The New Pope - Classic Pope
Topic: Politics
Very interesting the selection of the German Pope. As you read the news reports you can see that the news conglomerates are treating the Pope the same way they treat a Candidate for President. By that I mean they are falling over each other to 'expose' the background of Pope Benedict XVI. 'Hitler Youth' and 'The Pope's Rottweiller' being the more polite things being said. The Germans themselves in Der Spiegel here catalog the really abusive reports about the new Pope coming out of England. The historic enmity between the Germans and the English are readily apparent and out there for all to see. The above Der Spiegel article digs at the British being 'captivated' with the 'diabolical fantasies' of Hitler and mentioning royals running around with Nazi uniforms. A fascinating article which you'll notice does not in the text of it mention the Pope's Pope name - Pope Benedict XVI.

For American news you can see that they are gearing up to fight against his ideas. By painting him in a bad light they can do what they do the best - which is to discredit his ideas and his religion. He is disappointing the people who want the Catholic Church to move over to the moral relativism of today's society rather than the morality and religion as they have known it. He's definitely not movable in that regard so the papers say 'he doesn't understand' and he should be a 'unifier and not a divider.' It amazes me how attacked the Catholic Church is for it's stance on Abortion and birth control but Islam gets a free pass with regard to the subjugation of women, it's own intractable unreasonable stands on many many things and the advocation of violence by so called Islamic leaders. But the Pope is unreasonable. Right.

Another aspect of the Pope's writings that is encouraging is his opposition to letting Turkey into the European Union. Now his argument is that Turkey is Islamic and rightly belongs in that sphere. Bringing up an argument that is these days violently put down whenever it's brought up, the islamification of Europe is and should be a concern. Not only a concern but something that should be stopped. A 'racist' argument to be concerned with your own culture which hopefully now will lose that taboo tag put on it by the self sacrificing self immolation crowd who think that their views of multiculturalism is shared by the people they are letting into their countries under the ideology of multiculturalism. People who come to your country or mine who do not share the ideals of democracy and freedom of (or from) religion should not be allowed there period. A good article about this can be found at the Assyrian International News Agency here

Female Orgasm - The other side of the seven minute normal male
Topic: Mysteries of Life
Well the infomercial I've been waiting all my life to see has finally found it's way to TV. Well almost. I'm looking at the Lifetime Channel right now and it looks like your basic infomercial but they aren't selling the magic cream or phallic toy. Secrets of the Sexually Satisfied Woman A number of women are defining the problem of sex without orgasm. The show might be an infomercial in the end but it's just discussing the problems of orgasmless sex. Knowledge is power and goodness knows that there isn't enough knowledge in the whole sex thing. As I watch this I would almost be shocked by the lack of knowledge I'm seeing. Of course, it isn't a big shock that there are so many women with difficulty having orgasms when you think of the one and a half minute premature ejactulator and the 'seven minute normal male orgasm'

Pepper and Salt Grinders
Now Playing: NIN - With Teeth
Topic: Physical Well Being
For many a year I would go past the large box store
called 'Bed,Bath and Beyond'and never go in it. Their website Out
of respect for the feelings of a friend who once had
a bad experience with that store I stayed away from
it. I know I'd see it at least once a week, it's
always near the Barnes and Noble or some other store
I would go into. I'd see that large sign on the
front and think about the person who told me the
story which I have completely forgotten except for
the part that Bed, Bath and Beyond was not good and
friendly to her. Going into the store was no big
loss of course, who needs to see a store full of
bedsheets and towels. That sounds slightly less
exciting than a ladies shoe store.

A salt grinder, a pepper grinder. My kingdom for a
salt grinder. You know how you decide you need
something, something to make your life a tiny bit
better. It started in this case with those little
McCormick Salt and Pepper grinders. Clever little
things, inexpensive and useful as can be. You take
the perfect pasta dinner and take a bite. Ah let's
see, like last night's dinner. A mini penne, done al
dente with just a bit of butter and chopped fresh
parsley. A bit of grated Mozzarella cheese. Some lime
and cracked pepper grilled chicken breast, sliced
and put atop the pasta. Into the oven at 350 until
the cheese melts. Garnish with sliced Roma tomatoes,
sliced hard boiled egg and lettuce. Ummm. You take a
bite and of course it needs just a bit more pepper
and salt. But for it be really exceptional you need
to have the fresh ground pepper and a good sea salt.
This would be where those McCormick grinders come
in. Those little guys are great but you know, I
always worry about what happens if I look for
something and it's not there any longer. They are so
small and easily lost. Hence my search for the
bigger and better grinders. Well you know it's not
as easy as it seems. Something like a pepper grinder
is not an item you generally would think of often.
At least I never thought of it much. Finding one
became a chore. And when I would find one there
wouldn't be a salt grinder to go with it.

It started as a low level search that got more
intense as I didn't find what I was looking for.
Don't know exactly what it was, a walk in front of
the store while thinking of the problem of finding
or not finding the salt grinder but eventually I did
find myself walking into the dread store. You could
see kitchen stuff there through the window and it's
a awfully big store so I thought perhaps they might
actually have some grinders. Walked in and wow. As
far as I could see there before me was an array of
kitchen items. Well now, I can take or leave the bed
stuff, don't much care for the bath stuff but I'm
all over the kitchen stuff. And this place has some
kitchen stuff. That Swedish style kitchen stuff,
high end pans, baking things, utensils, just
everything you never knew you needed. And to make it
even better they had a genuine selection of grinders
which even included salt grinders. Aha, at last.

As is my wyrding way I vented my spleen at the
manager who checked me out. Excuse me sir, but you
know, the name of your store 'Bed,Bath and Beyond'
has kept me from even coming in. Who the hell wants
to come into a store to just look at towels and
bedsheets? My god man, you've got stainless steel
kitchen utensils! You've got Salt and Pepper
grinders in many sizes and styles! I ranted in my
good natured way and the fellow was very kind,
explaining how they've expanded the inventory and
the types of things they carry. I said thank
goodness as I clutched the three pack of ice cube
trays- the ones I'd never seen before that had big
long thin ice 'cubes' for plunking in your workout
water bottle. And I might add they keep the iced
tea very very cold and have become my preferred
handmade ice cubes. New Salt Grinder and thin long
ice cubes. A very good haul indeed. I still felt
guilty being in the store but I did get some things
I absolutely needed.

Empty of thought

Well, I could wax nostalgic about the day when Cheeze-its were made with coconut oil and were tastier. Or when there were occasionally the ones with burnt edges. A taste treat to be hunted for which sadly because of tighter quality control are pretty much nonexistent. Curse technology sometimes. There must be at least five new odd flavors for Cheeze-its but not even the odd almost burnt edged ones of days gone by. Alas. Probably should post another older picture from the vault.

Death Penalty and the People's Republic of Texas
A welcomed change to the death penalty aside from it's abolition is the inclusion of a "Life without Parole" option here
that is under consideration in Texas. By offering the option of life without parole to juries you might find them more willing to not impose the death sentence. Only Texas and New Mexico do not offer that option to juries. Incremental changes are better than no changes at all.

China - One More Protest - One More Straw
Topic: Politics
The orchestrated anti-Japanese protests throughout China are dangerously close to showing once again the power of the law of unintended consequences. My first thought upon the beginning of these protests/riots was that it's excellent training for exactly what the Chinese government does not want. That being the organizing of people in opposition to them. Well, you put citizens in the streets to protest Japan and you are teaching them how to protest and how effective it can be. The history of China and Japan has not been a gentle one and the hatred is and always has been right there under the surface. By attempting to harness those hatreds toward a few foreign policy goals (keeping the Japanese off of the Security Council, winning control of the waters off of Okinawa for oil and gas drilling) the Chinese government begins to wake the beast that they cannot control. So now the Chinese are trying to reign this firestorm in. Riots in China Will they be able to reign this force of nature in? I think the government there has been too clever by half and they have in fact lit a fuse that will cause a terrible explosion and there is no way to know at this time which way the blast will turn. Clearly the Chinese government has been willing to engage in a foreign policy of saber rattling and confrontation. Clearly the government knows it is riding a tiger at home and they are clenched so tight that they know if they fall off they will be consumed. Like countless dictatorial nations the allure of nationalism to unite a population that is loosing faith in the nation state as it exists can work for a while. Clearly the Chinese 'street' is united against Japan in a way that startles and frightens the authorities. They must recognize that they face the danger of being consumed by their own creation.

Unlike the Soviet Union at the end of it's life, the Chinese leadership has not completely lost it's revolutionary zeal. In the USSR the wild eyed zealots of Bolshevik Communism faded with the death of Lenin in the 1920's and died under the heel of Stalin's pogroms in the 40's and 50's. In China the peasant rebellion of Mao's lived beyond Mao's death in the 1970's and while the tired old men of Russia knew when to give it up I don't think the Chinese leadership will let their power and control slip away without a fight. Tiannemen Square proved that and the dead in the streets to quell the future riots can only be imagined. The very real danger to the rest of the world in all of this is clear to see. Nationalism in the guise of focusing energy and rhetoric against Taiwan can and easily will be directed in a war of 'reunification' - While much of the rest of the world seems to believe their own pie in the sky thoughts that China wouldn't risk their economic relations with the rest of the world in a war against Taiwan it is clear from Chinese history that they certainly would do that exact thing if it meant a chance to retain power and control of a splintering China. China has gone it's own way in history many times and will do so again regardless of the perceived costs and disruptions to trade. And while the nations of the world turn a blind eye to it they make this war filled future all the more probable. Much like Neville Chamberlain was unable to recognize the growing danger of Hitler, the leaders of Europe with their desire to reopen military sales to China are equally blind and deserving of contempt. The future is almost here.

Ethiopian Scam for Arabs
Topic: Law
Somehow, don't ask me how, I have found myself on somebodies mailing list for Arab folks. I know this because I often get these emailed invitations to join some Arab website with discussion forums and such in Arab languages I don't even recognize. Probably from visiting a link from LGF lgf site At any rate, got in my mailbox today a version of the somewhat amusing Ethiopian scam. You remember that one, 'I am the ex President of someplace or the other and I need to get my money out of the country and I just need your banking information to transfer a huge amount into your account...blah blah blah.' So blatantly absurd that it's a wonder it ever got anyone to fall for it. But then there is no end to greed and being blinded by it. Which brings me to the email. To my latest 'Dear Friend' email. It's from my good friend ALHAJI ABBAS AZIZ as it states in the email. I'm pretty sure it's for the Arab audience here. I'll let him speak for himself. Notice the spelling of the words specialist, attached and hospital. Great spelling other than that. And if you are googling the contents of this email -IT'S A SCAM!!! Okay? Amusing unless you actually believe it and do something stupid like giving a total stranger your bank account information.

>>>>>>>>>>DEAR FRIEND, I AM ALHAJI ABBAS AZIZ. I AM A CITIZEN OF Saudi Arabia, BUT I AM RESIDENT IN DUBAI ,CANCER RESEACH SPESHALIST HOSPITAL- UNITED Arab EMIRATES. I AM VERY SICK WITH CANCER AND THE DOCTORS SAY I HAVE ABOUT 2 MONTHS LEFT TO LIVE. I SEND YOU THIS MAIL WITH THE HELP OF MY PRIVATE NURSE (FRANCIS NAMANI IBRAHIM) ASSISTING ME. I HAVE LITTLE TIME, SO I HAVE COMMITTED IT TO SPREADING MY WEALTH TOWARDS BETTER HEALTH CARES FOR MANKIND. I DON'T KNOW YOU, BUT DUE TO MY CONDITION I AM CONTACTING YOU WITH THE HOPE THAT YOU WILL CARRY OUT MY INSTRUCTION FOR THE SAKE OF HUMANITY. I HAVE US$20MILLION DEPOSITED WITH A TRUST SECURITY BANK IN EUROPE. I WANT YOU TO TAKE CUSTODY OF THE DEPOSIT AND USE IT FOR CHARITY WORKS ALL OVER THE WORLD AND ATTARCHED MY NAME TO THEM AS I LOST MY ENTIRE FAMILY IN CAR ACCIDENT (WIFE & TWO CHILDREN) IN CAIRO - EGYPT WHY ON HOLIDAY IN MAY 2003. IF YOU ARE READY TO DO THIS AND CARRY OUT MY WISH, THEN SEND ME YOUR CONTACT DETAILS. WITH THE HELP OF MY PRIVATE NURSE I WILL BE IN CONTACT WITH YOU. I AM IN THE RIGHT WING IN THE CANCER RESEARCH SPESHALIST HOPITAL ALONG WITH ALL OTHER DETAILS IN RESPECT OF THIS TRANSACTION. I WILL ALSO INFORM YOU OF YOUR PERCENTAGE IN MY NEXT MAIL. PLEASE SEND YOUR REPLY TO ANY OF MY PRIVATE EMAIL ADDRESSES BELOW. I AWAIT YOUR REPLY AND MAY ALLAH BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. SINCERELY YOURS, ALHAJI ABBAS AZIZ.
EMAIL:{fnamani5@hotmail.com} <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

I let the email address in here for the spambots to spam the dude. Seems only right.

Seven Minutes? Wot?
Topic: Mysteries of Life
I'm stunned - Premature and Mature Ejaculation report I mean really now. Goodness. I'm at a loss for words here. Seven minutes would definitely be substandard and a nonstarter as far as my own experiences go. Heck, anything under the twenty minute quickee standards is just bound to earn hateful stares and sullen partners. And only then when time is short. More like an hour is what I thought it was supposed to be. But, according to the report, and it's a scientific report of some 1500 men, according to the report those who have premature ejaculation lifted off at 1.8 minutes. That's a sad thing indeed. Poor dudes, perhaps some medication and therapy. But the stunner for me was the stopwatched time for those other folks who claimed to not be premature. 7.3 minutes was the average time for the rest, the healthy male folk having no problem at all. Eh? What? Wot? It's too late in the month for April Fool's but this just can't be right.

To Solve All of the Problems of the World
Topic: Mysteries of Life
Ah indeed. I was standing in line at the grocery store with my staff of life stuff - Tea, sugar, cheese-its, ramen noodles, - the classics. My eyes lingered over at the wall of magazines on either side of where I stood. It occurred to me as I read those article titles and teases that if only one of those titles was actually real and did what it said it would do then in short order all of the ills of the planet would be gone. If the article that said I could have rock hard abs in only six weeks was real I can just see all the people who would not only have rock hard abs in the next six weeks but just think of all those people and how their self esteem would soar if they too could really have rock hard abs in six weeks. More smiles, more friendliness, more self assured people who wouldn't need to honk their horns and be inpatient on the highway. Wow. What a concept. If that one article title over at Cosmo was real, 'One hundred things, (twenty, thirty, fifty - they just make up a number) he can't tell you about what he wants, or that other article -'fifty ways to give her the earth shattering orgasm she wants.' Can you imagine how stunned the world would be if any of those articles were true? Happy women, happy men. Fewer murders, divorces, assaults. Paradise in short order. Humm. Perhaps I was too hungry at the time. :-)

Not letting President Carter Go To Pope's Funeral
Topic: Politics
Let's see. This is a simple question, who better to represent the United States at the funeral of the Pope- Condi Rice or President Carter? Humm. Nope, I can't see any reason why you would not have President Carter go to this funeral. Condi can go and talk to whoever needs talking to but to have her instead of the former President of the United States is simply criminal and petty on the part of the Bush gang. Carter may be have been the worst President in recent memory and as President I found him to be ineffective and without any leadership ability. Now, he's been one of the best ex-Presidents. As a person he's probably a better person than most folks and his actions, the actions being the true test of a person, his actions since leaving the Presidency have been honorable and admirable. He's not cashed in personally, he has used his position to do good works. He has been a good representative of the United States. Sure, he did criticize the present President over Iraq and with good reason. Carter was being true to his beliefs in both words and actions. If Bush chooses this to punish Carter then he's a small petty man. At any rate it's a sad turn of events that tarnishes Bush and it will follow his legacy.

Al Qaeda Grand Strategy
A highly informative article over at Tigerhawk Philosophy of al Qaeda Professor Doran at Princeton gave a talk about the overarching grand strategy of al Qaeda. While their reasoning is extremely suspect it is deep and gives their recruits a substantial set of explanations for the world situation and the reasoning why their particular brand of holy war is 'successful' in their own eyes.

Pope John Paul II
Topic: Mysteries of Life


It's hard to not cry during this whole thing. The Pope is one of the few people who I would consider to really be holy. Someone to be admired for his strength and for his faith. A father figure even for long lapsed Catholics like me.

I remember when the last two Popes died and the time of the newsmen and cameras at the Vatican. I'm watching the St. Peter's Square filling up with people and listening to the prayers and the vigil being held. It's a monumental moment in history as with the death of the last Pope and the events that led up to John Paul the 2nd becoming the Pope. The weeks ahead will definitely have an influence on all of us.

Kuomintang delegation visits mainland China-WTF?
Topic: Politics
The Kuomintang - wiki entry goes to China to talk with the Red Chinese Government. view article Now, the Kuomintang, under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek fought against the Japanese in World War II and also fought a civil war in China against to the Red Chinese who were under the leadership of Mao. Bitter enemies to be sure. The Kuomintang party lost control of Taiwan in 2000 and have been the opposition party since then. The Kuomintang lost to a coalition of Taiwan nationaists and others who believe that Taiwan is and should be and independent nation. What brings the Kuomintang to China and talking to the Communist government is their mutual desire for a one China. In this brief instant the nationalism overcomes political philosophy and a history of warfare between the two.

Interesting news in a region full of really interesting news. There is an article on BBC about 22 million Chinese signing a petition to keep Japan off of the Security Council of the United Nations. The Japanese had pledged their support to keeping Taiwan safe from invasion. The Chinese Submarine in Japanese waters sent as a threat and was taken as such - the opposite effect as wished having happened. That being the Japanese are becoming more keen on improving their defensive abilities and generally not cowering against Chinese attempts at intimidation. A large puzzle with many pieces still being moved around the board. Do the Chinese think they will acquire Taiwan by intimidation or do they think they will be able to acquire it by invasion? Will the rhetoric and saber rattling inflame their own military to the point where they will be uncontrolled? We should all remember when the US surveillance plane came down after knocking Wrong Way Wong out of the sky the control of Beijing over it's southern military was not there. It's not unreasonable to assume that the display of weakened central control from the capital has not been addressed satisfactorily. Scary.

Sent running for Spybot, Ad Aware and AVG -
Topic: Mysteries of Life

Ack. Last night I tried to punch up Drudge Report and got this site -http://find-it.web-search.la/ . Punched up Wonkette and go the same site. Holy Crap thought I. I've been hijacked. Pulled the internet, ran AVG and nothing came up. Ran Spybot and nothing came up. Ran Ad Aware and nothing came up. Wow, it's worse than I thought. No sign of anything actually hijacking my Firefox browser I tentatively plugged back in and tried the BBC. Well heck, that came up. Tried Drudge again - I get either the above crap hijack 'find-it' page or I get this
"This IP is being shared among many domains.
To view the domain you are looking for, simply enter the domain name in the location bar of your web browser." Drudge, Wonkette, Gizmodo, Ain't it Cool and Andrew Sullivan, but not Ars Technica, Boing Boing, Daily Kos or Fark. Very odd and I can't find any info about why this is.

Linked by 'Pro Death Penalty' site - hello spam

After the Nigerian email scam there is this one -"By way of introduction, I am Brown Denis Guei, the son of the late General Robert Guei who was the former military President of Ivory - Coast." Blah blah blah..not even amusing anymore.
Ah yes, the joys of being linked by pro death penalty sites means a large increase in directed spam to me personally. A bunch of these hitting the spam wall of death along with the other various viagra, porn, weight, loan crap that also dies a splattery death against my firewalls. I did look over at the pro death penalty site, I found the sort of folks you find who are gratified at death and who cheer what they perceive as justified deaths. I like the son of the late General Robert Guei better.