Saturday, September 25, 2010

No surprise: widespread fraud seen in latest Afghan vote

Image: Afghan elections

Here we go again – another Afghanistan fraudulent election while the U.S. stands around like clowns and tries to tell the world the “system” we put in place is working. When are we going to learn?

We’re like Br'er Rabbit trying to let go of the Tar Baby and getting more and more entangled as time goes by.

It could affect results in a third of provinces

“Evidence is mounting that fraud in last weekend’s parliamentary election was so widespread that it could affect the results in a third of provinces, calling into question the credibility of a vote that was an important test of the American and Afghan effort to build a stable and legitimate government.”

PHOTO -Workers unload ballot boxes at the Independent Election Commission warehouse in Kabul.

An ‘aw shucks’ moment for a Saturday morning

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"I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals." Winston Churchill

20_sweet_kitten_photos "Confront a child, a puppy, and a kitten with a sudden danger; the child will turn instinctively for assistance, the puppy will grovel in abject submission, the kitten will brace its tiny body for a frantic resistance."

Photo sources

Friday, September 24, 2010

'If you're going to rob someone, get a real gun'

The weird story of the day involves two women trying to rob a porn store. That’s different isn’t it?

(AP) Police said two women who tried to rob a central Pennsylvania adult book store with a toy gun didn't fool a clerk, who told them to "get a real gun." Authorities said 28-year-old Shannon Cheripka, of Glasgow, and 26-year-old Angela Crook, of Coalport, attempted to rob the Adult World store in Duncansville around 1 a.m. Thursday.

Cheripka told police the clerk said, "First, if you're going to rob someone, get a real gun. Second off, you're not getting any money."

Authorities said the clerk grabbed a hammer from behind the counter and chased the women away before police in nearby Logan Township arrested them in a van the clerk had described.

The women remained in the Blair County Jail on Friday on robbery and other charges. It was unclear if they had lawyers.

Image source

In an alternate universe the ‘Terminator’ is called upon to stop the oil spill

Image source

There’s no greater hypocrite than a church leader who sexually abuses his congregation

Eddie Long

Is it any wonder why many people become disillusioned with organized religion?

There’s been a lot of news lately about the Pope and the Catholic Church’s abuse of it’s followers.

But every domination has it’s pastors from hell, and sometimes they’re caught, and sometimes they get away with their sinful antics.

This church leader, Bishop Eddie Long, follows a long line of religious hypocrites that bring to mind the likes of Ted Haggard and Jim Baker. Now a fourth young male member of his megachurch is suing the prominent pastor, claiming Long coerced him into a sexual relationship.

Look at his photo. Doesn’t he look sincere? I read somewhere that politicians make the best liars, but I sometimes wonder about creepy clergy like this scum. Read the whole story here.

Teen fad of vampire-inspired biting can be dangerous

JoNel Aleccia writes: “Bizarre teen trends have been horrifying parents for generations, but health officials are warning that a vampire-inspired biting fad could be dangerous, not to mention disgusting.

Teenagers obsessed with the “Twilight” vampire saga, or those simply fascinated with fangs, reportedly have been biting each other -- hard – and then licking or sucking the blood.

“These are kids who think they are real vampires,” said Dr. Orly Avitzur, the medical advisor to Consumers Union, the agency that publishes Consumer Reports magazine.

Avitzur said conversations with teens and sessions spent trolling vampire-related teen Web sites convinced her that the trend was taking hold. Indeed, groups like “I drink blood,” a category at www.experienceproject.com, and “I want to be a vampire” at the site www.43things.com are filled with apparent posts from young people with a yearning for blood.”

Image source

Colbert testifies before grim-looking subcommittee

Image: Television host and comedian Stephen ColIf you haven’t had the opportunity to see Stephan Colbert’s testimony before a House subcommittee, you can see it here (video below).

The subcommittee chairman invited the Comedy Central personality to testify at the hearing, which addressed the possibility of offering illegal immigrant farm workers a path to citizenship.

Colbert’s “expertise” in the arena of immigration and farm labor stems from a July 2010 episode of his TV show “The Colbert Report,” during which he joined subcommittee chairwoman Rep. Zoe Lofgren to spend a day doing the work of an agriculture laborer.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Take a minute, and check this video out. I nearly spilled my morning cup of coffee due to sudden bursts of laughter. A good way to start a day.

I have one question. Is this a joke? If so, our lawmakers are a bunch of sourpusses! Or, was Colbert’s comedy a complete surprise to our lawmakers who thought he might be serious for once?

Rep. John Conyers, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, initially requested that Colbert leave the hearing room before his testimony, arguing that his presence had achieved its purpose by bringing attention to the hearing's subject matter.

Colbert, however, was invited by the committee and gave his testimony “in character.”

Thursday, September 23, 2010

The most dangerous city in the world (even for sharks)

Stokes Young says:Richard Engel, NBC News chief foreign correspondent, had an in-depth video report from Mogadishu in May, calling it "the most dangerous city in the world." I guess that's also true for sharks. Sadly, it’s still true for Somalis.

Vintage Ads Part II: polictically incorrect and hilarious

politically-incorrect-ads-3  politically-incorrect-ads-6

politically-incorrect-ads-1 Growing up in the fifties I remember seeing ads like these and thinking nothing of it.

After all, it was the age of Donna Reed and “Leave it to Beaver.” Most of the ad people were men and the results are pretty obvious when you look at these examples.

If women want a barometer to see how far they’ve come in this country all they have to do his review these ads and others like them.

Montana woman fends off bear attack with zucchini

(AP) Police say a Montana woman fended off a bear attack with an unlikely weapon — a zucchini.

Missoula County Sheriff's Lt. Rich Maricelli says a 200-pound black bear attacked one of the woman's dogs just after midnight Wednesday on the back porch of her home about 15 miles west of Missoula.

When the woman, whom police did not name, tried to separate the animals, the bear bit her in the leg.

Maricelli says the woman reached for the nearest object at hand on the porch's railing — a large zucchini that she had harvested from her garden.

The woman flung the vegetable at the bear, striking it and forcing it to flee.

Maricelli says the woman did not need medical attention. Wildlife officials were trying to locate the bear on Thursday.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Vintage collection of cigarette ads is revealing and fun

   

What’s with this “Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet” stuff? You have to hand it to Betty Grable (right), she could sell the sweat off a horses ass! Getting the boys to buy Chesterfields must have been a cinch. And, I admit failing to find the connection behind running over huddles while a fat guy chases you, and being “Toasted.”

You recognize this pretty lady (left) don’t you? It’s Lucille Ball pimping Philip Morris during the 1950s.

How about your dentist recommending that you smoke Viceroys so that he can have a steady customer getting their teeth cleaned? I always thought they had a cool looking pack. How low could these ads go? How about babies pushing Marlboro long before the “Marlboro Man” of advertising legend?

Look how cool this campus co-ed is when she sees a handsome man holding a smoldering cigarette in his hand. Actually, she’s probably recoiling from the stench! That’s all for now folks!

Latest Poll: Californians Want to Legalize Marijuana

Chris Good is a staff editor at TheAtlantic.com, and he argues that Prop 19 is slowly making inroads with California voters. If you ask me, I haven’t seen a poll yet that doesn’t have problems with the methodology used.

At this point, it’s anyone’s guess, as far as I’m concerned. I’m waiting for the campaign to start getting ugly (they all do at some point):

Excerpt;   

“Polling has gone back and forth on whether or not Californians actually want to legalize marijuana, but the latest numbers show legalization's prospects looking up.”

AND…

“So here's where polling on marijuana legalization stands: the poll with the largest sample sizes, the only poll to use live interviews, showed legalization trailing earlier this summer. Public Policy Polling's automated survey, with a smaller sample size, shows it ahead. PPP has had a decent track record in predicting primary races this year, even though the broader community of pollsters and journalists tends to be skeptical of automated polls.”

Full article here.

Why are dogs committing suicide by jumping off the Overtoun Bridge?

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The Overtoun Bridge is an arch bridge located near Milton, Scotland, over the Overtoun Burn. A burn is a term used to describe a type of stream which is smaller than a river.

Milton is a village in West Dunbartonshire, which is just on the outskirts of Dumbarton. The Overtoun Bridge has gained public attention because of the unusually large number of dogs that have allegedly leaped to their deaths off the bridge.

It is not known exactly when or why dogs began to leap from the bridge, but news stories and studies have indicated that these deaths might have begun during the 1950s or 1960s, at the rate of about one dog a month. 
The long leap from the bridge onto the waterfalls of the Overtoun Estate
almost always results in immediate death.

Inexplicably, some dogs have actually survived, recuperated, and then returned to the site to jump again. These dogs are known to the locals of Dumbarton as "second timers." The dogs have mostly jumped from one side of the bridge, during clear weather,and have mostly been breeds with long noses. No explanation has yet been
found.

source for story and photo

Hey! Did you hear? the Great Recession is over!

David Fitzsimmons, Arizona Star / Politicalcartoons.com

Captains granddaughter says the Titanic was sunk by a basic steering error

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve always been fascinated by the story of the Titanic. This news comes as a revelation. The theory all along has been the captain didn’t have time to react when the giant iceberg was first spotted by a lookout.

Granddaughter of ship officer says truth hidden to protect his reputation

“The Titanic hit an iceberg in 1912 because of a basic steering error, and only sank as fast as it did because an official persuaded the captain to continue sailing, an author said in an interview published Wednesday.

Louise Patten, a writer and granddaughter of Titanic second officer Charles Lightoller, said the truth about what happened nearly 100 years ago had been hidden for fear of tarnishing the reputation of her grandfather, who later became a war hero.”

How the Titanic tore apart

Based on newly made 3-D maps of the shipwreck site, experts say that the Titanic’s breakup was messier than previously thought.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Largest union in California endorses pot legalization

imagesofpot

A ballot measure that would legalize marijuana in California won the support Tuesday of the largest union in the state.

The 700,000-member Service Employees International Union California has 15 locals representing workers in health care, building services and state and local government.

The possibility of members operating phone banks, walking precincts and raising money makes the union a political powerhouse in the state and a strong ally for the Proposition 19 campaign.

Drug cartels use parrots as watchdogs – oops – watchbirds!

Apparently Mexican drug cartels have been using parrots for decades to warn them of any intrusions. It doesn’t take much of an effort on the part of these smart birds to learn how to say “Watch out! The cats are coming!”

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

T-Mobile sued for blocking medical marijuana text messages

imagesCAODXNMA

By Suzanne Choney

“T-Mobile is being sued for blocking text messages dealing with medical marijuana from a company that sends out group messages for all kinds of businesses, including the marijuana website.

New York-based EZ Texting recently filed suit in U.S. District Court against T-Mobile, alleging on Sept. 10 the carrier started blocking all messages by the company's clients because T-Mobile "did not approve" of text messages sent by one of those clients, LegalMarijuanaDispensary.com, using EZ Texting's services.

The marijuana website, also known as WeedMaps.com, describes itself as "a community where medical marijuana patients connect with other patients in their geographic region to freely discuss and review local cannabis co-operatives, dispensaries, medical doctors and delivery services."

Carl’s Corner: a day for frogs and butterflys among dahlias

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Local veteran activist and amateur photographer, Carl Young, likes to roam around with his camera documenting his day. These photos were taken in his backyard where hundreds of Dahlias are thriving under his care.

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Monday, September 20, 2010

What’s in a Dream? More than you might know

What happens when you dream? I can no longer dream because of the medication I take to sleep at night. If I do dream I don’t remember what it was about. It’s been many years now.

Sometimes, at a certain time of the year, I have nightmares, which I suppose are just bad dreams gone wild. Unfortunately, I not only can remember these nightmares, they often wake me up.

Here’s some information about dreams that you may, or may not, have heard of.

People who become blind after birth can see images in their dreams. People who are born blind do not see any images, but have dreams equally vivid involving their other senses of sound, smell, touch and emotion. It is hard for a seeing person to imagine, but the body’s need for sleep is so strong that it is able to handle virtually all physical situations to make it happen.

Within 5 minutes of waking, half of your dream is forgotten. Within 10 minutes, 90% is gone. The famous poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, woke one morning having had a fantastic dream (likely opium induced) – he put pen to paper and began to describe his “vision in a dream” in what has become one of English’s most famous poems: “Kubla Khan.” Part way through (54 lines in fact) he was interrupted by “A Person from Porlock.” Coleridge returned to his poem but could not remember the rest of his dream. The poem was never completed.
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
[…]
Curiously, Robert Louis Stevenson came up with the story of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde whilst he was dreaming. Wikipedia has more on that
here. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was also the brainchild of a dream.

Every human being dreams (except in cases of extreme psychological disorder) but men and women have different dreams and different physical reactions. Men tend to dream more about other men, while women tend to dream equally about men and women. In addition, both men and women experience sexually related physical reactions to their dreams regardless of whether the dream is sexual in nature; males experience erections and females experience increased vaginal blood flow.In a recent sleep study, students who were awakened at the beginning of each dream, but still allowed their 8 hours of sleep, all experienced difficulty in concentration, irritability, hallucinations, and signs of psychosis after only 3 days. When finally allowed their REM sleep the student’s brains made up for lost time by greatly increasing the percentage of sleep spent in the REM stage.

Our dreams are frequently full of strangers who play out certain parts – did you know that your mind is not inventing those faces – they are real faces of real people that you have seen during your life but may not know or remember? The evil killer in your latest dream may be the guy who pumped petrol in to your Dad’s car when you were just a little kid. We have all seen hundreds of thousands of faces through our lives, so we have an endless supply of characters for our brain to utilize during our dreams.

A full 12% of sighted people dream exclusively in black and white. The remaining number dream in full color. People also tend to have common themes in dreams, which are situations relating to school, being chased, running slowly/in place, sexual experiences, falling, arriving too late, a person now alive being dead, teeth falling out, flying, failing an examination, or a car accident. It is unknown whether the impact of a dream relating to violence or death is more emotionally charged for a person who dreams in color than one who dreams in black and white

If you dream about some particular subject it is not often that the dream is about that. Dreams speak in a deeply symbolic language. The unconscious mind tries to compare your dream to something else, which is similar. Its like writing a poem and saying that a group of ants were like machines that never stop. But you would never compare something to itself, for example: “That beautiful sunset was like a beautiful sunset”. So whatever symbol your dream picks on it is most unlikely to be a symbol for itself.

People who have smoked cigarettes for a long time who stop, have reported much more vivid dreams than they would normally experience. Additionally, according to the Journal of Abnormal Psychology: “Among 293 smokers abstinent for between 1 and 4 weeks, 33% reported having at least 1 dream about smoking. In most dreams, subjects caught themselves smoking and felt strong negative emotions, such as panic and guilt. Dreams about smoking were the result of tobacco withdrawal, as 97% of subjects did not have them while smoking, and their occurrence was significantly related to the duration of abstinence. They were rated as more vivid than the usual dreams and were as common as most major tobacco withdrawal symptoms.”

Believe it or not, your body is virtually paralyzed during your sleep – most likely to prevent your body from acting out aspects of your dreams. According to the Wikipedia article on dreaming, “Glands begin to secrete a hormone that helps induce sleep and neurons send signals to the spinal cord which cause the body to relax and later become essentially paralyzed.”

* When you are snoring, you are not dreaming.
* Toddlers do not dream about themselves until around the age of 3. From the same age, children typically have many more nightmares than adults do until age 7 or 8.
* If you are awakened out of REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, you are more likely to remember your dream in a more vivid way than you would if you woke from a full night sleep

Sources: 1,2,3,4 Also, this source

Blogger Alert: I’m offering a reward for exposing hate blog author

My PhotoIf you’re not familiar with the Joe Blow blog you’re better off for it. But if you’re one of those people Blow goes after, then you know what he’s all about. Just look at today’s blog attacking me – his favorite pastime.

For well over a year this anonymous coward that calls himself Joe Blow has been attacking me and spewing malicious lies, slander and libel. Just look back at his archives. They’re proof of his campaign of hate.

I’ve put up with his shit long enough. It’s time for an accounting. If you can provide me with his name, address, phone number, I’m offering a reward. Email me at richstan1@suddenlink.net You’re name will not be revealed to anyone.

It’s time Joe Blow finds out that he can’t get away with his hate-filled rants that cross the line. I’ve never had a problem like Joe Blow in over 20 years as an editor and publisher. The man is obsessed with me. I’ve offered to meet with him in Southern Humboldt where he lives, and to talk out our differences like mature adults, but he refused and spewed more paranoid blather. (See his archives)

If this crazy bastard would leave me alone, I wouldn’t pursue this avenue to stop him. However, after his post today it’s evident he’s never going to stop harassing me.I don’t read his blog, but Google Alert warns me every time he posts stuff about me.

I’ve outright asked Blow boy to reveal his name, but he told me he couldn’t or “I’d have to move to Peru.” What’s that mean? Is he a criminal on the run? Perhaps someone with a criminal past? In past comments he’s mentioned about living in South America for a while and going broke while doing something there. Any connection? Who knows, but whatever it is it’s bad enough to make him conceal his identity.

I’m taking this drastic measure because it’s the only way to stop him. I’ve already had a lawyer look over his past posts maligning me and he says I have a strong case against Blow boy. This is a case of constantly attacking a person’s reputation with lies and malicious slander. We do have laws to prevent this. Now, I just have to find the coward and get him in court. He picked this fight and I’m going to finish it.

 

Sunday, September 19, 2010

As It Stands: Snyder v. Phelps: a case of free speech or harassment?

By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 09/19/2010 01:27:05 AM PDT

First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Put yourself in Albert Snyder's place for a moment. Your son died while serving his country and you're holding his funeral. During the solemn ceremony a group of people gather nearby with signs. They are chanting. Then you see the first sign, “Thank God For Dead Soldiers.”

In that grief-stricken moment you hear them chant, “God hates Fags! Semper Fag! America is doomed!” Perhaps most disturbing is the sheer blind hatred coming from this church group.

The leader of the Westboro church, Fred Phelps, targeted Snyder's son, Matthew Snyder, to gain national media attention. Phelps didn't know Matthew Snyder. It didn't matter to him that Matthew wasn't homosexual.

Phelps wanted to make the point he's against the military's “don't ask, don't tell” policy that allows gays and lesbians to serve -- as long as their sexual orientation remains secret. His stated mission in life was to warn people about the perils of sinful conduct (being homosexual). He claimed this military policy was destroying the nation.

Albert Snyder suffered as only a father can on that horrible day. He didn't want other parents of military sons and daughters to suffer more than necessary when they had to bury a child. They did not deserve to have hate-spewing extremists shatter the sanctity of the ceremony.

The only way to stop it, Snyder decided, was to take Fred Phelps and his congregation to court. He sued Phelps and primary demonstrators for the distress he had suffered from their picketing, and a web video they made, recording the protest.

 The video on the Westboro church website was posted shortly after his son's funeral. It was a disgusting, hate-filled pack of lies, titled “The burden of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder,” and claimed Albert Snyder and his ex-wife had “taught Matthew to defy his creator” and “raised him for the devil.”

Snyder won a $5 million verdict in 2007, but a federal appeals court overturned the judgment last year. The judges said Phelps' protest was protected under the First Amendment.

The case of Snyder v. Phelps will go before the Supreme Court on Oct. 6. At stake is a crucial First Amendment challenge set against a backdrop of war deaths and family suffering.

Phelps' daughter, Margie Phelps, is the group's lawyer, and she contends the congregation engaged in free speech on a public right-of-way about issues of vital public interest.

In my opinion, this sick church and its 60 members shouldn't be allowed to harass private funerals. They scan the newspapers every day looking for another military funeral to crash. Phelps claims the church is “acting out of love for God, the Bible, and their fellow citizens.” I'm not sure what God and what Bible he's referring to, as the Christian Bible abhors acts of hatred like his.

For Albert Snyder, the case is not about speech rights. It's about harassment, plain and simple. Many federal and state officials agree. I think common sense is needed here. Why should anyone be allowed to hijack a private funeral as a vehicle for expression of their hate?

There are free speech advocates and organizations like the ACLU that say a conviction of Phelps would have a chilling effect on the First Amendment.

As a journalist, I respect the First Amendment but as a veteran, I also respect the grief of military parents burying their children. That should be a private affair. What this church is doing is wrong.

Now it's up to the judges in the Supreme Court. Will they decide Phelps and followers have abused the First Amendment? Or will another decision be made? Washington lawyer Walter Dellinger, speaking on behalf of Senate leaders, told the high court the case is not about constitutional rights but about personal harassment.

As it stands, I never thought I'd see the day when private funerals for our military dead would become national platforms for a hate group that advocates death for homosexuals

Blog Break Until Presidential Election is Over

I finally hit the wall today. I can't think of what to say about all of the madness going on in this country right now. I'm a writer...