views about America, about how there's a corporate conspiracy to run the country and how we're not responsible for how our lives turn out," Wilson said. "I just wanted to sit down with him for 45 minutes and talk about how two guys, both from the Midwest, both from blue-collar families, both kind of tubby, could see it all so differently."
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/22/2004 4:34:21 PM ||
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I'm waiting for the sequel: "America Hates Michael Moore".
Edited for brevity.
With no fanfare, President Bush on Friday signed the most sweeping rewrite of corporate tax law in nearly two decades, showering $136 billion in new tax breaks on businesses, farmers and other groups. Intended to end a bitter trade war with Europe, the election-year measure was described by supporters as critically necessary to aid beleaguered manufacturers who have suffered 2.7 million lost jobs over the past four years. But opponents charged that the tax package had grown into a massive giveaway that will add to the complexity of the tax system and end up rewarding multinational companies that move jobs overseas.
Posted by: Dar ||
10/22/2004 3:19:18 PM ||
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It's a start. Next to educate the public to the fact that corporations actually pay no taxes and eliminate the corporate portion of the tax code completely.
#2
And as usual for the loosers-o'the-left, it backfired, roflmao. Ann Coulter could wipe the pie off the floor with those two goobers. Looks like someone already took a jab at one of the guys nose.
Posted by: Mac Suirtain ||
10/22/2004 15:43 Comments ||
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#3
Still, there's something oddly enticing about the idea of Ann Coulter and whipped cream . . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
10/22/2004 16:19 Comments ||
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#7
This bit of fantasy ideologue guerrilla theater should be good for, oh, 100K swing votes swinging to Bush.
Each stupid stunt reddens the map by similar amounts, and the cumulative effect will probably be the difference. Millions will see them, and some percentage of the undecideds are always right on the verge, and aware enough of previous Dhimmicrat buffoonery to be finally swayed.
Indeed, Al Guardian's idiotically condescending campaign in Ohio may swing enough votes by itself to re-elect Bush.
#8
AC - you just stated aloud my internal hopes. After reading about the backlash, I started grinning - you never know what will be the last straw. And right now they have Gore on Fox running in tight circles so far left that Trotsky would have to strain to understand him, lol!
I don't recall the Latin (adde parve ovum, blah, blah, blah), but it was one of the Plinys (I think) that said, "Add little to little, and soon you have a great pile." Lol!
#9
Just submitted the article, but mine take a while to be vetted; we've got a spitter.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/22/2004 17:40 Comments ||
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#10
Oh man, how do these people control themselves while the loonies can't even control their spittle? I am amazed by Mjr Boyle's restraint. Simply Amazed.
#15
3000 dollars of damage. These asshats will get a chance to be felons. What would have been a misdemeanor ain't no more. Dumb Sorros running lackey dog dhimmicrat buffoons.
Still, there's something oddly enticing about the idea of Ann Coulter and whipped cream⦠Please, I need more meat on the bone that that pencil thin thing.
#18
Get 'em, jackal. They looked a couple of twitters. I did a Google search on Coulter looking for downloadable video. No joy. Then I tried just a Google image search on her - 22 pages of results (!!!) (Safe Search Off) and the number of parodies and caricatures was astounding. You KNOW you matter when there are so many who "hate" you, lol! She's scored some bullseyes and really pissed the loonies off. I hope she makes a killing lampooning them, heh.
#21
Mike and SPOD
Now if somebody mentioned Laurie Dhue and whipped cream....yum...yum.
Oops, my wife caught that. And she looks like she's reconsidering her stand on domestic violence.
Ok, honey, you would look great in whipped cream, too.
Better?
#24
Hmmmm... Fred and I have the Patti Ann Brown concession spoken for...
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/22/2004 23:23 Comments ||
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#25
I just wanna have Norah O'Donnell give me a Rusty Trombone.(Licking your ass crack while she jacks you off...looks like she's playing a rusty trombone)
Shortly before the October 7 Sinai bombings at Taba and Nueiba, inhabitants of the Israeli Red Sea resort of Eilat noticed some strange goings-on across the bay in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba. Cement trucks were seen dumping their loads along a section of coastline where the Jordanian royal villa nestles among giant palm trees. Other trucks unloaded huge pipes, which giant cranes hoisted into position. Could it be a new Jordanian watchtower to keep an eye on the Gulf of Aqaba? Or perhaps Jordan was building a new military or communications installation?
The answer to the riddle was not long coming. One morning, they awoke to the sight of an enormous flag flying from a 136 meter- (446 foot) high pole. The flag, measuring 80 meters (262 feet) by 44 meters (144 feet), was almost the size of an American football field, a towering presence even against the backdrop of the 1,200 meter (3,900 feet) -high mountains behind Aqaba.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/22/2004 12:23:08 AM ||
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Tunisia's main opposition party has pulled its 89 candidates from upcoming parliamentary elections saying yesterday the government had blocked them from getting their message to voters. "Our candidates were withdrawing from the poll race to protest the several obstacles the government had erected to prevent them from reaching voters, including the seizure of the election manifesto," the official, who did not want to named, told Reuters. "That decision will be made public tomorrow at a news conference by the party leadership," he added.
I guess boycotting the elections is the thing to do in the Arab and Muslim world...
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) already announced it was boycotting the presidential race, saying it feared Sunday's election will open the door for reviving a presidency-for-life. Tunisian voters on Sunday go to the polls to elect members of Parliament and the president. Few doubt the outcome of the election — with President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali extending his power by a new five-year mandate and his ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally party keeping its grip on the 189-member Parliament. Critics accuse the government of brooking no true challengers and some opposition leaders say these multiparty elections are part of a veneer of democracy to disguise a de facto single-party rule.
Diplomats say Washington is closely watching the polls for signs the government is opening up Tunisia's political process after President George W. Bush urged Ben Ali for more reforms when they met early this year. Police blocked supporters of a Tunisian opposition presidential candidate from marching on the Interior Ministry building yesterday over the government's seizure of his election manifesto, witnesses and officials said. "Release the manifesto! Free the truth!," chanted backers of presidential candidate Mohamed Ali Halouani in a rare protest rally in Tunis. But plainclothes police outnumbered the dozens of demonstrators and blocked their way, witnesses said. The government is accused by some opposition parties and human rights groups at home and abroad of rights abuses. Witnesses said police did not beat or mistreat protesters yesterday as dissidents say they have done during past marches. The protests eventually dispersed peacefully. Halouani, a 47-year-old philosophy teacher, is competing against two other opposition candidates and incumbent Ben Ali, who took over in 1987 after replacing the then president-for-life Habib Bourguiba, the founder of modern Tunisia, after he was declared senile.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2004 9:46:23 PM ||
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Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2004 11:15:03 PM ||
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The Russians are making out both ways on the India/China deal.
Question: Do the former commies still have a navy of their own?
Posted by: Douglas De Bono ||
10/22/2004 8:28 Comments ||
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#2
The Indian Navy has a long history of purchasing or renting subs from the former Soviets. There have been good deals...and also bad deals.
At one time, the Indian Navy had four Foxtrot class subs. Their material condition was so poor that operation of the subs below periscope depth was restricted.
#3
Israel just sold a very expensive submarine training simulation to India. Israel is also training the Indian navy in the use of the submarine simulation. Not to mention a air to air exercise with Israel with the presence of AWACS, in early 2005. AWACS was not invloved in the recent air to air exercise with the U.S. The U.S was very impressed with the Indian AF.
The Paki's will soon be like a cornered cobra with no fangs or venom. Best-effort just will not do.
If the intent of Fox News Channel producer Andrea Mackris' sexual harassment lawsuit was to ruin Bill O'Reilly and his network, it doesn't seem to be working. In fact, rather than deserting O'Reilly, his viewers are tuning in, in droves. "The O'Reilly Factor" averaged 3.2 million viewers per night for the first three nights after the suit was announced, reports the New York Post. That's a 34 percent increase over the TV talker's ratings for last quarter. Among older viewers, who might be expected to be offended by the controversy, O'Reilly is doing even better. Nielsen ratings show a 42 percent improvement among adults ages 25-54, who may be having trouble buying Mackris' claim that she was "forced" to have phone sex with the cable star. While the publicity over Mackris' accusations no doubt accounts for some of the increase, the solid numbers show that the scandal may have ultimately backfired on O'Reilly's enemies.
It might also be that people are interested in O'Reilly's campaign coverage and that the election's less than two weeks away.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/22/2004 12:05:19 AM ||
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#5
Something like "The Factor for Kids" I don't recall the title off hand and I'm just too, um... well let's call it "lazy" or "tired" rather than drunk to look it up on Amazon. *heh*
#6
Its the same as I always type it - just cleared my cookies on Firefox and had to retype it. The letters you show both come in as lower case L (ell) to me. But I just now retyped it just in case.
#10
No cause and effect relationship here. O'Reilly was given an interview with President Bush and, since Kerry begged off, he has been more favorable to him.
Posted by: Capt America ||
10/22/2004 21:54 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
