In ruling against President Obama‘s health care law, federal Judge Roger Vinson used Mr. Obama‘s own position from the 2008 campaign against him, when the then-Illinois senator argued there were other ways to achieve reform short of requiring every American to purchase insurance.I'm under no illusions here. I have little faith the US Supreme Court will affirm this ruling, or any other ruling that makes it to their desk.
“I note that in 2008, then-Senator Obamasupported a health care reform proposal that did not include an individual mandate because he was at that time strongly opposed to the idea, stating that, ‘If a mandate was the solution, we can try that to solve homelessness by mandating everybody to buy a house,’” Judge Vinson wrote in a footnote toward the end of his 78-page ruling Monday.
Monday, January 31, 2011
The Irony: Judge Cites Obama's Own Words
Speaking Of. . .
Frank Zappa, Captain, here is an oldie of Zappa "torturing" Ronald Reagan. Stop with the vitriol!
But this post isn't about Frank Zappa. I understand he made an important contribution to rock music, what it was I don't know, but few people know that a young guitarist mailed him some of his own music in the late 70's, which was neatly and perfectly transcribed note for note. This young man was eventually invited by Zappa to come work with him transcribing music and soon impressing everyone with his raw abilities. At the ripe old age of 19, the young man was out on tour with Zappa and recording overdubs and lead material in the studio. Zappa referred to him as his "young Italian virtuoso". In reality, and at that time, the young man was a prodigy not a virtuoso. Today however, he ranks among the most technically accomplished guitarists in modern rock and roll and will most certainly be remembered by history as a ground-breaking and awe-inspiring musician.
His name: Steve Vai
Below you will find one of the most incredible displays of guitar playing that I have ever seen. The technical skill, speed, tempo, and touch of his playing is impeccable and frankly, bloody ZOMFG awesome. I read somewhere a long time ago that before Vai recorded this song, he did not play his instrument for several weeks and also fasted for many days a part of his religion (whatever that is) before going to the studio for recording. According to the lore, he play the song in one take and was more or less carried away from the studio weakened and with bloody fingers. I don't know if any of that is true, but the song is powerful and whatever happened during recording, it came from that special place deep inside of a person that can create something beautiful and wonderful and pure.
I'm no great fan of Steve Vai, I only appreciate his music somewhat, but I really think that this song is particularly special from a technical standpoint and besides it has taken me 20 years to forgive him for starring in Crossroads with Ralph Macchio.
Hey Obama?
Bwaaahaahaahahahaha!!!
From Reuters:
U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson, appointed to the bench by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, ruled that the reform law's so-called "individual mandate" went too far in requiring that Americans start buying health insurance in 2014 or pay a penalty.
"Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire act must be declared void. This has been a difficult decision to reach, and I am aware that it will have indeterminable implications," Vinson wrote.
He was referring to a key provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and sided with governors and attorneys general from 26 U.S. states, almost all of whom are Republicans, in declaring it unconstitutional. The issue will likely end up at the Supreme Court.
Sorry, O-Dopehead, you lose again sucker! Fish sandwich anyone?
Muslim Brotherhood Wants War with Israel
Mohamed Ghanem, one of the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, calls Egypt to stop pumping gas to Israel and prepare the Egyptian army for a war with it’s eastern neighbor.
Speaking with Iranian television station Al-Alam, Mohamed Ghanem blamed Israel for supporting Hosni Mubarak’s regime. Ghanem also said that the Egyptian police and army won’t be able to stop the Muslim Brotherhood movement.If you feel froggy Egypt, then I say jump. But how short is your memory?
Don't worry America. Obama is on this.
For Ali
The Fox News family dominates the cable news rating like no one has before. And it is no secret why, fair and balanced is their motto.
A blonde and auburn red? I'm feeling pretty balanced, the fairness part I'm not so sure about.
Remember that Russian Ship that Vanished?
A COURT in Russia's far northern region of Arkhangelsk is hearing testimony from six men accused of hijacking the Arctic Sea, a cargo ship, in 2009, the bizarre disappearance of which prompted international speculation about a secret Russian arms sale to the Middle East gone awry.
The defendants, who face up to 15 years in jail on charges of kidnapping and piracy, have pleaded guilty, although five of them dispute details of the indictment. But the circumstances surrounding their case are so murky, and the official version so implausible, that their relatives are convinced they were duped into covering up something the Russian government wants to remain secret.
The Russian navy says the ship was carrying timber from Finland to Algeria when it was hijacked by six armed pirates, most of them unemployed ethnic Russians living in an impoverished neighbourhood of the Estonian capital, Tallinn. The disappearance triggered an international search on the high seas until Moscow claimed it had freed the ship's crew after discovering the vessel off the west coast of Africa.
But reports from Israel said the Arctic Sea had been first intercepted by Mossad, and that the Israelis had warned the Kremlin to stop its shipment - or they would seize it themselves.
After their arrest, the alleged pirates claimed they had been hired to conduct temporary environmental work - gathering evidence of illegal pollution from ships - and were training on a rubber boat in the Baltic Sea when a storm blew them off course. They said they were rescued by the Arctic Sea and later set up for a cover meant to save the Kremlin embarrassment.
As if the story weren't strange enough, last year a handwritten letter allegedly penned by one of the jailed men - an unemployed roofer before the Arctic Sea incident - appealed to the international community to take concerns over pollution in the Baltic Sea seriously. "We know how to save the Baltic Sea basin from serious environmental catastrophe," it read.
Only a few crew members are taking part in the trial in Arkhangelsk. They've been barred from talking to reporters about the alleged hijacking. In Tallinn, the defendants' families fear the worst.
Alexei Bartenev, the brother of one of the defendants, says the case remains a mystery. "Only those on board know what happened," he says. Mr Bartenev wonders why Russia is trying a case involving a ship registered in Malta, owned by a company in Finland, and alleged to have been intercepted in Swedish waters by residents of Estonia. He also wonders why the eight alleged hijackers and some of the crew - 16 people in all - were flown from Africa to Russia on two large Ilyushin-76 cargo planes capable of carrying 40 tons each, if not also to carry weapons or other illicit cargo. "All I can say is that it's very suspicious."
Sunday, January 30, 2011
"When Egypt is Free, We Will Finally Be Able to Destroy Israel"
Woman #1 sets the stage for Woman #2:“All the people hate him. He’s supporting Israel! Israel is our enemy. We don’t like him…Israel and America supported him. We hate them all!”Woman #1 then explains that they will accomplish the removal of Mubarak by “revolution.”
Then the guy that follows them takes it up a notch by explaining that when the people in Egypt are finally free they will be able to “destroy Israel.”
Muslims never let a chance to hate America go to waste.
And this has nothing to do with that...but we could all learn from Dwayne.
Obama and the Ivory Tower Liberals Caught Unprepared for the Reality of Egypt
Here's an excerpt:
What is not unclear, however, is that the Obama administration, and American liberals more generally, have been caught intellectually unprepared for this crisis. The administration’s predicament, it must be said, is strategically complicated: since Mubarak may fall, it cannot afford to alienate the protestors, but since the protestors may fail, it cannot afford to alienate Mubarak. Our officials have been improvising, not altogether brilliantly. Joe Biden fatuously declared that “I would not refer to [Mubarak] as a dictator.” Robert Gibbs said that “this is not about taking sides.” Hillary Clinton, who used to speak warmly of Mubarak as “family,” has called for “restraint” and “reform” and “dialogue,” and warned that a crackdown could affect American aid to Egypt—as if anything but a crackdown is to be expected from Mubarak. And Barack Obama is also trying to finesse things, urging Mubarak to transform “a moment of volatility” into “a moment of promise”—the eloquence is irritating: there are times when the power of language is not the power that is needed—and proclaiming that “the United States will continue to stand up for the rights of the Egyptian people.”Read the rest
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Reagan vs. Obama
Reagan: Fostered national pride in the military.
Obama: Fostered gay pride in the military.
Reagan: We begin bombing in five minutes.
Obama: We begin golfing in five minutes.
Reagan: Made big government a bad word.
Obama: Made big government a bad dream.
Reagan: A shining city on a hill.
Obama: A home mortgage under water.
Reagan: Just say no.
Obama: Yes we can!
Reagan: Stood up to the Soviets.
Obama: Bowed to the Saudis.
Reagan: “Tear down this wall.”
Obama: Tearing down this country.
Reagan: “Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty.”
Obama: Concentrated power has always been the objective.
Reagan: Put labor unions in their place.
Obama: Put labor unions in charge.
Reagan: National health care is socialism.
Obama: National health care is socialism.
Reagan: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”
Obama: We are that generation.
Reagan: Morning in America.
Obama: Mourning for America.
Reagan: “Man is not free unless government is limited.”
Obama: Man is not limited unless government is free.
Reagan: “Government programs, once launched, never disappear.”
Obama: That’s the plan.
Reagan: “The best minds are not in government.”
Obama: The best mind is in the Oval Office.
Reagan: “I did not take the oath I have just taken with the intention of presiding over the dissolution of the world’s strongest economy.”
Obama: It’s all Bush’s fault.
Reagan: Our adversaries “counted on America to be passive. They counted wrong.”
Obama: Who else can I apologize to?
Reagan: “Trust, but verify.”
Obama: Let’s do whatever Putin wants.
Reagan: “We have a rendezvous with destiny.”
Obama: I have a rendezvous with destiny.
BREAKING: War in Afghanistan is Over!
Friday, January 28, 2011
Made in the USA - American Tear Gas Being Fired at Egyptian Protesters
Egyptian riot police are firing tear gas canisters bearing the label "Made in U.S.A" against street demonstrations in Cairo, according to protesters who provided ABC News with pictures of the canisters.Of course, this is just feeding the radical Islam dementia.
According to the canister labels, the tear gas is produced by Combined Systems International of Jamestown, Pennsylvania.
The company's web-site says it sells "non-lethal weapons" to foreign governments, without specifying Egypt.
Weed, crappy sing alongs, soccer moms and bright lights
Skip to 3:45 for the money shot.
Get well soon, Jimmy Buffett. Dumb ass.
Do you like Rock and Roll?
I mean really like it?
Do you like to just close your eyes and peal away the layers of a song and delve deep into a song like it was some kind onion that makes you weep tears of joy?
Me too.
That's why to me this is the pinnacle of all that is rock and roll. It's mount Olympus. Nothing ever came close before or since. These guys are still at it and while they have never equaled this greatness, they can still approach it. And at their age this is remarkable.
So I give you Midnight Rambler for the 1973 European Tour.
It starts off like the tough kid on his dirt bike just cruising by to say hello to all the cheerleaders on the bleachers. Then at 2:00 in he takes of into the fields to show off what he can do with this machine. Then he's back again at 3:12 to say "hey you like that?", then takes off again at 3:29 again.
This happens numerous times.
Mick Jagger's call and response with the "owww!!"'s with the crowd...
Right after you got the call and response of Keith Richards and Mick Taylor's guitars at 8:36...
Then the crazy ass finale at 11:56 that seems like it just might go off the rails but never does.
Christ what more do you want people???
Anyway.. It's Friday and I love you all....
Just crank it up as always and thank Ali...
All my best,
Ali Blah Blah.
The White House Weighs in on the Egypt Crisis
"Very concerned about violence in Egypt – government must respect the rights of the Egyptian people & turn on social networking and internet”h/t IOTW
Twitter from Robert Gibbs, White House Press Secretary
Foul Out!
Probably not the proper forum, nor the right thing to say on an NBA broadcast, but hey, I'm sure he wasn't the first to think or say it.
Foreign Bodies
It's Friday and I am doing all that I can to ignore the ever burgeoning work that keeps appearing on my desk as well as totally dreading an eventual meeting this afternoon with federal inspectors on a government construction project.
So my mind is awash with anything but work today. It's payday too, so that never helps when you have a pocket full of folding money and nothing to spend it on. With all of that said, I was browsing around the infinite conundrum which is the Internet, looking for some comedic gem or undiscovered unusual finding, but I think the only thing out there are naked and half naked women. And a few goats.
Naturally, my unusual mind carried me far away and an interesting thought struck my fancy. Since our foreign policy is in a shambles with places like Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, and Lebanon burning in political revolution and our current bumbling leaders contradicting one another regularly, I have a vast new idea that will surely end the violence and re-establish the United States as the leading power broker on the planet. And the answer is: scorching hot women.
Indeed. The fact of the matter is, most dictators and puppet regimes around the world are dominated by men. So what better way than to get what we want and what they need than by appointing the hottest women of the planet to negotiate our foreign policy. They don't have to be experts in negotiation or have advanced degrees in Political Science, hell, I've known beautiful women who could have asked to eat my spleen right out of my body with a spork and I woulda run right down to KFC to find a spork, no questions asked.
My dad told me a long time ago when I was having girlfriend troubles, he said, "Son, if women were smarter, they could have everything they wanted, because they have all of the pu**y, half of the money, and some of the power. If they could get themselves together and organize, they could have all of the pu**y, all of the money, and all of the power. All they'd have to do is cut us off." Now, not that I subscribe to this rather misogynistic view, but there is a modicum of truth within those words from so long ago.
Men are stupid creatures when it comes to women. They say, we do, and in the end, we men generally lose any up front battle with our female counterparts. So with that being said, I offer up Adriana Lima as Secretary of State and really, Ambassador to the World, and I personally guarantee that our foreign policy woes will be solved in a matter of months.
When trouble breaks out, say in Egypt for instance, we can send Secretary Lima to Cairo dressed in a revealing low-cut blouse and skinny jeans, surround her with a contingent of battle-ready Ghurkas as her protective force so no one messes up her hair and she can simply hand Hosni Mubarak a 5-point plan of things he must do:
- 1. Stop being an idiot.
- 2. You will do as we say.
- 3. Be nice to people.
- 4. Give us our money back with interest.
- 5. If you don't, you'll never see me again.
- P.S. Buy me a diamond.
And besides. . .anything, and I mean anything would be an improvement over our current Secretary of Pant Suits.
Are there any other women we should nominate for this position? I'm open to discussion.
I see that you still don't believe that my simple plan will work. In that case, I offer up Exhibit 1-A to the court:
Case closed. I win.
Egypt Boils over!
Yeah it's mess over there. I haven't been there since I was young and my family would take the occasional summer trip to Al Lyter to visit my uncle Furyu Ghanoreeya. I have pictures somewhere. I'll look for them this weekend.
Anyway, judging by the crowd and their chants I'd guess this is a case where we wish both sides die in a monstrous orgy of blood and tears. No? I'm out of the loops, so...
Washington State is Putting its Foot Down
State. Sen. Mike Carrell of Lakewood is sponsoring a bill to prevent the use of Washington's welfare cash cards from being used at strip clubs, tattoo parlors, gun shops and taverns.
Carrell says an investigation by Seattle TV station KING found the benefit cards are being misused.
The station earlier found that about $2 million in welfare cash was withdrawn in one year at casinos. The Department of Social and Health Services asked casinos to block the use of the cards at their ATMs. Most have complied. Gambling with welfare cash is illegal.
Now, KING has found the welfare benefits - known as EBT cards - are being cashed at strip clubs and sex shops. DSHS Secretary Susan Dreyfus agrees it's time to tighten restrictions.
Roasted
Too bad these two dopes are dead because the split second of comedy just before the missile strike is priceless. For a moment there I had visions of a new Islamic comedy starring Lashkar, Chakir and Mo-hammed.
3....2....1........Contact!
H/T: Weasel Zippers
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Ratios
I was going to name this post "Cuts Like A Knife", but I knew I would be tortured by my evil subconscious and its catalog of Bryan Adams songs that would ultimately lead to an unsightly vision of Kevin Costner in green tights portraying the worst Robin Hood ever. Thanks Bryan Adams, you hoser!
Anyway, the story I am about to present can only be described as the way all men would love to be and can be represented with one word struck in emphatic, capitalized, bold-printed and italicized red letters: BADASS!!!
Oh, and that ratio? Only 40:1
Spitfire
Seems like MSNBC's resident mysoginst, Legs McTingleton, has a problem with the way Michele Bachmann pronounces words:
From RCP:
"She mispronounces words like 'scourge' and 'Iwo Jima.' It's like she never said these words before. Somebody is writing words that she never pronounced before. It's scourge not 'scoorge,' it's Iwo Jima not Iwo 'Jamma.' But, if you've never pronounced it before or said it before you say Iwo 'Jamma.'Well Chris, you might be right, but at least she doesn't projectile drool all over herself and others every time she opens her mouth. Have another drink numbnuts.
Oh, and I'm sure she know that corps, as in Marine Corps, is pronouned as core and not corpse like a particular "educated" genius does who can't string five words together without saying "uh" or "um" 15-thousand times a minute.
Busted: Chinese Media Caught Faking Air Force Training Drill Using "Top Gun" Footage
Xinwen lianbo, or News Broadcast, on China Central Television, comes under fire again for its report of an air force training exercise on January 23. In the newscast, the way a target was hit by the air-to-air missile fired by a J-10 fighter aircraft and exploded looks almost identical to a cinema scene from the Hollywood film Top Gun.
A net user who went by the name “刘毅” (Liu Yi) pointed out that the jet that the J-10 “hit” is an F-5, a US fighter jet. In Top Gun, what the leading actor Tom Cruise pilots an F-14 to bring down is exactly an F-5. Looking at the screenshots juxtaposition, one cannot fail to find that even flame, smoke and the way the splinters fly look the same.
On the left are screenshots of CCTV News; on the right are screenshots of Top Gun.
Don't be so quick to concede these buffoons are the soon to be masters of the universe. They've still shown no propensity to create original high tech weaponry. They have, however, shown the propensity to make crappy counterfeits. Of everything. Step it up Japan. It's your time.
h/t Weasel Zippers and Ministry of Tofu
Marine Sniper in Afghanistan
Any Guesses. . .
Anyone wanna take a stab at who these rock hard abs belong to?
The winner gets a glazed doughnut with a raw hot dog shoved through the middle.
Obama and His SOTU Speech Plagiarism
From LA Times:
During his Tuesday evening address to a joint session of Congress Obama cited....
...by name the late Sen. Robert Kennedy as saying, “The future is not a gift. It is an achievement."
However, a number of other passages coming out of the presidential mouth struck a few listeners as sounding vaguely familiar. Talking of the need for improved education, Obama in one prominent line said, "We are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea." Hmm. Turns out, someone else said those same memorable words about the time Obama was editing the law review.
The United States, that previous politician told an American audience, is the "first nation to have been founded on an idea." But what U.S. Democrat would want to quote Britain's conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on national TV?Alvin Felzenberg exposes Obama's plagiarism in detail at US News
Iranian Book Celebrating Suicide Bombers Found in Arizona Desert
A book celebrating suicide bombers has been found in the Arizona desert just north of the U.S.- Mexican border, authorities tell Fox News.
The book, "In Memory of Our Martyrs," was spotted Tuesday by a U.S. Border Patrol agent out of the Casa Grande substation who was patrolling a route known for smuggling illegal immigrants and drugs.
Published in Iran, it consists of short biographies of Islamic suicide bombers and other Islamic militants who died carrying out attacks.
According to internal U.S. Customs and Border Protection documents, "The book also includes letters from suicide attackers to their families, as well as some of their last wills and testaments." Each biographical page contains "the terrorist's name, date of death, and how they died."
Agents also say that the book appears to have been exposed to weather in the desert "for at least several days or weeks."Read the rest
Since. . .
Three months after Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. wrote the ownership of a Jackson strip club about advertising he considered too racy, one billboard remains in place while another has been damaged by vandals.The sign in question:
The billboard on I-220 advertising Danny's Cabaret still features the material that first offended some citizens and the mayor: a bikini-clad blonde with the slogan, "Strippers love to climb our pole."
This has been a public service announcment of The Big Feed.
"Nasty Funk Y'all" Revisited
I think about this video from time to time (which disturbs me in and of itself) and I feel that it's worthy of a repost. Just too damned "fonky" to not share once more.
Imagine All Those. . .
I'd pay money to see a lot of live events like a good live band, a stage play, a rodeo, ballet, or even midget wrestling. You know, something that broadens my cultural sensibilities. I wouldn't waste a dime on something like the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra wheedling away on some Beatles tunes which is scheduled for Saturday night in downtown Jackson.
If I want to hear an orchestra play, I prefer to hear some Brahms or Bach, some complicated and hair-raising fugue that just blasts you out of the orpheum. The thought of hordes of lost, aging, flower-child hippies pouring into Thalia Mara Hall for this event fills me with a certain dread.
Just for Ali's sake, I might stand out front and take a few swings at them just to restore the natural balance of the world.
Top Ten Reasons. . .
. . .why Mississippi is better than Bangladesh.
After reading last week's post by Captain Thurston which compared the individual GDP of each state in the union with those of foreign countries, I was displeased to find that Bangladesh indeed has a larger output than Mississippi. I've searched and searched in an effort to disprove this assertion, but from what I've found I believe it to be true.
Although my pride is stinging, I've put together a list of Ten Reasons why my home state is better than Bangladesh. . .
- 10. We grow more cotton and less malaria.
- 9. Mississippi hasn't fought a civil war in 146 years.
- 8. Mississippi is often the most charitable state. Bangladesh? Do you hear those sucking noises?
- 7. Even the poorest Mississippian has a Cadillac.
- 6. Unlike Bangladesh, Mississippi does not harbor British Islamic terrorists. And even if we did, they wouldn't last too long once someone found out.
- 5. Our indigenous music is better and caused a creative revolution.
- 4. We have "cassina" gambling (see Gov. Haley Barbour's pronunciation).
- 3. Bangladesh is surrounded by Communists, Islamofacists and Marxists. Mississippi is surrounded by Coon-asses, Mountain people and Alabama. However, we might trade Alabama for a few commies depending on next year's SEC football season.
- 2. Elvis is from Mississippi and not Bangladesh! Hallelujah baby Jesus!
- 1. And the number one reason Mississippi is better: Bangladesh ain't got no collard greens, black-eyed peas, corn bread, and cracklins'!
Marvel Kills Captain America
Bullcrap! They're embarased by America. No other reason.The film “Captain America: The First Avenger” will have its title truncated to, simply, “The First Avenger” in those three overseas markets, according to Marvel Studios insiders. The choice was made by Marvel, Paramount Pictures’ international team and distributors in those three countries based on market research results. Those involved in the decision are being careful to frame the move as a matter of brand management and consumer awareness and not as a decision tilted by cultural or political winds.
How's that Border Fence Coming Along?
U.S. border authorities have arrested a controversial Muslim cleric who was deported from Canada to Tunisia three years ago and was caught earlier this month trying to sneak into California inside the trunk of a BMW, according to court documents.
Said Jaziri, the former Imam of a Muslim congregation in Montreal, was hidden inside a car driven by a San Diego-area man who was pulled over by U.S. Border Patrol agents near an Indian casino east of San Diego. Jaziri allegedly paid a Tijuana-based smuggling group $5,000 to get him across the border near Tecate, saying he wanted to be taken to a “safe place anywhere in the U.S.”
TUCSON - Smugglers using a catapult to launch marijuana across the border were observed on a remote video surveillance system, and National Guard troops coordinated with Mexican authorities to disrupt the far-flung operation.
Here's video of the catapult operation. It's Mexico's sputnik moment.On Friday evening, National Guard troops operating a remote video surveillance system at the Naco Border Patrol Station observed several people south of the International Boundary Fence preparing a catapult and launching packages over the International Border fence, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Kucinich Sues Congressional Cafeteria
Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich says he suffered permanent injuries from biting an olive pit hidden in the sandwich wrap he bought at a House of Representatives cafeteria. He demands $150,000.The real question is...How long before his injuries are pinned on right-wing extremists?
The former presidential hopeful sued Restaurant Associates, which operates the cafeteria in the Longworth Office Building, its parent company, Compass Group USA, and food suppliers Performance Food Group Co. and Foodbuy LLC.
Kucinich seeks damages for negligence, in Superior Court.
Kucinich says the cafeteria claimed that the sandwich had pitted olives, but after he bit the pit he "sustained serious and permanent dental and oral injuries requiring multiple surgical and dental procedures, and has sustained other damages as well, including significant pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment."
Separated At Birth
Russians Blame Call of Duty: Modern Warfare for Airport Bombing
The aftermath of Monday's blast at Domodedovo Airport has sparked hot debate as the stuff of a popular American video game, sold worldwide. “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” has become a shocking reality.Here's a video the portion of the game in question.
The bloody scenes of the Moscow attack are reminiscent of what can be seen in a year-old computer game, the scenario of which controversially involves a character who is urged to kill civilians in an imaginary Russian airport.
In the mission dubbed “No Russian” the player goes on a terrorist rampage, helping to massacre civilians in a fictitious Moscow airport. It may have seemed too gruesome and tragic ever to come true.
But far-fetched it is not, for this week’s events at Domodedovo International Airport are very real indeed. Thirty-five people have been killed, and over 180 injured in what investigators believe was a terrorist attack committed by a suicide bomber inside the international arrivals of Russia’s busiest airport.
As for the video game scenario, it appears a lot more people have been involved in the violence. The game was released by the American company Activision in November 2009, and in just a few months, sales surpassed $1 billion worldwide. The “No Russian” segment can be found with a simple YouTube search. With so many seemingly downloading, watching, and playing this game, you have to consider that this bloodbath would ever-so-closely resemble reality.
“Indeed it is a trouble to look at the game and reality. The issue is we need to know if terrorists or extremists are using these videos or DVDs or games to basically apply the model,” Walid Phares, Director of Future Terrorism Project at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said.
I have to disagree with the notion that this game causes violence. My kids play this all the time, and aside from a few instances where my kids have called for artillery fire on me, I haven't seen a problem.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
What the Peace Corps Doesn't Want You to Know
Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) tonight charged that the Peace Corps worked to cover up the rape of nearly 1,000 U.S. women volunteers over the last decade.
Poe cited an ABCNews reportfrom last week in which victims said the Peace Corps failed to heed safety concerns and in some cases blamed the women for "bringing on the attacks."
Poe cited one case in which a 29-year old woman was kidnapped, repeatedly raped and abandoned, and said the Peace Corps failed to act before or after those attacks. "In fact, for political reasons the Peace Corps did everything it could to ignore and cover up the dastardly deed, blaming the crime on the victim," Poe charged tonight.
I'm A Big Fan Of Vietnam Footage.
Especially when put to rock.
On a related note, why in the hell does the "blogger sign in" spot keep changing. Hide and Seek raises my blood presure.
Teachers Lock Students in Basement and Tell Them World War III has Just Started
Stunned primary school children were told in their morning assembly that World War III had broken out.
Staff at St Mary's RC, Bacup, Lancashire, came up with the idea to help children understand what it was like to live during wartime and decided to make them believe war had been declared.
The terrified youngsters were also told that London - where some of them have relatives - was under bomb attack.
They were led to a cellar when an air raid siren sounded and a firework was let off to simulate a bomb.
Headteacher Mike Richards announced in the morning assembly but abandoned the project at around 1.30pm after some of the children became upset. He has since apologised for the exercise.
He said some of the pupils had since had nightmares.
The project began with a radio playback of Neville Chamberlain's 1939 war address.
Mr Richards admitted teachers were 'very upset' that pupils had been left distressed and suffering from nightmares.
Mr Richards explained: 'We were doing World War Two as a topic and we saw advice from schools that basically suggested that we introduced the topic as if it was really happening. We didn't foresee these problems.
Today's Big Feed video rodeo!
How long can you ride this one?
I made it to 35 seconds.
20 Best Nicknames from the Big Mafia Bust
20. VINCENT AULISI, also known as "The Vet"
19. GIOVANNI VELLA, also known as "John Vella," "Mousey" and "Little John"
18. STEPHEN DEPIRO, also known as "Beach"
17. ANTHONY CAVEZZA, also known as "Tony Bagels"
16. JOHN BRANCACCIO, also known as"Johnny Bandana"
15. ANTHINO RUSSO, also known as "Hootie"
14. FRANK BELLANTONI, also known as "Meatball"
13. CHRISTOPHER REYNOLDS, also known as "Burger"
12. VINCENZO FROGIERO, also known as "Vinny Carwash"
11. JOSEPH CARNA, also known as "Junior Lollipops"
10. DENNIS DELUCIA, also known as "Fat Dennis," "Little Dennis" and "the Beard"
9. LUIGI MANOCCHIO, also known as "Baby Shacks," "The Old Man," and "the Professor"
8. ANTHONY DURSO, also known as "Baby Fat Larry" and "BFL"
7. GIUSEPPE DESTEFANO, also known as "Pooch"
6. JOHN AZZARELLI, also known as "Johnny Cash"
5. ANDREW RUSSO, also known as "Mush"
4. VINCENT FEBBRARO, also known as "Jimmy Gooch"
3. BENJAMIN CASTELLAZZO, also known as "Benji," "The Claw" and "the Fang"
2. ANTHONY LICATA, also known as "Cheeks," "Anthony Firehawk," "Anthony Nighthawk," "Nighthawk" and "Firehawk"
1. JOHN HARTMANN, also known as "Lumpy," "Fatty" and "Fats"
h/t Village Voice
Tracking the Taliban - There's an App for That
An iPhone app that tracks down the Taliban has been developed by a US soldier who put $26,000 of his own money into the project.
The idea for a smartphone application to assist soldiers in combat came to Capt. Jonathan J. Springer in a dream last July, he said Monday. The 31-year-old, from Fort Wayne, Ind., has worked with programmers ever since to make the idea a reality.
Tactical Nav, which is expected to be available through Apple’s App Store next month, assists soldiers in mapping, plotting and photographing waypoints on a battleground and conveying coordinates to supporting units.
Springer used a variety of armored vehicles, remote observation posts and harsh combat conditions to test the accuracy of his invention, which can also be used to direct artillery fire on enemy positions or call in helicopter support.
Springer, who serves as a battalion fire support officer in eastern Afghanistan, said most soldiers use smartphones and the app has been designed specifically for them.
Friend of Hawaii's Governor Says He Told Him "There is No Birth Certificate"
During an interview on the KQRS morning radio show on January 20, Mike Evans, a long-time friend of Hawaii governor Neil Abercrombie, shared a conversation he had with the governor the day prior. The reader is advised to judge for himself the credibility of Evans' account, but he sounds convincing.
Evans, Honolulu born and now a Hollywood-based celebrity journalist, claimed that Abercrombie had promised him that he when he became governor, he planned to find absolute proof that Obama was born in Hawaii.
When Evans spoke to Abercrombie on January 19, Abercrombie reportedly told him that he searched the relevant Hawaii hospitals using his powers as governor, and concluded, according to Evans, "There is no Barack Obama birth certificate in Hawaii, absolutely no proof at all that Obama was born in Hawaii." After Abercrombie made such a fuss about finding the birth certificate, Evans concluded of his friend that he has "got some egg in the face."
State of the Union Gheyness?
I just heard that during tonight's State of the Union address, ie National Waste of Time night, the repubs and dems plan to intermingle in the audience as some kind of show of uber togetherness. Is this supposed to be in response to a guy who killed a bunch of people for no political reason at all? Like a bunch of children putting on a show of unity because they see their parents watching, our elected leaders are going hold hands in the audience as our glorious leader blathers on about "investing in our future" and so on. Have we gone mad? This is just sickening.
Compare the GDP of your State with the Rest of the World
Genghis Khan - Eco-Warrior
Genghis Khan's Mongol invasion in the 13th and 14th centuries was so vast that it may have been the first instance in history of a single culture causing man-made climate change, according to new research out of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology, reports Mongabay.com.
Unlike modern day climate change, however, the Mongol invasion actually cooled the planet, effectively scrubbing around 700 million tons of carbon from the atmosphere.So how exactly did Genghis Khan, one of history's cruelest conquerors, earn such a glowing environmental report card? The reality may be a bit difficult for today's environmentalists to stomach, but Khan did it the same way he built his empire — with a high body count.Over the course of the century and a half run of the Mongol Empire, about 22 percent of the world's total land area had been conquered and an estimated 40 million people were slaughtered by the horse-driven, bow-wielding hordes. Depopulation over such a large swathe of land meant that countless numbers of cultivated fields eventually returned to forests.In other words, one effect of Genghis Khan's unrelenting invasion was widespread reforestation, and the re-growth of those forests meant that more carbon could be absorbed from the atmosphere.
How Many Things Can You Find Wrong with this Story?
A North Charlotte woman faces federal slavery-related charges involving an illegal immigrant teenager, but she says the charges are a bunch of hogwash.
Lucinda Shackleford has been indicted on one count of forced labor and another charge accusing her of withholding the illegal immigrant's birth certificate in furtherance of slave trafficking.
According to the indictment, the Department of Health and Human Services put an illegal immigrant referred to as CRB -- who Lucinda identifies as Carlos Alberto Montes Salvador -- in Lucinda's care in February 2009.
Lucinda says Carlos was 17 and about to turn 18 at the time.
The indictment says Carlos wasn't supposed to work, but Lucinda allegedly made him clean up about 60 yard in the trailer park she lives in off Old Statesville Road. She's also accused of making him sell beer and food out of her trailer.
She's also accused of not feeding Carlos right and demanding money from him.
"He went and told them that I beat on him and I did this, and I did that," Lucinda told WBTV. "It's a lie, and everybody out here knows it's a lie."
"I have done nothing to the child. He ate while he was here, he had clean clothes while he was here, nobody did anything to him."
Lucinda says she's was doing Carlos's father -- who she says is also an illegal immigrant -- a favor by agreeing to care for Carlos in return for help with her rent money.
"I didn't know what all I was getting into," Lucinda said, "but I can tell you it'll be a cold day in hell before I help somebody else."
Lucinda accused Carlos's father of cooking up these charges in an effort not to be deported.
"I tell you what, if there's another American any damn stupider than I am, I feel sorry for them, because I won't help another one of them if the damn sky fall on 'em," she said.
If convicted of both the charges against her, Lucinda faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.
Monday, January 24, 2011
They Called Him "White Boy"
When asked about the novelty of being a white running back in the NFL on the Dan Patrick Show, Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis claimed that he was often taunted during games for being white.
"Every team did it," Hillis said. "They'll say, 'You white boy, you ain't gonna run on us today. This is ridiculous. Why are you giving offensive linemen the ball?'
He went on to give examples of the nicknames he heard throughout the season. Patrick said his favorite was "The Avalanche."
"I heard that one," Hillis replied. "I heard 'White Rhino.' I heard ... Chuck Norris.'"
Russian Police Find Head of Suicide Bomber - "Arab in Appearance"
A suicide bomber killed at least 35 and wounded dozens Monday when he blew himself up in the packed arrivals hall of Moscow's largest airport in an attack slammed by the Kremlin as an act of terror.
Russian investigators on Monday found a head of "Arab appearance" that is presumed to have belonged to the suicide bomber responsible for setting off the blast, Interfax said.
Where Did China Get Technology for Stealth Jet Fighter?
A Chinese stealth fighter jet that could pose a significant threat to American air superiority may borrow from US technology, it has been claimed.
Balkan military officials and other experts said China may have gleaned knowledge from a US F-117 Nighthawk that was shot down over Serbia in 1999.
"At the time, our intelligence reports told of Chinese agents crisscrossing the region where the F-117 disintegrated, buying up parts of the plane from local farmers," said Admiral Davor Domazet-Loso, Croatia's military chief of staff during the Kosovo war. "We believe the Chinese used those materials to gain an insight into secret stealth technologies ... and to reverse-engineer them."
The Nighthawk was downed by a Serbian anti-aircraft missile during a bombing raid on 27 March 1999. It was the first time one of the fighters had been hit, and the Pentagon blamed clever tactics and sheer luck. The pilot ejected and was rescued.
A senior Serbian military official confirmed that pieces of the wreckage were removed by souvenir collectors, and that some ended up "in the hands of foreign military attaches". Efforts to get comment from China's defence ministry and the Pentagon were unsuccessful.