Archive for February, 2006

Instapinch Lambasts an Asshat

February 28th, 2006 at 8:58 am by Sam Kelter
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Better late than never, I ran across a blog entry from February 3rd that was just too good to pass up: “The BEST Tinfoil Hat Post Ever!

In the article, Instapinch links to, and properly lambasts, some asshat from the Midwest (known only as Spooked) who, for reasons neither known nor understandable, adamantly clings to the idea that the World Trade Centers were destroyed by controlled demolition and were never hit by airplanes. Truly, Spooked deserves the Dummkopfen of the Month award for February 2006; but after reading a few more entries, such as how the Pentagon was never hit by a plane either, this may well spill over into June.

Furthermore, this asshat, Spooked, has the gall to sit from his safe little Midwest vantage point and tell the thousands of us who were driving on I-395 and the GW (I was on the way to Crystal City from downtown, mind you) that we are, in fact, mistaken. Apparently we’re all fools, the thousands of us. I mean, we should have just closed our eyes and waited for this Midwest Super Genius to tell us what happened! It must have been the Great GW’s mind control that made us see “a plane” go down at the Pentagon. The flames and soot certainly must have been “controlled demolition.” Doesn’t that make so much more sense?

I feel that people like Spooked are dangerous, and need to be put away. I’m not even going to link to the asshat — I feel I’m already giving him enough fuel by expressing my displeasure, so check out Instapinch for the skinny.

Good job, Pinch. Keep ripping him a new one!

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What’s Next for Golden Palace — Terrorism?

February 26th, 2006 at 11:16 pm by Sam Kelter
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20060227 - Golden Palace infiltrates Winter Olympics Closing Ceremonies - Courtesy Unknown (submitted via web)

It was strange and amusing when online casino, Golden Palace, started purchasing oddball artifacts — such as the Grilled Cheese with the image of the Virgin Mary, a Doritos chip in the shape of the Pope’s Hat and the so-called Holy Pierogo — to make a name for itself. The next round of advertising raised quite a few eyebrows: purchasing ad-space on peoples’ bodies and having people legally change their names to “goldenpalace.com.”

The excrement really hit the fan in April 2005 when they paid $15,100 to a Connecticut woman in exchange for her naming her baby, “goldenpalace.com.” In addition to proving that the mother was insanely cruel and idiotic, this kind of shock-value advertising also went to prove what a bunch of soulless bastards Richard Rowe and company really were.

Last year, they sponsored streaking and mayhem at public events, an embarrassment that even the Winter Olympics in Torino were not spared. Sponsored by Golden palace, an English streaker, Mark Roberts, interrupted the Bronze Medal curling competition on Friday the 24th. Even tonight, during the closing ceremonies, organizing committee chairman Valentino Castellani was interrupted by one of their punks who decided to grab a microphone. Mr. Castellani continued gracefully, ignoring him almost completely.

It’s very clear that Richard Rowe can’t run a respectable company, and their continued shock-value advertising keeps going unchecked. Their antics are not only disruptive, they’re illegal. Yet, they continue to be allowed to operate in this manner.

So what’s next for Dick & Co.? It’s obvious that they have absolutely no qualims about screwing up the lives of innocent children or down-on-thier luck mothers, or with sponsoring repeated public nudity and completely disrupting international events.

It wouldn’t surprise me one bit for them to start sending t-shirts to suicide bombers.

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Teetering on Civil War

February 24th, 2006 at 11:24 am by Mark Steel
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Things look bad in Iraq, no two ways about it.  Kelter at Blogitude somehow managed to throw it a positive spin.

Regarding the Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations which have undoubtedly had a hand in this week’s events:

These are the people the new Iraqi Parliament know are the root of their problems. Now, it’s up to them to step up, to get their people to ignore the difference between Sunni and Shiite, to steel them against the monsters of the past, to channel their energy into rebuilding and innovation, and to unify them as One Nation, Under Allah.

Since Iraq’s current President and Parliament have told the U.S. to step back and stop meddling when we told them we wouldn’t throw any money towards “sectarian politics,” it should look pretty good to the Iraqi public. Leveraging that and getting their military in shape to handle internal crises should give them an edge.

It took the the U.S. eighty years to go from Ruled to Independence to Government to Civil War to Resolution to United Nation. On the other hand, Iraq is averaging one step per year. In the grand scheme of History, it’s a major accomplishment.

An even bigger accomplishment would be to keep it up at the same pace… It’s doubtful that Iraq could at all survive a year of Civil War.

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Iraqi Civilization on the Fast Track

February 23rd, 2006 at 8:39 am by Sam Kelter
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Throughout history, many countries and regions have gone through some bloody periods after gaining independence. Countries are very rarely handed down without blood being spilled; many teeter on the edge of full-fledged Civil War. These conflicts usually happen several years after Independence as social groups grapple with new-found Freedom, and governments try and pick up the pieces and impress their ideals on their people. What we’re seeing in Iraq right now isn’t so different, if we think about it in the grand scheme of History.

Yesterday, the Golden Mosque at Samarra was bombed. Ethnic groups have clashed, and in a mere twenty-four hours, the situation has gone from hopeful to dire. The violence has reached a new level, with gunmen entering factories and killing all of the workers, or stopping buses and killing all of the passengers. It’s no longer faceless bombers killing without ever seeing the eyes of their victims, no; now, it’s up close, and personal.

Third parties — terrorist organizations such as Al Qeada — intent of keeping their populace poor and uneducated (in Allah’s name!) will do most anything to keep the 21st Century from happening. In their eyes, any attempt to bring education, technology and Freedom of Choice to the masses diminishes their Totalitarian ability to dominate and retain control. Their leaders falsely claim, “We’re just like you!”, all the while sitting in the lap of luxury, enjoying the ill-gotten gains received from provoking peons, promising prominent places in Paradise in return for dirty deeds which are most often nothing short of extortion.

They are spoiled children at worst, and common thugs and mobsters at best.

These are the people the new Iraqi Parliament know are the root of their problems. Now, it’s up to them to step up, to get their people to ignore the difference between Sunni and Shiite, to steel them against the monsters of the past, to channel their energy into rebuilding and innovation, and to unify them as One Nation, Under Allah.

Here’s hoping that President Talabani and his associates are up for the task ahead.

It took the the U.S. eighty years to go from Ruled to Independence to Government to Civil War to Resolution to United Nation. On the other hand, Iraq is averaging one step per year. In the grand scheme of History, it’s a major accomplishment.

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Spam of the Day

February 22nd, 2006 at 2:50 pm by Mark Steel
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This Spam is brought to you by every country in Europe, half of Africa, all of Asia, Oceania, South America and Comcast.net! But first, the mandatory reply:

From: “Mark”
Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2006 2:49 PM
Subject: Re: GOOD DAY

Dear Mr. Jang: We have received your plea via e-mail, and respectfully request that you walk several miles north into the Demilitarized Zone screaming, “Kim Jong Suk Dong!” at the top of your lungs. We feel that this will be a fitting end to your plight.

A fitting reply to the latest twist on Nigerian E-Mail Scams…

Read the rest of this entry »

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The Ultimate Geek T-Shirt

February 13th, 2006 at 10:45 am by Sam Kelter
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This was just too good to not make a post about:

podbrix.com

The Wozwear 6502 is PodBrix’s latest unique apparel product. It features our minifig style Woz holding an actual functioning 6502 processor chip. This is the same processor running at 1mhz that was used in the classic Apple II line of computers. The 6502 chip is attached to the Wozwear shirt with a magnetic clasp. It is easily removed so that the Wozwear shirt may be laundered.

 

Get yours today for a mere $34.99!

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The Deskankification of Bai Ling

February 10th, 2006 at 3:52 pm by Nadia Elmstree
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In the spirit of our previous post, “If This Car Could Talk,” MSN Entertainment again gives us another gem about Bai Ling in Undressed! at the Grammys: The Best of 2006.

Bai Ling from MSN Entertainment's Undressed at the Grammys: The Best of 2006

At a post-Grammys bash, the C-list starlet (hey, we’re feeling generous) emerges from an intense de-skankification process to channel Audrey Hepburn in “Sabrina,” donning an adorable strapless A-line black-and-white party dress.

Now if only they would apply this same “de-skankification process” to Courtney Love.

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Shame on You, Mr. Carter

February 8th, 2006 at 8:58 pm by Sam Kelter
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I can remember a time when Funerals were occasions where people revered the deceased, and stood together, if only for a moment, remembering their life. They were humbling, often somber, reminding us of our own mortality, and bringing the promise that we would live on in the memories of those around us.

It’s a damn shame when some people want to use them as political platforms, reverting to the simians from whence they evolved, flinging their proverbial poo towards those at the precipice of the heirarchy.

During the memorial service of Coretta Scott King — wife of the former Dr. Martin Luther King — former President Jimmy Carter had plenty of flinging to do. In regards to current President Bush’s handling of one of our nation’s most horrible natural disasters, he stood and uttered these words:

We only have to recall the color of the faces of those in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi who are most devastated by Katrina to know that there are not yet equal opportunities for all Americans…

Shame on you, Mr. Carter, for cheapening the memory of a beloved Civil Rights activist.

I’m certain that many of us still remember your campaign. We only have to recall the color of the faces of those working your Georgia peanut farm.

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Vote Republican, Get Fired: So Sayeth “The Law!”

February 8th, 2006 at 8:29 am by Sam Kelter
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Former Tennessee Highway Patrol Lieutenant C. B. Farmer’s story, alleging that he was fired in 2004 due to his family supporting Republican candidates, has finally hit the spotlight.

“The gist of my story was I was run out of the highway patrol,” former THP Lt. Charles B. Farmer said.

Appearing with his lawyer, Farmer presented supporting documents to the committee which is investigating claims of cronyism in the department. Among them were contribution disclosures showing how much Farmer’s wife and father-in-law had donated to Republican candidates in the 2002 statewide election.

State Sen. Jamie Woodson, R-Knoxville, asked Farmer about a transcript of a recorded conversation the former trooper had with a superior. According to the transcript, Farmer allegedly asked the superior if Farmer should have given $1,000 to a Democrat.

“Maybe you should have,” Woodson read from the transcript.

“Obviously, this conversation is disturbing to me. This is infuriating,” the senator said.

Farmer told the committee he had never received a low score on any of his performance evaluations in 20 years, but in 2003 the same superior officer who he alleges berated him for his political contributions gave him a low score.

Prior to his termination, he was assigned permanently to the midnight shift, Farmer told the committee.

“It was harassment,” said Farmer’s attorney, Arthur Knight of Knoxville.

Farmer, now working for a Knoxville mortgage company, said his dismissal from the THP was a blow that has left him teetering on bankruptcy and has weakened his marriage. He said the state must find a way to remove politics from trooper selections and promotions.

This is after repeated uproar within the THP over the last few months, as Governor Phil Bredesen crusades to end cronyism and corruption within this, and many other, departments of the state government. In recent month all over Tennessee, Police Departments have felt the sharp slap of the upper hand, with many long-time public figures being precipitately replaced.

From the Tennesseean:

Two-thirds of Tennessee Highway Patrol officers tapped for promotion under Gov. Phil Bredesen gave money to his campaign or had family or political patrons who did, a Tennessean investigation has found.

Among those with such connections, more than half were promoted over troopers who scored better on impartial exams or rankings, according to an analysis by the newspaper of three years of the patrol’s promotions and proposed promotions.

Of course, with Governor Bredesen being a Democrat, and his new regime inside the THP having a habit of giving people poor evaluations for being Republicans, it certainly seems to throw a few rocks at the glass house of “ethical government,” doesn’t it?

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Is Bin Laden more important then every citizen of the US?

February 6th, 2006 at 11:14 pm by Monty Hazeltrig
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Suddenly everything is out of whack. The light came on today.

There is a lead story here about some kids who threw a rock off an overpass and killed a woman in a van. Someone suggested that we should now add fences to every overpass in the state to prevent this from happening. That did not pass because it would bankrupt the state and in the end, likely stop little or nothing from happening. Yet people were saying “you can’t put a price on life” as though fences on overpasses would actually keep them alive somehow.

After 9-11 I wanted to kill and kill and kill in very painful ways, everyone responsible. I thought going into Afghanistan made sense. Like many I don’t see why we are in Iraq, but, we are.

Today we have the President’s budget for this nation that gives lots more money to fight terrorism, which has somehow become Iraq and a lot of other things, and domestic services are all slashed. We are spending heaps more money on the military to “fight terrorism” and cutting the funds to care for our elderly, sick, unemployed, etc.

When I think of stopping terrorism, I think of more resources for the CIA, FBI and various other agencies who gather intelligence and try to uncover plots. I do not see how more aircraft and National Guard troops is fighting terrorism.

And that’s when I saw something terrible. What have terrorists done? A bomb in the World Trade center. Destroyed the World Trade Center and badly damaged the Pentagon while crashing planes and killing people. And we are now spending billions of dollars to make the military bigger at the expense of our own citizens and welfare.

That’s insane. It’s the actions of the paranoid. We have made this enemy bigger than the Soviet Union ever was, and the reality is, it’s smaller than Crawford Texas! But the fact that it’s unknown allows us to make it bigger than we can imagine. And it allows us to be lead by the President to give up our good living to throw money at a boogieman. Bankrupt the country fighting an illusion.

There is a threat. There is a possibilty. But putting fences around every overpass is just throwing away money and in the end won’t stop anyone who wants to from tossing a rock over that fence or some other stupid act.

But putting up those fences will bankrupt the state. Do we let what two dumb kids did destroy our state out of paranoia?

I hope not.

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