If Madonna actually had a pair she would risk a fatwa by insulting people who would kill her in a heatbeat instead of ridiculing Roman Catholics who are so used to it by now that we don't even bat an eyelash.

Posted by: annika at 10:02 PM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
Post contains 53 words, total size 1 kb.

Five Arguments Against Conciliation by Baron Bodissey.

Whenever a concession is made to Islam, another waits in the wings, ready to be rolled out onto the stage to take its place. ItÂ’s like the Sudetenland in 1938, over and over again. Lop off one piece and give it Hitler, and then another, and another, but somehow itÂ’s never quite enough.

And, if you watch carefully, the Muslim negotiating partner never manages to carry through with his half of any compromise.

. . .

Every time we perform another act of abasement, every time we fall all over ourselves apologizing for insulting Muslims, every time we publicly pretend that Islam is the Religion of Peace, we are doing damage to our collective psyche. All these efforts fly in the face of the obvious truth: historically speaking, right up to the present moment, Islam has been the Religion of War.

The Demonic Convergence is drawing the Left and radical Islam into bed with each other, so that there are very strong forces in our public life which strive to convince us otherwise, that we are bad, bad people, racists and Islamophobes, for thinking such things. It produces a cognitive dissonance in the collective psyche of the West, because the average person, deep down, knows the truth.

Posted by: annika at 10:00 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 217 words, total size 1 kb.

Today's edition: bad YouTube poetry readings.

#1. I think she calls it "Fill Me," but I'm going to rename it "Tadpoles."

#2. Here's how to ruin a classic poem, by being a complete dork.

#3. Here's another way to ruin a classic poem, add an 'ukulele.

...that was actually really funny.

#4. This chick demonstrates why enunciation is so important.

#5. Hangin' out with Cindy Sheehan for inspiration is a no-no.

Haha, I think I just found Strawman!

Update: On a similar theme, Beth picks the "worst song ever."

Posted by: annika at 06:35 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
Post contains 97 words, total size 2 kb.

Lord Carey of Clifton just gave a speech at Newbold College in Berkshire. In it, he included an academic quote from political scientist, Samuel Huntington:

Lord Carey, who as Archbishop of Canterbury became a pioneer in Christian-Muslim dialogue, himself quoted a contemporary political scientist, Samuel Huntington, who has said the world is witnessing a “clash of civilisations”.

Arguing that Huntington’s thesis has some “validity”, Lord Carey quoted him as saying: “Islam’s borders are bloody and so are its innards. The fundamental problem for the West is not Islamic fundamentalism. It is Islam, a different civilisation whose people are convinced of the superiority of their culture and are obsessed with the inferiority of their power.”

Lord Carey went on to argue that a “deep-seated Westophobia” has developed in recent years in the Muslim world.

h/t American Princess

Posted by: annika at 09:11 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 146 words, total size 1 kb.

First of all, if anyone knows where I can find a transcript of Ahmadi-Nejad's speech please link me to it.

I've been surfing the cable news channels on TV tonight, and now I know much more than I ever need to know about that baby they found, I haven't seen a single show mention anything about half-pint's speech.

Here's a quote from anti-American, pro-terrorist Associated Press's account of the speech:

"The question needs to be asked: if the governments of the United States or the United Kingdom, who are permanent members of the Security Council, commit aggression, occupation and violation of international law, which of the U.N. organs can take them into account?," he asked.

"If they have differences with a nation or state, they drag it to the Security Council," and take the roles of "prosecutor, judge and executioner," he said. "Is this a just order?"

He pointed to Lebanese suffering during the recent Israel-Hezbollah war as an example.

"We witnessed the Security Council ... was practically incapacitated by certain powers to even call for a cease-fire," he said, referring to the fact that the conflict lasted 34 days despite calls for an immediate truce.

I say scrap the U.N. Scrap the whole thing. We don't need it, and it does more harm than good. The legitimacy it is supposed to afford is only an illusion. Witness the string of unenforced and unenforceable resolutions regarding Sudan, Rwanda, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, etc. It's incapable of producing a consensus on the really important stuff, and then the lack of consensus is used to thwart perfectly legitimate actions.

Maybe we should keep some sort of administrative body for UNICEF* and shit like that, but get rid of the rest of that utopian nonsense once and for all.
_______________

* I'm not really sure what UNICEF is, but I think it has something to do with "the children."

Posted by: annika at 08:10 PM | Comments (17) | Add Comment
Post contains 422 words, total size 3 kb.

I think it's big news when the Supreme Leader of Iran calls for "attacks" on the United States.

Lest there be any confusion about what he meant by "attacks," here's the quote. Note that the word is distinct from "protests."

Those who benefit from the pope's comments and drive their own arrogant policies should be targeted with attacks and protests.

In Iran, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei used the comments to call for protests against the United States. He argued that while the pope may have been deceived into making his remarks, the words give the West an "excuse for suppressing Muslims" by depicting them as terrorists.

'Those who benefit from the pope's comments and drive their own arrogant policies should be targeted with attacks and protests,' he said, referring to the United States. [emphasis added]

Maybe I'm missing something, but when the real power in Iran (more so than Ahmadi-Nejad), a country actively seeking a nuclear weapon not to mention a well known sponsor of international terrorism, says that the United States should be attacked because of something the Pope said, I think it deserves to be in the headline.

And we need to start taking the Iranian problem seriously.

Update: Curiouser and curiouser.

Ahmadi-Nejad comes to the Pope's defense.

Mr Ahmadinejad said: "We respect the Pope, and all those interested in peace and justice."

He said he accepted the Vatican view that the pontiffÂ’s words had been "taken out of context" and he was "given to understand" that the Pope had later modified them. He said Benedict had been "misinterpreted".

Mehmet Ai Agca, the Turkish gunman who tried to murder John Paul II in 1981 and is now in prison in Turkey, urged the Pope not to visit Turkey in November as planned.

"I write as one who knows about these matters very well," Agca said. "Your life is in danger. Don’t come to Turkey — absolutely not!"

The letter, published by La Repubblica, was seen in Rome as a friendly warning, not a threat.

Posted by: annika at 09:22 PM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
Post contains 425 words, total size 3 kb.

My boyfriend Chris is a huge pastrami fan. And I am a big time gouda fan. We both like football, and tonight we combined all three things.

That's my sandwich. Being a purist, Chris harshly criticized my decision to include the roasted red peppers. But I considered it a major victory when I convinced him to try the gouda on his simplistic masterpiece.

Is it match made in heaven? If you mean pastrami and gouda, definitely.

Posted by: annika at 06:52 PM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
Post contains 86 words, total size 1 kb.

I can't figure out the oddsmakers this week. The line opened with Jacksonville favored by 2 points, and now they're 2½ point underdogs. Ben Roethlisberger is recovering from appendectomy surgery and despite practicing all week, he had a temperature of 104° at 2:00 today.*

I'm taking Jacksonville plus the 2½ points.

Which probably means you should bet Pittsburgh.
______________

* Personally I don't believe it. It would be too dangerous to start him if he really had that high of a temperature only 6½ hours before game time. Nobody would risk the franchise and his salary on one early season game like that.

Posted by: annika at 05:32 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 109 words, total size 1 kb.

When I lived in London, every Sunday morning I would take the Circle Line four stops to St. James's Park. I loved to walk through that peaceful garden on my way to church. I loved the Duck Island, with all the geese and swans. It's my favorite of London's parks.

Usually I would go through the park to a very pretty Jesuit Cathedral in Mayfair called Immaculate Conception. But when I was running late (which was about half the time), I'd stay on the Buckingham Palace side of the park and visit Westminster Cathedral (not to be confused with the most famous church in Britain, Westminster Abbey).

So it was sad for me to see the scary pictures posted by A Catholic Londoner and taken outside Westminster Cathedral last Sunday.

Imagine having to run a gauntlet of hate-filled masked protesters, some of them quite possibly terrorists if not murderers, just to go to church.

Again, nice religion assholes.

Posted by: annika at 11:48 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
Post contains 162 words, total size 1 kb.

From BBC online:

Gunmen have shot dead an elderly Italian nun and her bodyguard in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

The attackers shot the nun three times in the back at a children's hospital in the south of the city, before fleeing the scene.

It is unclear if the shooting is connected with strong criticism by a radical Somali cleric about the Pope's recent comments on Islam.

The nun, who has not been named, is believed to be in her seventies.

The nun was taken into surgery in the Austrian-funded SOS Hospital, in Huriwa district, but she died from her injuries.

A fluent Somali speaker, the nun was one of the longest-serving foreign members of the Catholic Church in Somalia, a former Italian colony.

A Vatican spokesman said the killing was "a horrible act" which he hoped would remain isolated.

Yusuf Mohamed Siad, security chief for the Union of Islamic courts (UIC) which controls Mogadishu, said two people had been arrested.

Nice religion, assholes.

Posted by: annika at 11:34 AM | Comments (15) | Add Comment
Post contains 208 words, total size 1 kb.

I know I've already endorsed Elton John to succeed Kofi Annan as U.N. Secretary General, but there is a new candidate who has sparked my interest.

Latvian President Dr. Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga announced her intention yesterday to run for the post. Her competition includes South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon; U.N. undersecretary-general for public affairs Shashi Tharoor of India; Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai; Jordan's U.N. Ambassador Prince Zeid al Hussein; and former U.N. disarmament chief Jayantha Dhanapala of Sri Lanka.

Conventional wisdom says that Dr. Vīķe-Freiberga's chances are slim, due to Russian opposition and the informal tradition of rotating the U.N.'s top post between regions. Asia is next in line and therefore many believe Ban Ki-moon to be the front runner.

In Dr. Vīķe-Freiberga's announcement, she addressed the regional rotation issue:

[T]he member states of the UN should be able to select the best candidate for the post of Secretary General in an open, transparent process. We do not accept the principle of regional rotation as the principal and sole factor in the selection of a candidate. While I deeply respect the candidates that have already been nominated, the selection procedure should not restrict the rights and opportunities of other potential candidates. I hope that the choice made by the Security Council and the General Assembly will be based solely on the candidatesÂ’ qualifications, personal qualities and vision of the future of the UN.

She's very popular in Latvia, a country that has done amazingly well since declaring independence from the Soviet empire in 1990. As she told the Danish Foreign Policy Society last month:

The transformation of my own country, Latvia, has taken place at every level. We take pride in having one of the fastest growing economies in Europe. Since 2002, LatviaÂ’s GDP growth has averaged at close to 8% (7.7%) per year. In 2005 it reached 10.2%, the highest rate of growth since the restoration of our independence. And during the first quarter of this year, it was registered at a stunning 13.1%, the highest rate in the European Union. Economic forecasts predict that this stable growth will continue in the coming years.

Latvia has had to work very hard to overcome the tragic legacy of Soviet rule. One of the greatest challenges we have faced is the integration of those persons who settled in our country during the occupation, and their descendants. By the end of July of this year, nearly 114000 persons had naturalized to become citizens of the Republic of Latvia. When we regained our independence in 1991, less than a quarter of those who represent Latvia’s ethnic minorities could speak Latvian. By the year 2000, more than half could, and that percentage continues to rise. We have begun to implement an education reform that balances Latvia’s traditional respect for the rights of minority languages with the need to build a cohesive society. The motto adopted by the EU two years ago is “Unity in Diversity.” Latvia is a multicultural country that adopted one of the first laws guaranteeing education in minority languages close to 100 years ago, in 1919. Our experience with integration can serve as an example at a time when tolerance based in shared values is essential to Europe’s future. Unity and diversity need not necessarily be perceived as contradictory terms.

And this is something that is extremely important for us to study because ideologies that demarcate some human beings under a special label and anybody who belongs to that special label then being marked for extinction, are the very root cause, the very basis of murderous genocides. Elsewhere in the world we see them happening on the basis of tribal belonging, on the basis of religious differences in various parts of the world, in the name of an ideology, in the name of a religion, whatever. It is extremely important for us to understand the principles, by which racism is defined and how is it that not just oppressive regimes and totalitarian governments, but also free movements of volunteers can be seduced into following such ideologies, where the destruction of somebody labelled either as an inferior or as an enemy is part and parcel of oneÂ’s being and when the aim is so high to destroy the other that people even come to the point of destroying themselves, where the hatred becomes so deep that they literally are ready to explode themselves in that hatred in the hope of bringing others along.

Those depths of human hatred have not disappeared from the world. They are still everywhere around us. And even when they are not official policies of some totalitarian government, when they become part of seductive ideologies that actually sway young people to join them, we have to be very very concerned and we have to continue working to understand them.

Latvian troops are currently in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Kosovo and Dr. Vīķe-Freiberga is considered an ally of the Bush administration. While that's probably enough to doom her candidacy, I can't help wondering what it would be like to have a pro-American Sec Gen for a change (or at least one who is not openly anti-American and anti-semitic).

Dr. Vīķe-Freiberga concluded her speech to the Danish Foreign Policy Society with these words:

Naturally, every nation has its own, national interests. In today’s world, however, relations between nations are not a zero-sum game. It is in every nation’s interest to overcome the mistrust that prevents the effective functioning of multilateral institutions. In today’s world, no nation can stand alone against the challenges of our era. We will only overcome terrorism and other 21st –century threats if we co-operate more closely and reform the structures that make co-operation possible.

Posted by: annika at 01:01 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
Post contains 1137 words, total size 8 kb.

[It's the leisure suit. The guy's fashion sense hasn't changed since his embassy storming days.]

Posted by: annika at 11:54 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 10 words, total size 1 kb.

I predict we're seeing the beginning of the next round of worldwide riots by the "religion of peace." This time over the Pope's remarks at the University of Regensburg.

In case you had any doubt whether the mainstream media would act to pour fuel on the fire or remain objective, here's how Reuters (via CNN) misquoted the Holy Father:

In his speech at the University of Regensburg on Tuesday, Benedict quoted criticism of Islam and the Prophet Mohammad by 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who wrote that everything Mohammad brought was evil and inhuman, "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

The emperor comes to speak about the issue of jihad, holy war. He said, I quote, 'Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.'

The head of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Mahdi Akef, whose organization is one of the oldest, largest and most influential in the Arab world, said the pope 'aroused the anger of the whole Islamic world and strengthened the argument of those who say that the West is hostile to everything Islamic.' [emphasis mine]

The Muslim Brotherhood is "one of the oldest, largest and most influential" organizations in the Arab World? Is it older than say.... the Catholic Church!? I don't get Reuters' point. Never mind the blatant editorialization of the statement (Reuters didn't even try to mask it by turning it into a quote by some supposed expert), am I supposed to give greater weight to Mr. Akef's objections because he's the "leader" of a religious organization that's been around a long time? If so, then I gotta go with the Pope, because they've been around a bit longer.

But that's neither here nor there. Because the organization in question, the Muslim Brotherhood, is in fact an evil organization. And I noticed also that Reuters/CNN neglected to mention that important point.

Catholic author Gary Dale Cearley:

The Muslim Brotherhood? Isn’t that the group whose last part of their motto says ‘death for the sake of God is the highest of our aspirations’? Aren’t they the ones who assassinated Anwar Al-Sadat, the leader of Egypt and made several attempts on the life of Ghamal Al-Nasser? Wasn’t Ayman Al-Zawahiri a long-time member of this group before joining Islamic Jihad and uniting it with Al-Qaeda? Isn’t the Muslim Brotherhood outlawed in its ‘normal’ form in several Arab countries today? Isn’t the Muslim Brotherhood one of the largest supporters and benefactors of Hamas? Isn’t the Muslim Brotherhood’s stated goal to unite the entire world as one nation under Islam? Why should we be alarmed that the Muslim Brotherhood’s leader, Mohamed Mahdi Akef, said the Pope ‘aroused the anger of the whole Islamic world and strengthened the argument of those who say that the West is hostile to everything Islamic’? The Pope was simply quoting a man, Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who was one of the last Byzantine rulers who was very often being attacked by the Muslim Ottomans. Manuel II had seen what Islam was doing to his nation.

Indonesian protest organizer Heri Budianto:

Of course as we know the meaning of jihad can only be understood by Muslims . . . Only Muslims can understand what jihad is. It is impossible that jihad can be linked with violence, we Muslims have no violent character."

From Iraq's Sheik Salah al-Ubaidi:

In Iraq's Shiite Muslim-stronghold of Kufa, Sheik Salah al-Ubaidi criticized the pope during Friday prayers, saying his remarks were a second assault on Islam.

'Last year and in the same month the Danish cartoon assaulted Islam,' he said, referring to a Danish newspaper's publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, which triggered outrage in the Muslim world.

In Britain, Muhammad Abdul Bari of the Muslim Council said:

One would expect a religious leader such as the pope to act and speak with responsibility and repudiate the Byzantine emperor's views in the interests of truth and harmonious relations between the followers of Islam and Catholicism.

The Pope's invitation to visit Turkey (the home of Mehmet Ali Ağca, lest we forget) is now in jeopardy.

In Turkey, . . . Ali Bardakoglu, the head of Ankara's Directorate General for Religious Affairs, . . . describ[ed] the pope's words as 'extremely regrettable.'

'I do not see any use in somebody visiting the Islamic world who thinks in this way about the holy prophet of Islam. He should first rid himself of feelings of hate,' NTV's Web site quoted Bardakoglu as saying.

Bardakoglu . . . recalled atrocities committed by Roman Catholic Crusaders during the Middle Ages in the name of their faith against Orthodox Christians and Jews as well as Muslims.

I believe that Benedict touched a nerve with these people and that nerve has direct historical roots the Muslims are refusing to consider. Where does the Muslim responsibility to rid themselves of these feelings and reign themselves in begin and end? Constantly falling back on harkening to the Crusades is for their audience, which is an audience that forgets, or refuses to remember, that the Arabs forced scores of people from many nations and religions in conquered territories to convert over the centuries. In many countries these periods of forced conversion were the most bloody chapters of their history. And even more important, these Muslim leaders ignore the fact that at varying times the Muslims took their own ‘Crusades’ to Europe, pushing their way to Austria and to the Pyrenees mountains at different points in history. These pushes into Europe both pre-date the Crusades to the Holy Land by several centuries and they continued after the Crusades to the Holy Land, again for several centuries. Standing eye to eye and toe to toe, Islam has more to answer for in the West than the West has to answer for to Islam but you will never hear this from a Muslim ‘spokesperson’.

That said, I do think Pope Benedict might have been better off leaving that one particular quote from Manuel II out of his speech. But what's done is done. The bell can't be unrung. What's next is for us to see once more how tolerant the "religion of peace" is towards any type of criticism. Especially in this case, when the Pope's speech was not meant as criticism.

Update: Here's another laughably ironic comment from a muslim writing in London's al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper. First he says that "there is no difference between" the Holy Father, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. Regarding the Pope's speech, he goes on to say:

These are ignorant comments previously made by Adolf Hitler, who spoke of a supreme white race against all the other races, especially the African race.

Michelle Malkin has a roundup of the unsurprising violence now beginning in the muslim world. These idiots are lashing out at anything and everything non-muslim. They're confusing Anglican and Greek Orthodox churches with Catholic ones, and they're calling the anti-war Pope a part of the Zionist American conspiracy.

Posted by: annika at 10:04 AM | Comments (15) | Add Comment
Post contains 1334 words, total size 10 kb.

As reported by Point Five:

On the heels of the Warner/ McCain/ Graham legislation passed out of Senate committee today, which offers expanded rights to terrorists over the bill proposed by President Bush, al Qaeda reportedly has considered changing its long- standing rules on prisoner treatment to include greater protections for Americans in custody.

The new guidelines would set strict requirements for the type and quality of beheading blades, limit the time spent on- camera in execution videos, and place new rules on the use of burning alive, dismembering, and dragging through the streets.

. . .

Under the new al Qaeda guidelines, gasoline would be strongly discouraged as a fuel for blackening infidel corpses, favoring high-temperature, fast burning fuels such as acetylene or MAPP gas. The use of accelerants such as oxygen to more quickly extinguish the cries of agony from the infidels would be “greatly pleasing to Allah.”

Update: Shameless recycling of an old post that is still apropriate.

Posted by: annika at 07:19 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
Post contains 173 words, total size 1 kb.

I had no idea it was DMAD. In fact, I'd never heard of DMAD until today. It's not his birthday (that's June 7). Anyways, I'm up for it. Go and celebrate at Sheila's. Nobody blogs classic Hollywood better than Sheila. There are some great pictures too. Dean cooking with the Duke. Dean, Mia and Sharon Tate. Dean and the boss, naturally. Dean stepping onstage with Judy (I think it's Judy). And of course, Dean and Jerry.

Update: Youtube is amazing. Look what I found.

That scene of Dean the father kissing Dean Paul is sad, isn't it? Captain Dean Paul Martin died in 1987 when his Air National Guard F-4 Phantom crashed into Mount San Gorgonio.

Dean Paul "Dino" Martin, 35, son of entertainer Dean Martin was killed when the Phantom jet he was piloting crashed into the San Gabriel Mountains. Permission was given by March Air Force Base ATC to perform a "maximum climb" takeoff. The aircraft was seen disappearing into a scattered cloud ceiling at 4,700 feet. Radar contact was lost 9 minutes into the flight. The crash site was found on the 3rd day of searching in the San Gabriel Mountains. An investigation revealed the aircraft flew, inverted, into a solid wall of granite between two mountain peaks at an estimated speed of 560 mph. The aircraft was literally pulverized into the granite. The "maximum climb" takeoff, g forces assoctiated with this type of flight and the dense cloud cover negatively affected the pilots ability to know his position and aircraft attitude.

Posted by: annika at 09:38 AM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
Post contains 275 words, total size 2 kb.

1 Thanks for the link!! I'm kinda having a manic episode (ha!) - but I loves me some Dino!

Posted by: red at September 14, 2006 10:02 AM (rNgdr)

2 Oh - and I totally made up DMAD. In order to justify how obsessed I am with Dino right now.

Posted by: red at September 14, 2006 10:32 AM (rNgdr)

3 Well, it's very nice Sheila. Although someone should gag Jerry.

Posted by: Casca at September 14, 2006 11:53 AM (Z2ndo)

4 "I had the most amazing dream. I was riding on an ice cream donkey with none other than Mr. Dean Martin, and even though the donkey melted just outside of Walnut City, Dean didn't care, because that's just the kind of man he was." "Aye, he was the Dean of Martins." "Amen."

Posted by: The Law Fairy at September 14, 2006 12:06 PM (XUsiG)

5 Oh, and yes, Annika, you are correct - that is Judy, welcoming Dean to the stage for a duet at the Coconut Grove. Uhm - what I would give for a time machine!!!

Posted by: red at September 14, 2006 03:58 PM (hJ+VA)

6 Guess I'll have a scotch to celebrate. I always liked his old variety show. BTW, I am writing this only four hours after Lasik eye surgery. Its great not to need glasses anymore.

Posted by: kyle8 at September 14, 2006 04:41 PM (PBHAA)

7 Here's a classic Dino story: In "The Sons of Katie Elder", they wanted Duke and Dino to escape from jail and Duke was supposed to hide a knife and hold it to the neck of the jailor and threaten him to let them out. Duke said the didn't use knives and would never do it. The director turned toward Dino and before he could speak a word, Dino said "So, where do I hide the knife?". By the way, Dino would not appreciate any Jerry Lewis shit. He hated his ass for breaking up the partnership and striking out on his own. In the end, it was Jerry who rued the day he did so, but Dean had no use for him at all. I think I'll have a Scotch myself, although I'm pretty sure Dino drank Gentleman Jack on the rocks, or, whatever someone handed him from the audience.

Posted by: shelly at September 14, 2006 06:00 PM (ZGpMS)

8 Well, since we're going to reminisce. Deano was from the heart of union thug country, Mingo Junction, OH. Oh yeah, everything says Steubenville, but the locals always know the fine points. I love that he was such a true friend. He helped his buddy Frank during JFK's election, because he was supporting Frank. JFK's team pressured Frank and the Ratpackers not to attend Sammy's mixed race wedding to that Swedish beauty, and Deano didn't think twice about not attending. That was the end of it between Dean and the Kennedy Clan. I'm not sure if Frank attended or not.

Posted by: Casca at September 14, 2006 07:46 PM (2gORp)

9 BTW Kyle, given your extra-curricular activities. You'll need glasses again in no time. Just make sure you stop before you go blind.

Posted by: Casca at September 14, 2006 07:48 PM (2gORp)

10 Now, that is funny. But, Kyle is an easy target, he is such a weenie.

Posted by: shelly at September 15, 2006 02:59 AM (ZGpMS)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

One of the purposes of this blog, as I have said before, is to learn from my readers. I have a theory in mind, and I'm wondering if I'm on the right track. Please help me by taking this short answer essay test. One sentence answers are best.

1. Why did the Confederacy bomb Fort Sumter?


2. Why did Germany invade the Soviet Union?


3. Why did the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor?


4. Why did Muslim terrorists bomb the World Trade Center in 1993?


5. Why did Muslim terrorists bomb the World Trade Center in 2001?


6. Generally speaking, is there a common motivator among all these acts?

Please mail your answers here.

Update: Thanks for all the great responses. Now I think my theory is not so good. And probably question number one doesn't really belong there since, as many of you pointed out, Ft. Sumter was bombed in response to Federal resupply of the island, and was not a surprise attack.

I had been thinking that all of the above actions were pre-emptive strikes by inferior forces against a superior power. And the common theme would be that each of the attackers had a particular vision of society, and in each case the attackee uniquely stood in the way of the attacker's vision.

However, the Germans and the Japanese planned to shorten a war of conquest by their surprise attacks, while the same cannot really be said of the WTC bombers. The terrorists are not capable of fighting any war of conquest, and I don't really believe they expected the response they got after 2001.

Posted by: annika at 07:07 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 265 words, total size 2 kb.

Now that baby number two is out, pencil in June 2007 for the next blessed event.

Oh, this one is a boy!

Posted by: annika at 02:03 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
Post contains 34 words, total size 1 kb.

1 In other news, ElMondoHummus yawns and gets out the words "Who gives a f..." before getting mobbed by a crowd of angry teenagers dressed in schoolgirl outfits screaming "BRITNEY'S MY HERO!!" and "I (heart) BRITNEY SPEARS FEDERLINE!!". Rescue workers tried valiently to extract Mr. Hummus from the mound of CD's, posters, barbie dolls and bubble gum, but were unsuccessful. Reactions from the street: Beth, Bamapachyderm: "Britney, that f****n' ho!" Shelly: "Al Davis, that f****n' ho!" Casca: "So how do I get mobbed by teens in plaid skirts?" Strawman: "About Bush and Iraq..." Blu: "About that f****n' Strawman" Casca: "SO HOW THE HELL DO ***I*** GET MOBBED BY TEENS IN PLAID SKIRTS??!!"

Posted by: ElMondoHummus at September 13, 2006 03:47 PM (xHyDY)

2 Pretty close, but I've moved beyond teens. I prefer thirty-somethings.

Posted by: Casca at September 13, 2006 04:07 PM (2gORp)

3 Hmmm... I know a couple of thirty-somethings, and a nearly thirtysomething I'd luuuuuv to see in a plaid skirt & white shirt. Mmmmm... Yes, they're all female! No Scottish bagpipers in my fantasies! Get'cher minds outta the gutter!

Posted by: ElMondoHummus at September 13, 2006 04:51 PM (xHyDY)

4 annika, I was thinking the same thing. She's not giving that thang a snowballs chance of regaining any snap.

Posted by: Victor at September 13, 2006 04:52 PM (l+W8Z)

5 good stuff mondo! casca: i don't believe u victor: eeeew!

Posted by: annika at September 13, 2006 05:18 PM (qQD4Q)

6 lol

Posted by: annika at September 23, 2006 02:36 PM (HLpP7)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

If Edna St. Vincent Millay were alive today, it's probably even money that she'd be against the Iraq War. She was a complicated person: pacifist, socialist, activist, feminist and bisexual. Yet when World War II threatened she put aside her pacifism, and argued strongly against the isolationists. She also wrote several poems urging us to take the Nazis seriously.

Here's one. Replace "Hitler" with the contemporary height challenged dictator of your choice, and the poem's warning sounds true today.

And Then There Were None

Ten white ptarmigan
      Perching in a pine;
Hitler gave his solemn oath:
      And then there were nine.

Nine white ptarmigan
      Trusting in their fate;
Hitler gave his solemn oath:
      And then there were eight.

Eight white ptarmigan
      Putting trust in Heaven;
Hitler gave his solemn oath:
      And then there were seven.

Seven white ptarmigan
      In a pretty fix;
Hitler gave his solemn oath:
      And then there were six.

Six white ptarmigan
      Hoping to survive;
Hitler gave his solemn oath:
      And then there were five.

Five white ptarmigan
      Wishing they were more;
Hitler gave his solemn oath:
      And then there were four.

Four white ptarmigan
      Trying to agree;
Hitler gave his solemn oath:
      And then there were three.

Three white ptarmigan
      Feeling very few;
Hitler gave his solemn oath:
      And then there were two.

Two white ptarmigan
      Cried, "It can't be done!"
Hitler gave his solemn oath:
      And then there was one.

One white ptarmigan
      Looked about and blinked;
Hitler gave his solemn oath:
      The race is now extinct.

Read it here. I particularly like this stanza.

On English soil, on French terrain,
Democracy's at grips again
With forces forged to stamp it out.
This time no quarter!—since no doubt.
Not France, not England's what's involved,
Not we,—there's something to be solved
Of grave concern to free men all:
Can Freedom stand?—Must Freedom fall?

(Meantime, the tide devours the shore:
There are no islands any more)

Posted by: annika at 08:02 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 358 words, total size 3 kb.

The stingray that killed Steve Irwin ignored the most important law of the jungle.

Ye may kill for yourselves, and your mates, and your cubs as they need, and ye can;
But kill not for pleasure of killing, and seven times never kill Man!

A number of stingrays have been slaughtered in an apparent wave of revenge killings over the death of conservationist and television personality Steve Irwin.

Ten have been found with their tails cut off near Hervey Bay and Deception Bay in south-east Queensland.

. . .

. . . to hear that people are actually going out and killing stingrays and cutting off their tails is barbaric. It's ridiculous. Steve would really be abhorred by this whole event. It's not something that should be happening.

Posted by: annika at 07:59 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
Post contains 141 words, total size 1 kb.

From Reuters:

A ship bound for Syria from North Korea and detained in Cyprus on an Interpol alert for suspected arms smuggling was carrying air defense systems, Cypriot authorities said on Monday.

The shipment was billed as weather-observation equipment on the freight manifest of the Panamanian-flagged Grigorio 1 and officials said the Syrian government had asked Cyprus to release the seized consignment.

"To my knowledge their name doesn't appear anywhere on the manifest as the consignee, but they have got involved," a senior shipping industry source in Nicosia told Reuters.

He said the vessel had been tracked over a long period of time.

The ship was carrying 18 truck-mounted mobile radar systems and three command vehicles. "The radars on the 18 trucks appear to be part of an air defense system," a police spokeswoman said.

10 bucks says the "international community" does squat about this violation.

h/t LGF

Posted by: annika at 10:43 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
Post contains 185 words, total size 2 kb.