Message to Liberals - Get the Wax Out of Your Ears!

The Presidents Press Conference (21 Mar 06) had the same pack of liberals spouting the same leading questions. Questions that are filled with factoids they have created. I heard portions of the Press Conference, compliments of Hugh Hewitt, who devoted a lot of his radio air time to getting the president's message out. The same message the liberal press corp has evidently failed to hear time and again.

To those who pay attention it was like second verse, same as the first BUT this time I think the liberal media ignored him even harder. Watching the MSM news tonight I saw they were strained to put their usual HATE BUSH spin on the Press Conference but with artistic editing they did manage some damage control to help continue their make believe world view.

For those who missed it here are some factoids Bush demolished:

(Q from Terri (AP) - Q Iraq's Interim Prime Minister said Sunday that violence is killing an average of 50 to 60 people a day, and that, "if this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is." Do you agree with Mr. Allawi that Iraq has fallen into civil war?

THE PRESIDENT: I do not. There are other voices coming out of Iraq, by the way, other than Mr. Allawi -- who I know, by the way, and like, he's a good fellow. President Talabani has spoken. General Casey, the other day, was quite eloquent on the subject. Zal Khalilzad, who I talk to quite frequently. Listen, we all recognize that there is violence, that there's sectarian violence. But the way I look at the situation is that the Iraqis took a look and decided not to go to civil war. - ... -

THERE IS NO CIVIL WAR GOING ON IN IRAQ!
- End of factoid.

~~~~~


The President called on Steve...

Q Thank you. You describe Iran as a threat, yet, you're close to opening talks with them about Iraq. What would be the objective in these talks if they are not negotiations? And is there a risk of getting drawn into the nuclear issue?

THE PRESIDENT: - ... - ...our negotiations with Iran on the nuclear weapons will be led by the EU-3. And that's important because the Iranians must hear there's a unified voice about -- that says that they shall not have a capacity to make a nuclear weapon and/or the knowledge as to how to make a nuclear weapon, for the sake of security of the world.

It's important for our citizens to understand that we have got to deal with this issue diplomatically now. And the reason why is because if the Iranians were to have a nuclear weapon they could blackmail the world. If the Iranians were to have a nuclear weapon they could proliferate. This is a country that's walking away from international accords; they're not heading toward the international accords, they're not welcoming the international inspections -- or safeguards -- safeguard measures that they had agreed to.

And so our policy for the Iranians, in terms of the nuclear program, is to continue to work with the EU-3, as well as Russia and China. Later on this week, there's going to be a P-5 -- that's a diplomatic sloganeering for the permanent members of the Security Council -- plus Germany, and working together to make sure that the message remains unified and concerted.

THE UNITED STATES IS NOT GOING TO BE THE ONLY COUNTRY INVOLVED IN THE IRAN NUCLEAR ISSUE!
- End of factoid.

~~~~~

Q = Helen Thomas

Q I'd like to ask you, Mr. President, your decision to invade Iraq has caused the deaths of thousands of Americans and Iraqis, wounds of Americans and Iraqis for a lifetime. Every reason given, publicly at least, has turned out not to be true. My question is, why did you really want to go to war? From the moment you stepped into the White House, from your Cabinet -- your Cabinet officers, intelligence people, and so forth -- what was your real reason? You have said it wasn't oil -- quest for oil, it hasn't been Israel, or anything else. What was it?

THE PRESIDENT: I think your premise -- in all due respect to your question and to you as a lifelong journalist -- is that -- I didn't want war. To assume I wanted war is just flat wrong, Helen, in all due respect --

Q Everything --

THE PRESIDENT: Hold on for a second, please.

Q -- everything I've heard --

THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me, excuse me. No President wants war. Everything you may have heard is that, but it's just simply not true. My attitude about the defense of this country changed on September the 11th. We -- when we got attacked, I vowed then and there to use every asset at my disposal to protect the American people. Our foreign policy changed on that day, Helen. You know, we used to think we were secure because of oceans and previous diplomacy. But we realized on September the 11th, 2001, that killers could destroy innocent life. And I'm never going to forget it. And I'm never going to forget the vow I made to the American people that we will do everything in our power to protect our people.

Part of that meant to make sure that we didn't allow people to provide safe haven to an enemy. And that's why I went into Iraq -- hold on for a second --

Q They didn't do anything to you, or to our country.

THE PRESIDENT: Look -- excuse me for a second, please. Excuse me for a second. They did. The Taliban provided safe haven for al Qaeda. That's where al Qaeda trained --

Q I'm talking about Iraq --

THE PRESIDENT: Helen, excuse me. That's where -- Afghanistan provided safe haven for al Qaeda. That's where they trained. That's where they plotted. That's where they planned the attacks that killed thousands of innocent Americans.

I also saw a threat in Iraq. I was hoping to solve this problem diplomatically. That's why I went to the Security Council; that's why it was important to pass 1441, which was unanimously passed. And the world said, disarm, disclose, or face serious consequences --

Q -- go to war --

THE PRESIDENT: -- and therefore, we worked with the world, we worked to make sure that Saddam Hussein heard the message of the world. And when he chose to deny inspectors, when he chose not to disclose, then I had the difficult decision to make to remove him. And we did, and the world is safer for it.

Q Thank you, sir. Secretary Rumsfeld -- (laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT DID NOT MOVE INTO THE WHITE HOUSE WITH AN ITCHY TRIGGER FINGER. DIPLOMACY WAS TRIED WITH SADDAM HUSSEIN AND FAILED. WMD's WERE NOT THE ONLY REASON FOR GOING INTO IRAQ!
- End of factoids.

~~~~~

Q Good morning, sir. Mindful of the frustrations that many Americans are expressing to you, do you believe you need to make any adjustments in how you run the White House? Many of your senior staffers have been with you from the beginning. There are some in Washington who say --

THE PRESIDENT: Wait a minute, is this a personal attack launching over here? (Laughter.)

Q Some say they are tired and even tone-deaf, even within your party who say that maybe you need some changes. Would you benefit from any changes to your staff?

THE PRESIDENT: I've got a staff of people that have, first of all, placed their country above their self-interests. These are good, hardworking, decent people. And we've dealt with a lot. We've dealt with a lot. We've dealt with war, we've dealt with recession, we've dealt with scandal, we've dealt with Katrina. I mean, they had a lot on their plate. And I appreciate their performance and their hard work and they've got my confidence.

THE PRESIDENT CHOSE A STAFF THAT IS LOYAL AND HAS A GRASP OF HIS VISION. UNLIKE A PREVIOUS PRESIDENT WHOSE STAFF SEEMED TO CHANGE WITH THE WIND NONE OF HIS STAFF WILL BE REMOVED BECAUSE THE LIBERAL PRESS (OR MICHAEL MOORE'S CROWD) DOES NOT LIKE THE PERSON.
- End of factoid

~~~~~

prying1 sez: There was much more repetition of the same stuff from this same tired liberal press corps such as the President ignoring manufactured polls (read: lies instead of polls - he will continue to ignore them) - Firing Rumsfeld (still not going to happen) - terrorist surveillance program (quote "nobody from the Democrat Party has actually stood up and called for getting rid of the terrorist surveillance program.") - Timetable for withdrawal from Iraq (AGAIN - When the generals decide)


This is the same hash that has been going on for how long now? Hence the title of this post!

Hearing the exchange between Helen Thomas and the president I was struck with how rude this supposedly "enlightened and caring' liberal woman is. Mean and rude! But then again. Should I be surprised? The caring and loving liberals are the same ones that applaud "Piss Christ" and abhor the posting of the Ten Commandments.

The entire press conference (with video) can be seen at the White House News Release Page



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More Internet/Email Jokes

Please don't groan too loudly. People will think my blog sickens you...

There was a lonely guy who decided that life would be more fun if he had a pet.

He went to the pet store and told the owner that he wanted to buy an unusual pet. After some discussion, he finally bought a centipede. It came in a little white box to use for his house. He took the box back home, found a good location and decided he would start off by taking his new pet to the park.

So he asked the centipede in the box, "Would you like to go to the park with me?"

But there was no answer from his new pet. This bothered him a bit, but he waited a few minutes and then asked him again, "How about going to the park with me?"

But again, there was no answer from his new friend and pet. So he waited a few minutes more, thinking about the situation. He decided to ask him one more time; this time putting his face up against the centipede?s house and shouting, "Hey, in there! Would you like to go to the park with me?"

A little voice came out of the box: "I heard you the first time! I'm putting on my shoes."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At a world brewing convention in the States, the CEO's of various brewing organizations retired to the bar at the end of each day's conference.

Bruce, CEO of Fosters, shouted to the Barman: "In 'Strylya, we make the best bladdy beer in the world, so pour me a bladdy Fosters, mate."

Bob, CEO of Budweiser, calls out next: "In the States, we brew the finest beers of the world, and I make the king of them all, gimme a Bud."

Hans, CEO of Lowenbrau, steps up next: "In Germany ve invented das beer, ferdamt. Give me ein Lowenbrau, das ist der real King of beers, danke."

Paddy, CEO of Guinness, steps forward: "Barman, would ya give me a diet coke with ice and lemon. Thanks."

The others stare at him in stunned silence, amazement written all over their faces. Eventually Bruce asks: "Are you not going to have a Guinness, Pat?"

Paddy replies "Well, if you flippin' pansies aren't drinkin', then neither am I!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ever mindful of the congregation, the Baptist preacher and his wife decided to get a new dog, and knew that the dog also had to be a Baptist. They visited kennel after kennel and explained their needs. Finally, they found a kennel whose owner assured them he had just the dog they wanted. The owner brought the dog to meet the pastor and his wife.

"Fetch the Bible," he commanded. The dog bounded to the bookshelf, scrutinized the books, located the Bible, and brought it to the owner.

"Now find Psalm 23," he commanded. The dog dropped the Bible to the floor, and showing marvelous dexterity with his paws, leafed through and finding the correct passage, pointed to it with his paw.

The pastor and his wife were very impressed and purchased the dog. That evening, a group of church members came to visit. The pastor and his wife began to show off the dog, having him locate several Bible verses. The visitors were very impressed.

One man asked, "Can he do regular dog tricks, too?"

"I haven't tried yet," the pastor replied. He pointed his finger at the dog. "HEEL!" the pastor commanded. The dog immediately jumped on a chair, placed one paw on the pastor's forehead and began to howl.

The pastor looked at his wife in shock and said, "Good Lord! He's Pentecostal!"

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Priceless Way to Get Cheap Advertising Copy at Priceless.com!

Just saw a commercial advertising the Mastercard "Priceless" commercials. Apparently they are running out of ideas because this commercial had lines like ________:$9 (Voice says, "Blank: Nine Dollars")...

They want you to go to their website, Priceless.com and "Fill in the blanks" to win cash prizes.

Prizes are as follows:

Prizes: (30) Semifinalist Prizes: $100 MasterCard Gift Card (Approximate Retail Value "ARV"=$100). (4) Finalist Prizes: $500 MasterCard Gift Card (ARV=$500). (1) Grand Prize: a) $1,000 MasterCard Gift Card & b) Spot completed by winner will air live based on a schedule designated solely by Sponsor (ARV=$1,000). MasterCard Gift Card restrictions may apply. Total ARV of all prizes=$6,000. Limit (1) prize per person, family, or household.

prying1 sez: Looks to me to be a real cheap way for Mastercard to get copy for future ads. But I'm just a cynic...

I'm really just jealous and wish my brain was filled with originality and personal creation like their rules specify. Oh well! For those that want to enter my inabilities equals less competition.

Good luck to all who decide to enter...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Update: - Just found out this promo contest was first aired on the Academy Awards Broadcast. - Whose bright idea was that? Now there is a joker in the advertising world that should be replaced...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Retirement Jokes!

I think they are funny so I thought I'd share. - This is for those of you that don't get the joke emails passed around via emails. Your mailbox might not be filled all the time but look at all the fun you are missing!

RETIREMENT:

Question: How many days in a week?
Answer: 6 Saturdays, 1 Sunday


Question: When is a retiree's bedtime?
Answer: Three hours after he falls asleep on the couch.

Question: How many retirees to change a light bulb?
Answer: Only one, but it might take all day.

Question: What's the biggest gripe of retirees?
Answer: There is not enough time to get everything done.

Question: Why don't retirees mind being called Seniors?
Answer: The term comes with a 10% discount.

Question: Among retirees what is considered formal attire?
Answer: Tied shoes.

Question: Why do retirees count pennies?
Answer: They are the only ones who have the time.

Question: What is the common term for someone who enjoys work and refuses to retire?
Answer: NUTS!

Question: Why are retirees so slow to clean out the basement, attic or garage?
Answer: They know that as soon as they do, one of their adult kids will want to store stuff there.

Question: What do retirees call a long lunch?
Answer: Normal.

Question: What is the best way to describe retirement?
Answers: The never ending Coffee Break.

Question: What's the biggest advantage of going back to school as a retiree?
Answer: If you cut classes, no one calls your parents.

Question: Why does a retiree often say he doesn't miss work, but misses the people he used to work with?
Answer: He is too polite to tell the whole truth.

AND, If you have not yet retired, look what you have to look forward to....

Thanks to Sandejay for the above lines!

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Where Does the Money Go?

Hugh Hewitt had this exchange on his radio Show Last Friday.

HH = Hugh Hewitt - Radio Host
JC= John Campbell - Congressman for the 48th Congressional district, California

HH: I appreciate your flying back from D.C. to do this show, because now finally...I can talk with Dreier about the rules, but you're on Financial Services, you're on Veterans Affairs, and you're on the floor voting on these things, not yet in the leadership. And so, I am confounded, befuddled, by what happened this week on the spending stuff, and I want you to walk our people through. What is going...why are you people spending money like drunken sailors?

JC: I think it's actually just...I'm going to give you the conclusion before we get to it. We need a spending limit, and we need a line item veto. And I'm not sure that anything else is going to stop it, just because of the way that Congress works with individual...with so many members and so many interest groups. Let me just give you a few examples. I've been in Congress now just over 90 days. Not a long time, right?

HH: Right.

JC: Brand new guy. Just came in. Had 63 requests for earmarks.

HH: No.

JC: 63 requests. And they only had 60 days to get to me.

HH: Where do they come from?

JC: Everything from a number of private contractors looking for defense money. You know, we have this thing and it's really good, and it'd be great for the national defense. The Department of Defense unfortunately doesn't recognize that. So if you can get us $3 million or $4 million dollars, we can create this thing.

HH: Explain to people what an earmark is. I always make that mistake.

JC: Sorry. Okay, I've assumed that the listeners of the Hugh Hewitt show have been educated by you, but I guess not.

HH: I try, I try.

JC: All right. Okay.

HH: There are Pittsburgh Steeler fans listening.

JC: What an earmark is, is members of Congress and the U.S. Senate have the opportunity to direct specific money to something in their district. So rather than its...let's say you have a transportation bill, and it's got however many billion dollars in it, and it gets sent to the states to spend on transportation things. But let's say you want to do a particular transportation project in your district. You can earmark and say I want this $4 million dollars to go specifically to the interchange of the 5 and the 22 freeway. You know, whatever it may be. Something like that. So that's what earmarks are. Most of the earmarks requests I got were from public agencies. But I mean, you get things like that. The point is, is that the easiest way as a member of Congress to make friends is to spend money on people. And there's lots of opportunities to do that. I would say 80% of the meetings I've had in my office thus far have been people asking for money. Either earmarks or simply in the budget, make sure we increase this. Or in the budget, we need to put money for this. Or in the budget, we need to increase the money for this. And one of the things I've asked every single person that's come in thus far, is I've said you know, we have a budget issue. We have deficits. There's...money isn't endless, even for $2.7 trillion dollars, which is the federal budget amount, even...is a finite number. You want us to spend $10 million on this. Could you bring me a suggestion of something we can spend $10 million less on, so that then, we can spend $10 million on the thing you want. And people kind of don't want to come in with that. But something I've been asking. But because of this whole...I mean, the number of people, constituents, non-constituents, whatever, that come and ask you for money is amazing. And it's frankly, it's hard to say no to everybody, to 80% of the people who come to see you. It's easy to say yes, and so that whole impetus creates...and that impetus times 535 people, members of the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, creates a whole wave of wanting to spend more money on things. So that's basically, I think, what's making it happen, plus the reality of votes. You know, well, gee, I won't vote for the budget unless we increase this by $100 million, or that by $50 million, or that by $150...and you see that dynamic going on as well.

HH: I'm going to quote you, and Radioblogger's going to put up with interview. I've been in Congress a little more than 90 days, and I have received 63 requests for earmarks, is that correct?

JC: That is correct.

HH: What did they total? Are you keeping a running total?

JC: Actually, I didn't add up the numbers. It'd be in the hundreds of millions.

HH: That is just incredible.

The Complete Interview with mp3 sound clips can be found at radioblogger.com

prying1 sez: John Campbell, near the beginning of this exchange said we need spending limits and the line item veto. That, and making it legal to whop these people over the head with rolled up newspapers. -

We really do need more people like John Campbell in the Congress and the Senate. Look for them in your neighborhood and help get them elected.


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GOING THROUGH CUSTOMS

Got this one from my uncle. He doesn't blog so I can't link to him.

GOING THROUGH CUSTOMS

A distinguished looking young lady is on a flight returning from Switzerland.

She finds herself seated next to a priest and asks "Excuse me father, may I ask a favor of you?"

"Well of course Miss, what can I do for you?" he replies.

"Here's the dilemma: I purchased for myself a superbly sophisticated electronic hair remover. I paid a lot of money for it. I really went well over the limits set forth by Customs, and I fear they will confiscate it from me. Could you perhaps secret it through Customs for me under your robes?"

"I certainly could my dear, only I must warn you I really am not ever able to lie."

"You have such an honest face father, surely they will never ask any questions of you," and with that she hands him the hair remover.

After landing they proceed through Customs and it becomes the father's turn in line.

"Father, do you have anything to declare?" asks the Custom's officer.

"From the top of my head to my waist I have nothing to declare my son."

Finding this answer a little strange the custom's officer proceeds to ask, "And from the waist to the floor, what do you have to declare?"

The father replies, "I have a marvelous little instrument designed to be used on a woman, but which has never yet been used..."

Roaring with laughter the Custom's officer says, "Go right through father. Next!"

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Word to the Wise!

"The Next Victim" has a post about a friend accepting checks at a Yard Sale. Guess what happened.

Visit "The Next Victim" to find out!

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Claude Allen Story Explained

Claude Allen, the president's former domestic policy adviser, resigned last week and was arrested in suburban Maryland. Charged with stealing thousands of dollars in merchandise from Target and other stores in a scheme to fake returns. Apparently he is accused of purchasing item, put it in his car, return to the store with the receipt, pull another off the shelf and cash it in.

American Princess has more on the story. I think she should be called on as a witness for the defense because she has it all laid out for the world to see.

Luckily for Claude Allen, the Presidential aide who resigned last week, and shortly thereafter arrested for presumably shoplifting from a Maryland Target, he might just be looking at the "Lisa Defense." He's got an evil twin, Floyd (which is, by the way, the perfect name for an evil twin).

Hop on over to ">American Princess' site for more on this bizarre story.




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Formosa Termite Hoax E-Mail Aims at Lowes and Home Depot!

This was first spotted in 2006 and is now making the rounds -

FALSE

If you use mulch around your house be very careful about buying mulch this year. After the hurricane in New Orleans many trees were blown over. These trees were then turned into mulch and the state is trying to get rid of tons and tons of this mulch to any state or company who will come and haul it away. So it will be showing up in Home Depot and Lowes at dirt cheap prices with one huge problem; Formosan Termites will be the bonus in many of those bags. New Orleans is one of the few areas in the country were the Formosan Termites has gotten a strong hold and most of the trees blown down were already badly infested with those termites. Now we may have the worst case of transporting a problem to all parts of the country that we have ever had. These termites can eat a house in no time at all and we have no good control against them, so tell your friends that own homes to avoid cheap mulch and know were it came from

FALSE

Snopes comes through again!

prying1 sez: IT'S A COMMUNIST PLOT AGAINST CAPITALISM!!! - Both Lowes and Home Depot have performed above and beyond the call of business concerning Hurricane Katrina
- Quote - Craig Johnson, president of retail consulting group Customer Growth Partners, said he expects Home Depot to soon announce relief plans as well. "Based on similar situations in the past, both Home Depot and Lowe's have responded quickly," Johnson said. - end quote -

OK, maybe it is not a communist plot - (which reminds me of a joke. What's the difference between Russia and the United States? - Answer: Russia does not have a Communist party...) - but whoever the fool was that originally sent this one out must have known he was spreading lies and that it would hurt the business of two companies that have certainly accomplished more for people than the rectal aperture hoaxer ever did. I'm willing to bet he has never owned a business nor paid people wages or a salary.

If found the idiot ought to be tarred and feathered!

Hat tip to Papergirl8 - Visit her ebay sales!

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TV Sports on Your Computer! Paralympics Have Started

I mentioned a few days ago the Paralympics are being televised from Torino Italy. - I found out through an online friend whose son is a Paralympian on the U.S. sled-hockey team.

- Alexi Salamone -

Note the blade he is sitting on. Not only do the players have to whack the puck across the ice they have to do it while balancing the sled on that narrow blade

The paralympics have been running for 30 years now. I think it is amazing that we can watch the ceremony and sporting events through our computers. Narrowstep.TV is playing 100 hours of the events. - 10MAR06 to 19MAR06 -

Might need to use IE or get plug ins for Firefox...

Click here to view the Paralympics or click on the title above.

To learn more about the Paralympics
Click here to check out their home page.

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Online Porn Addicts Be Aware of this

Ted Richardson of Fraud, Phishing and Financial Misdeeds reports:

Quinn Norton of Wired News and Boing Boing are reporting that one of the major processors for "adult services" has compromised millions of their customer's personal information.

"Seventeen million customers of the online payment service iBill have had their personal information released onto the internet, where it's been bought and sold in a black market made up of fraud artists and spammers, security experts say."

"The stolen data, examined by Wired News, includes names, phone numbers, addresses, e-mail addresses and internet IP addresses. Other fields in the compromised databases appear to be logins and passwords, credit-card types and purchase amounts, but credit-card numbers are not included."

Good idea to click on the link to get the full story! AND CHECK YOUR CREDIT STATEMENTS!

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Jury Duty - Income Tax - FBI ScamsDon't Fall For It!

I received a call from a young lady at a concerned financial institution that had sent me some information I had applied for. They wanted to know if I had dealt with it yet. I said, "No." and was asked if I wanted to handle it right then and there over the phone. I said, "No. I never transact financial affairs over the phone." - The young lady's voice changed a bit and as she was thanking me, etc. I could tell she did not appreciate my philosophy. I guess not. If everyone said that she would be out of a job.

While it is not quite true that, 'I NEVER transact financial affairs over the phone', I try to stick to it up to a point. I try to remember if the call is incoming it could be anybody on the phone. Sort of like being in an online chatroom. You can bet big bucks that 'Sweetguy18' is most likely a 300 pound drooling horny slob and not the college student he claims to be. However I'm certain this young lady was truly with the financial institution. So was I being paranoid?

NO!

I can say this so firmly because my real desire was to hang up so I could continue watching a TV show. I wasn't being paranoid. I was being self-centered.

This morning I get an email with this:

Most of us take those summons for jury duty seriously, but enough people skip out on their civic duty, that a new and ominous kind of scam has surfaced. Fall for it and your identity could be stolen, reports CBS.

In this con, someone calls pretending to be a court official who threateningly says a warrant has been issued for your arrest because you didn't show up for jury duty. The caller claims to be a jury coordinator. If you protest that you never received a summons for jury duty, the scammer asks you for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify the information and cancel the arrest warrant.
Sometimes they even ask for credit card numbers. Give out any of this information and bingo! Your identity just got stolen.
.......
Check it out here: - Snopes - Jury Duty Fraud -

I love this type of email because it gives a link to a place I trust to back it up. Of course Nigerian scam letters too can have links to back up the stories they tell.
- Hello! My name is Mrs Dead Rich Guy and this is a link to the news story I'm currently using in my scam... -

Is it chance, luck, fate or the Hand of A Higher Power that had this email sent to me at a time when I was mentally torn about what to post on? I could have posted on so many things. The DPW Port Deal falling through. The poll on Bush's approval ratings.
How to connive $5 from your kid. The list goes on.

This jury duty note is real good because it reminds us that strangers calling on the phone may not be who they say they are. The same sort of scam is used saying the caller is with the IRS and the FBI.

Snopes.com has some great advice that everyone in the country should know by now but apparently not because the scams still work. If they didn't work the con artists would stop using them. - Use the following guidelines for ALL types of incoming calls. -

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How to Avoid Falling Victim to 'Jury Duty' Scams:

* Court workers will not telephone to say you've missed jury duty or that they are assembling juries and need to pre-screen those who might be selected to serve on them, so dismiss as fraudulent phones call of this nature. About the only time you would hear by telephone (rather than by mail) about anything having to do with jury service would be after you have mailed back your completed questionnaire, and even then only rarely.

*** The FBI will not call claiming you have broken some law either. They will just beat your front door in. ***

* Do not give out bank account, social security, or credit card numbers over the phone if you didn't initiate the call, whether it be to someone trying to sell you something or to someone who claims to be from a bank or government department. If such callers insist upon "verifying" such information with you, have them read the data to you from their notes, with you saying yea or nay to it rather than the other way around.

* Examine your credit card and bank account statements every month, keeping an eye peeled for unauthorized charges. Immediately challenge items you did not approve.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



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Abortions vs. Sonograms

The Median Sib has a wonderful post entitled Abortion Rights vs. Sonograms. In it Carol says:

quote - When looking at a pregnant woman's abdomen, it's hard to visualize a baby underneath all those layers of skin and tissue. A sonogram makes it real. After seeing with clarity the baby's features, there is no denying the human life that is there.
~~~~~
"We've had babies wave. ... We've had babies smile. We've had babies suck their thumb. If they've had a little bit of caffeine, they're jumping around," said Frost, the center's nurse manager.

Kim Conroy, Sanctity of Human Life director for Focus on the Family, says two-thirds of the women who view their fetuses on an ultrasound machine at a pregnancy resource center end up rejecting abortion.
~~~~~
I can understand that. Once a woman realizes that it isn't a "fetus" but a real, live, active baby in there, abortion suddenly becomes not such a welcome choice.

However, some abortion-rights activists have opposed the use of sonograms. These are the people who claim they want women to make informed decisions. Instead of wanting to make sure that women who choose to abort their baby understand fully the ramifications of their decision, they claim that the use of sonograms puts inappropriate pressure on women.
~~~~~
"It's a manipulative tool," said Ginny Copenhefer, a former lobbyist with the Kentucky Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. "I don't think it's fair to heap guilt on them because they feel they have to terminate a pregnancy. That's just the most cruel form of abuse that I can imagine."

prying1 sez: Please go read Carols post. She says it all and I can add nothing to it.


Technorati Tags -
abortion -
life -
health -
health and wellness -

Dubai Ports World Occupation of U.S. Terminals

I've finally decided that the DP World use of U.S. ports is not an evil that will come back to bite us in the butts. I've been leaning that way for a while now. Mainly because I find myself arguing in favor of it every time I talk to anyone about it. Most people in this country are woefully uninformed about both sides of the issue. Of course most people in this country are woefully uninformed about a lot of things (including yours truly).

Cruising about the blogosphere I came across "I don't need a Tuxedo" who put a lot of the entire affair into a perspective that I felt comfortable with. Check his post - Port Security Tango -

'I Don't Need a Tuxedo' and I differ on many points in politics (including his bit re: Iraq at the end of his DPW post) our agreement on this matter shows how 'across the line' this subject is. I totally agree with him re: the politicos using it to show
they are tough on terrorism.

Quote - Now we're faced with a slew of bills from bipartisan but opportunistic legislators, all of whom want to score some political points by appearing "tough on security." What they'll actually end up doing is making us look even more ridiculous to foreign countries by making it clear that we don't think it's safe to do business with the A-Arabs. They'll discourage foreign investment, doing further harm to our struggling economy, while not doing anything to make us substantively more safe.

Hey! Representatives! How about focusing all of that energy on legislation to actually improve security at those ports? - end quote -

Technorati Tags -
DP World -
ports -
news and politics -
politics -

STOP BELIEVING THE MSM!

Wandered over to AubreyJ's again today. He had the following from the
U.S. Department of Defense
written By Jim Garamone,
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2006 - The will of the American people is the center of gravity for the war on terror, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said during a Pentagon news conference today.

Exaggerated reporting is giving the American people a false picture of what is happening in Iraq, the secretary said. "Interestingly, all of the exaggerations seem to be on one side," he said. "It isn't as though there simply have been a series of random errors on both sides of issues. On the contrary, the steady stream of errors, all seem to be of a nature to inflame the situation and to give heart to the terrorists and to discourage those who hope for success in Iraq."

Rumsfeld pointed to reporting that exaggerated the number of mosques attacked and the number of Iraqis killed in the violence that followed the bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra Feb. 22.

Fomenting a civil war was the impetus behind bombing the sacred shrine, and press stories exaggerating the violence that followed played into terrorists' hands, he said. "It has been and remains a time of testing for the Iraqi people, but the Iraqis are meeting that test thus far successfully, I would say, and defying the seeming rush to ... proclaim exactly what the terrorists seek, namely a civil war," he said.

We can add this to the list of MSM nonsense over the years.

• Clinton was impeached over a personal matter = He lied under oath.
  
• Tried to brush off AlGores collection of money from Buddhist nuns.
  
• Tried to smear lies on Schwartzenegger two days before the California Governor's election
  
• Bush lied about WMD's = he was misinformed as was every other world leader.
  
• Rathergate Memo Forgery - (and he was allowed to quit when he still has not admitted it was a forgery)
  
• Eason Jordon
  
• Katrina victims are being raped and murdered in the stadium.
  
• No "exit strategy" from Iraq
  
• Ignoring Louisianna local and state complicity in Katrina and shoveling it onto the fed level.
  
• Levees were breeched and Bush did not stop it.
  
• Only half the story about the Dubai Ports World renting container terminals on the eastern seaboard.
  
• Only half the story about what is really going on in the war against terrorism.
  
• Only half the story about what is going on in Iraq.
  
• POLLS!
  

prying1 sez: - I find it disgusting that these people running the MSM continually mislead their customers with only one side of so many issues. They take a poll and skew the contents with misleading questions and then only report the results they like. What this country needs is a good lawyer (space for a joke here) that is willing to set up a class action lawsuit against these jokers for fraud!

Technorati Tags -
MSM -
current affairs -
media -

Dubai Ports World Deal Not Settled In My Mind

There are still two sides to the issue on the Dubai World Ports (DWP) deal. Should an Arab country be given the rights to operate 11 shipping terminals at six American seaports. -

The way it was first reported it seemed that the entire oceanfront would be owned by Muslum countries. Now to me it looks more like they are, in effect, renting the dockspace so their ships have priority in loading and unloading. I'm still not sure where I stand on it. They (DPW) are being given praises and condemnations that seem to cancel each other out but most of the condemnations are for pre 9-11 causes.

The main problem I have with the country, United Arab Emirates, which owns the majority stock in DPW is it's relationship (or lack thereof) with Israel. This however I do not think is a reason to stand against the deal. Much as I find it reprehensible I think that it should not enter into the debate.

The only problem I see is that some terrorist sycophant working for DPW could pass on sensitive info to terrorists. Which ship is loaded with explosives and the best time to blow it up. All else seems moot to me and is based on emotion rather than fact. Would this deal make it easier for this to happen? How easy is it now even if we do not have the deal in place or if it never comes to fruition?

Employees at any current port operations company might be swayed by money, idealism or threats to pass on info without this deal going through. There are no guarantees as it now stands. Could Dubai Ports World at the helm of operations at 11 terminals on the eastern seaboard give us any less guarantees or even put us on the minus side?

Hugh Hewitt has posted quite a bit about this issue and had several people from both sides giving their views on his radio show. Good arguments from both sides. He has this posted which I think brings some of it into focus.

- Quote - Here is the argument from the security lobby:


There are two categories of assets/businesses in the United States: those that have no or little bearing on the nation's security, and those that do.


Generally speaking, all nations that are not enemies of the U.S. are welcomed to invest in the former (no or little bearing). We encourage our allies to do so, even those allies with whom we have deep foreign policy differences on such matters as the boycott of Israel. The country is committed to free trade and the global economy, and that commitment is not subject to suspension over particular differences in foreign policy, even on such a crucial matter as trade with Israel. The boycott of Israel is not for us a national security issue.


Assets/businesses in the latter category are different. Defense contractors and their wares, strategic resources and the companies that develop them, some supercomputing businesses etc. --these sorts of assets/businesses are not open to market purchases, as the very existence of CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States) attests.


The first question is: Are port operations in the first or the second category. I, and most of the country, assumes that even though security at the ports is the duty of the Coast Guard, that nevertheless these are operations in the second category because they are border functions. After the attack on the Cole we became aware of the possibilities of port terrorism. After 9/11 we became aware that terrorists are willing to think way outside of the box and competent enough to carry out such schemes. Since 9/11 there have bulletins of alert focused on ports and a variety of stories about slips in port security and warnings that ports are our weakest link.
- end quote - See Hugh's entire post here -

prying1 sez: At this point my brain gets fuzzy and wants to shut down. - All I can think to do is to pray and ask the Living God to help those in power to make the decisions that come to the right choice.

Reminds me of the time a friend said, "Has it come to this? Should we pray about it?"

His point being that we should have been praying all along...



Technorati Tags -
DP World -
business-issues -
news -
ports -
terrorism -

Good News From Iraq!

Moseyed on over to AubreyJ's blog tonight and found this bit of news.

"I felt an urge to join after viewing the Nick Berg story on the news," said Pfc. David Henry, Co. B, 1-87 Inf. "One year later, here I am with my platoon and we've captured murderers of innocent people." Berg was an American contractor in Iraq who'd been captured and killed by terrorists.

And, on Feb. 25, soldiers from the battalion's Company C found a large weapons cache. Officials said that Iraqis no longer willing to tolerate terrorists in their neighborhoods - had provided the Americans with the cache's location.

The soldiers discovered weapons buried in an empty field a few miles west of Baghdad. Along with bomb-making equipment the cache yielded five rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 19 rocket-propelled grenades, 20 mortars, eight rockets, 21 grenades and some explosives.

Soldiers from Special Troops Battalion, 1st BCT, 10th Mountain Division destroyed the weapons in a controlled explosion.

"This is a big source of motivation for our soldiers," said Staff Sgt. Douglas Batchko, who led the search that revealed the cache. "Finding and destroying weapons caches like these marks a huge blow to the insurgency."

prying1 sez: - The insurgency is loosing and this means democracy is winning. Iraqis no longer willing to tolerate terrorists in their neighborhoods is a good sign but where is this in the MSM news? Iraqis have been turning in the bad guys for a long time now. Praise God!

The bad guys know they are loosing and that is why the Golden Mosque was destroyed. In the long run that hurt the terrorists even more!
~~~~~
Pray for out troops!
~~~~~
- Also check out the free song AubreyJ showed us the link to at Heroes In Our Midst - Words and Music by Dick Eastman -

Technorati Tags -
Iraq -
terrorism -
news -
music -

World's Funniest Blond Joke

Swinging throughout the blogosphere today I came across I AM!'s post with the World's Funniest Blond Joke. Some people spell Blond with an 'e' on the end so I've provided links spelled both ways. - Choose whichever you prefer -

- Blonde Joke -

- Blond Joke -

Technorati Tags -
humor -
jokes -
funny -

Free Low Self Esteem Fixer

There are times when people are down in the dumps and need a pick-me-up. Hitting the bottle only works for a short while and inevitably leads to, among other things, loss of friends, character and income. Try this first.

Free Self Esteem Fixer

Technorati Tags -
Friends -
Health and wellness -
personal -

Blog Mad Is Starting Strong

A new Blog Traffic Site has started and seems to be doing pretty good. BlogMad.net. I can see that my traffic has increased quite a bit and the credit earning potential seems pretty good. Traveling around the site I finally decided I needed to make a banner. Using Irfanview and the internet for a couple pics here is what I came up with

Any suggestions or should I choose one as is??? - Blogmad needs an invitation because it is in Beta stages right now. Leave a comment w/valid email if you want an invite... I'd say it is worth joining.

~~~~~
Update - There is this this statement on the BlogMad.net website:
Q. Are there any limitations?
A. No Porn or any blog that promotes any kind of illegal activity. Nudity is allowed as long as its not people having intercourse, or overly distasteful.
~~~~~

Technorati Tags -
blogmad -
blogging -

An Atheist Said...

An atheist said, "If there is a God, may he prove himself by striking me dead right now."

Nothing happened.

"You see, there is not God."

Another responded, "You've only proved that He is a gracious God."

- Source Unknown. - (Borrowed from Scotwise)

The atheist in this story was not too wise. Had God struck him dead he would not have had a chance to repent of his sins. I wonder if the response did anything to change his heart. Probably not. He probably would not admit there is any sin in his life.

What is sin??? Simply stated it is disobedience to God's will and His purpose for us.

How can we tell what is God's will? There is a clue in the above dialogue. He is a gracious God. - Check this out from 1 Thessalonian Chapter 5 -

~~~~~
16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
~~~~~

This little statement is in the middle of some other instructions that Saint Paul gave in his letter to the Thessalonian Church. It helps to put it back into context however it can be utilized as a simple test to check your standing in God's will.

(16) Are you happy in the majority of your time spent awake? God is not a mean tyrant that wants you under His thumb. He is a kind and loving Father that wants you to enjoy life.

(17) Do you talk to God on a regular basis? - This includes LISTENING for answers and not just a one way dialog. Listen carefully for that still small voice that says, "This is the way. Walk in it." -

(18) Giving thanks in some situations can be near impossible but not totally impossible. Giving thanks sometimes means just throwing it on God's shoulders and leaving it there. It is part of the deal Christians call 'walking by faith'. Just trusting God that He will work it out in the long run. This is not to say that we should not do our 'hands on part' in the circumstances but instead of worrying we should go back to verse 16 and rejoice.

Sounds simplistic doesn't it. Well life is complicated enough as it is and God, being gracious, doesn't want our lives cluttered up with a lot of religious rigmarole to complicate it any more.

Technorati Tags -
Religion -
Christianity -
Life -

Freedom of Speech Bows Down and Stands Up

I've got two stories about the cartoon kerfuffle I'm hooking together.

The first from the Conservative Voice - Cartoon protesters defy rally ban

Thousands of Muslims defied a ban on rallies Friday in Pakistan's capital, joining protesters across the country in condemning the Prophet Muhammad cartoons printed by some Western newspapers.
~~~~~~~~~

by John Cole, The Scranton Times-Tribune, February 8, 2006
~~~~~~~~~
The demonstrations after midday prayers also gave angry clerics a platform to criticize President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and his government's close relations with the United States.

"America is the killer of humanity, and we will keep raising our voice against it, and its supporter (Musharraf)," said Maulana Fazal-ur Rahman, a cleric and opposition leader who led the Islamabad protest, which drew 2,000 people.

He said protests would also be held on March 3, a day before the visit of U.S. President George W. Bush to Pakistan.
......
A prominent Malaysian newspaper that published a cartoon about the dispute avoided punishment by offering an apology that was accepted by the government Friday. The New Straits Times on Monday printed the Non Sequitur strip, which showed an artist sitting on a chair on a street with a sign saying: "Caricatures of Muhammad While You Wait!"

Although the picture didn't show Muhammad, Muslim groups said it mocked Islam, and the government asked the newspaper to give reasons why it should not be punished. The newspaper published an apology on its front page Friday.

"Obviously, we misjudged how different people would react" to the cartoon, it said.

~~~~~~~~~~~

And this story from MSNBC.com/Newsweek International edition - The End of Tolerance -

March 6, 2006 issue - The world has long looked upon the Dutch as the very model of a modern, multicultural society. Open and liberal, the tiny seagoing nation that invented the globalized economy in the 1600s prided itself on a history of taking in all comers, be they Indonesian or Turkish, African or Chinese.

How different things look today. Dutch borders have been virtually shut. New immigration is down to a trickle. The great cosmopolitan port city of Rotterdam just published a code of conduct requiring Dutch be spoken in public. Parliament recently legislated a countrywide ban on wearing the burqa in public. And listen to a prominent Dutch establishment figure describe the new Dutch Way with immigrants. "We demand a new social contract," says Jan Wolter Wabeke, High Court Judge in The Hague. "We no longer accept that people don't learn our language, we require that they send their daughters to school, and we demand they stop bringing in young brides from the desert and locking them up in third-floor apartments."
......
This helps explain Europe's unusually robust reaction to the cartoon crisis, which continued last week with riots in Nigeria and Pakistan that have left over 100 dead. There were apologies, to be sure, for causing offense after a small Danish paper published a dozen cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. But on one point European leaders were united and bluntly clear: they would not tolerate any limits on European newspapers' rights to publish. "Freedom of speech is not up for negotiation," declared Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, summing up a consensus that has only grown stronger as the cries of outrage from the Muslim world grow louder.

prying1 sez: - This rioting over cartoons has only damaged the image of Islam, Muslums and Arabs in particular. While some bow before the rioters and criminals and concede their freedom of speech others are ready to hammer those who would limit freedom of speech. Is there a happy medium? I don't see it. For a group in one country to demand another country control it's press is reprehensible. Those who really end up being punished are those of the group that have settled in the second country.

Is what Holland is doing right? At this point in time I can see no alternative. If they do not stand firm, show they mean business and hold strong to that which they deem dear to them it will certainly be carried away by those who don't understand or appreciate it.

Hat tip to Rosemead Times for blogging about The Dutch story.
Hat tip to On Tap for the lead to the John Cole cartoon
Hat tip to John Cole for being talented and standing firm!
Technorati Tags - cartoons -
Islam - Freedom of speech -

Iraqi Religious Leaders Rally for Unity

Yahoo news/By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer - quote -
BAGHDAD, Iraq -
Iraq's most influential Shiite political leader called Friday for Sunni-Shiite unity as religious figures sought to calm passions and pull the nation from the brink of civil war after the bombing of a Shiite shrine two days ago and a wave of deadly reprisal attacks.

An extraordinary daytime curfew in Baghdad and three nearby provinces appeared to have blunted the wave of attacks on Sunni mosques that followed Wednesday's bombing which destroyed the golden dome of the Shiite Askariya shrine in Samarra.

Still, Iraqis feared that the two days of violence which followed the Samarra attack had pushed the country closer to sectarian civil war than at any time since the U.S.-led invasion nearly three years ago.

Several joint Sunni-Shiite prayer services were announced for Friday, including one at the Askariya shrine. But security forces turned away about 700 people, virtually all of them Sunnis, who showed up for the service.
~~~~~~
"We all have to unite in order to eliminate them," al-Hakim said in a statement. "This is what al-Zarqawi is working for, that is, to ignite a sectarian strife in the country," he added. "We call for self-restraint and not to be dragged by the plots of the enemy of Iraq."

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad acknowledged the danger facing Iraq - and the U.S. strategy for disengaging from this country. But he also said this was also a "moment of opportunity" for Iraq.

"This tragedy can be used to bring people together," Khalilzad told reporters.
~~~~~~
He said several steps were being considered by the Shiite-dominated government, including an investigation to establish responsibility for the shrine attack and better protection for religious sites.

He also said a fund to rebuild the Askariya shrine and repair Sunni mosques damaged in the backlash was under study, as well as a ban on carrying weapons without authorization and the appointment of an advisory political committee to help calm tensions.

Anger, however, was running deep and it could take time to determine whether the country has passed through this latest crisis.
~~~~~~~ - end quotes -

prying1 sez: The people of Iraq could use the bombing of the Askariya shrine to build relationships between the different denominations of Islam thereby fouling the plots of the terrorists that destroyed it. The different factions can and should work together, side by side, to rebuild that which has been destroyed. Lets pray that they see and grasp the opportunity this really affords them.

Technorati Tags - terrorism - Iraq - religion -

France holds human bird flu drill

From the BBC - quote - Authorities in France have staged an exercise to test the ability of the emergency services to cope with an outbreak of bird flu in humans.

In the Lyon exercise two "patients" with symptoms of the virus were evacuated to a hospital isolation ward.

Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has said France has "one of the most sophisticated plans in Europe". - end quote --

~~~~~~~

prying1 sez: Leave it to the French to move two people from one room to another and call it a drill.

Scotsman.com has this - Bird flu fears at French farm - BIRD flu tests were being carried out today at a turkey farm in south-eastern France in what would be the first case in domestic birds in the European Union.

Authorities have sealed off a farm with more than 11,000 turkeys in the south-eastern Ain region, the same area where France's first two cases of the deadly virus - in two wild ducks - were confirmed.

~~~~~~~

Ireland OnLine reports - Indonesia and Malaysia step up bird flu flight -
Indonesia and Malaysia took their anti-bird flu campaigns to the streets today, testing thousands of chickens, ducks and doves for the H5N1 virus that has killed 87 people across Asia.

In India, veterinary workers wearing goggles and protective suits cleaned up chicken coops in a small town hit by the disease, while China reported that a six-year-old boy infected with bird flu had fully recovered.

Indonesia's Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono declared a war on bird flu as he launched a three-day campaign to test birds across the capital Jakarta - the source of most of Indonesia's human cases.

So far 19 people have died in Indonesia, all in the past nine months, more than any country worldwide within the same period.

~~~~~~~~

MSNBC tells us more about the bird flu called H5N1 -

Pandemic fears

The rapid spread of H5N1 from Asia into the Middle East, Africa and Europe has heightened fears of a human pandemic and triggered sharp falls in poultry sales.

The Economic Community of West African States called for international aid to help set up a regional fund to pay for emergency action as they seek to prevent the spread of the virus, found in poultry in Nigeria this month.

The World Health Organization plans to test samples from four Nigerians possibly infected with the virus, including a woman who died last week and three people who have recovered.

Experts fear that in Africa, where chickens live in millions of homes, the virus could spread rapidly and largely undetected due to a lack of health, veterinary and laboratory services.

They hold similar fears for India, where hundreds of millions of people live in rural areas side-by-side with livestock and domestic fowl.

So far the biggest risk seems to be for people who come into direct contact with sick chickens, and in countries where people personally care for their fowl.

There have been no confirmed human cases in India, but authorities were making final tests of a 12th person quarantined with suspected bird flu in Navapur, a remote town in IndiaÂ’s western Maharashtra state.

prying1 sez: I'd hate to think that this disease could and will become a human to human epidemic but the posibility is there. How many local governments are practicing control even on a small scale as the French did? - I've heard it suggested that people send emails, letters and even step into their local city halls to ask their local tax paid elected officials to do a bit of research on this subject and to come up with a plan in case it hits their communities. - Tell 'em they can get a fund going for the study and stick their hands in the pie. That might encourage them to look into it.

For an excellent reference site to start with check out EnFlu.com.
Technorati Tags - H5N1 - bird flu - health -

Ports Deal Leaves Funny Taste In Mouth

The more I learn about the DP World ports operation buyout the more I'm starting to vacillate. Originally I heard that this company was being given the SECURITY CONTRACT. It was on a late night talk radio show out of Colorado. Apparently the host had not done his homework or I misunderstood the argument. I have since realized it has the OPERATIONS CONTRACT that is being sold. Big difference. The company does have the expertise for the job and has proved it world wide.

I wish I could afford to make blogging a full time job but I don't get enough hits on the little ads on the side bar to pay for candy bars much less the electric bill to run my computer. As a result the time I have for research is limited. I'm at the mercy of the MSM at times and the MSM is at the mercy of inept reporters. Because of this the information I get is usually biased, one sided, or incomplete.

I do listen to Talk Radio and get filled in on a lot of issues from talk show hosts I trust and some I that don't trust. Two of my favorites are Rush Limbaugh and Hugh Hewitt. Rush is in favor of the deal and Hugh has his doubts about it. At the moment I am siding with Hugh.

DP World would not serve itself or the country that owns it (It is not a private corporation) by paying 6.8 Billion just to ship a bomb into a port and blow it up. They could do that without putting down the cash and then by the port at the fire sale. Not that is or ever was my fear but I did hear a caller make the suggestion. At this point DP World would best serve it's own interest and the interests of Dubai by working hard to make sure this doesn't happen if the deal goes through.

Daily Kos has it usual tin foil hat conspiracy theorists working overtime to come up with "What if's" and "Maybe Bush's" to fill an encyclopedia. They appear to be scrubbing the Whitehouse.gov's & DP World's website for evidence that Bush started the French and Indian Wars to drum up support for the American Revolution. Most of the tripe on their articles and comments can be ignored.

For example - 24JAN2006 Dave Sanborn, DP Director of Operations for Europe and Latin America has been nominated by US President George W. Bush to serve as Maritime Administrator a key transportation appointment reporting directly to Norman Mineta the Secretary of Transportation and Cabinet Member.

The Kosites are running amuck with payoff theories etc.. It just might be that Dave Sanborn is the right man for this job. He certainly has quite a bit of experience in the field.

I heard a talkshow host last night say that he thought the deal should go through because it would be good for U.S. relationships with the Middle East. To back out now would make the Muslum world dislike us even more. I think if the Muslum world is going to jump and scream and murder and destroy property over cartoons I don't think this ports deal is going to have either a positive or negative effect on them. They will continue in their uncivilized behaviour either way.

My main concern is if there is any chance of a fanatical Muslum being on the board of directors or in a place of confidence in the company could he pass on sensitive information to his terrorist buddies. I'm not certain at this point if there is any sensitive information that would flow to the headquarters of DP World that we should even concern ourselves with this question.

The security at our ports is abysmally poor already. This deal needs a lot more scrutiny before going through.

Technorati Tags - ports - D P World - Dubai -

Bush Unaware of Ports Deal Before Approval

Washington Post - 22FEB06 - WASHINGTON -- President Bush was unaware of the pending sale of shipping operations at six major U.S. seaports to a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates until the deal already had been approved by his administration, the White House said Wednesday.

Defending the deal anew, the administration also said that it should have briefed Congress sooner about the transaction, which has triggered a major political backlash among both Republicans and Democrats.
......
While Bush has adamantly defended the deal, the White House acknowledged that he did not know about it until recently.

"He became aware of it over the last several days," McClellan said. Asked if Bush did not know about it until it was a done deal, McClellan said, "That's correct."

"The president made sure to check with all the Cabinet secretaries that are part of this process, or whose agencies or departments are part of this process," the spokesman said. "He made sure to check with them _ even after this got more attention in the press, to make sure that they were comfortable with the decision that was made."

"And every one of the Cabinet secretaries expressed that they were comfortable with this transaction being approved," he said.
.....
"I can understand why some in Congress have raised questions about whether or not our country will be less secure as a result of this transaction," the president said. "But they need to know that our government has looked at this issue and looked at it carefully."

A senior executive from Dubai Ports World pledged the company would agree to whatever security precautions the U.S. government demanded to salvage the deal. Chief operating officer Edward "Ted" H. Bilkey promised Dubai Ports "will fully cooperate in putting into place whatever is necessary to protect the terminals."

prying1 sez: - I appreciate President Bush and am a Pro Bush Republican but on this one I disagree with him.

That was said to counter an Air America mouth that said the republicans stand behind Bush no matter what.

The instability of Arab nations at this time would only put the security of our nation at risk. Apparently Dubai is the most stable of the Arab nations. That is supposed to make me feel better about this deal?

All it would take is one fanatical Muslum in the list of Dubai Ports World employees to turn vital info to his friends. One weak point exploited and we have another terrorist action on U.S. soil. The ports have enough weak points as it is. This deal would only add to it.

hat tip to Doug at Below the Beltway
Technorati Tags - ports - terrorism - DP World -

Shiite Shrine Damaged U.S. Won't Support Sectarian Goals

From Yahoo News22FEB06 - SAMARRA, Iraq - A large explosion Wednesday heavily damaged the golden dome of one of
Iraq's most famous Shiite shrines, sending protesters into the streets and triggering reprisal attacks against Sunni mosques. It was the third major attack against Shiite targets in as many days.

Shiite leaders called for calm, but militants attacked Sunni mosques and a gunfight broke out between Shiite militiamen and guards at a Sunni political party in Basra. Army Capt. Jassim al-Wahash said about 500 soldiers were sent to Sunni neighborhoods in Baghdad to prevent clashes between Shiites and Sunnis.
.....
The Interior Ministry said four men, one wearing military uniform and three in black, entered the mosque early Wednesday and detonated two bombs, one of which collapsed the dome and damaged part of the northern wall of the shrine.

A government statement said "several suspects" had been detained and some of them "might have had been involved in carrying out the crime."

Police believed some people might be buried under the debris after the 6:55 a.m. explosion but by late afternoon no casualties had been found. The shrine contains the tombs of two revered Shiite imams, both descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, and is among Iraq's most sacred sites for Shiite Muslims.
.....
"This criminal act aims at igniting civil strife," said Mahmoud al-Samarie, a 28-year-old builder who was among the crowd. "We demand an investigation so that the criminals who did this be punished. If the government fails to do so, then we will take arm and chase the people behind this attack."

Religious leaders at other mosques and shrines throughout the city denounced the attack in statements read over loudspeakers from minarets.

President Jalal Talabani condemned the attack and called for restraint, saying the attack was designed to sabotage talks on a government of national unity following the Dec. 15 parliamentary election.
~~~~~
And this from NY Times International21FEB06 - BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 20 - The American ambassador to Iraq issued an unusually strong warning on Monday about the need for Iraq's political factions to come together, hinting for the first time that the United States would not be willing to support crucial public institutions plagued by sectarian agendas.

"The United States is investing billions of dollars" in Iraq's police and army, said the ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad. "We are not going to invest the resources of the American people to build forces run by people who are sectarian."

Mr. Khalilzad spoke at a news conference on a day of fresh violence across Iraq. It was the bloodiest day in almost two months.

He was addressing allegations that Shiite death squads operate within the Interior Ministry. Such reports have grown in recent months, with accounts of hundreds of Sunni men being rounded up by men in police uniforms and found dead days or weeks later.

The deaths have infuriated the Sunni Arabs, whose radical fringe leads the insurgency here, and have sharpened their distrust of the Shiite-led government that swept into power last spring.
.....
...The new Parliament is required by law to meet for the first time on Saturday, and Mr. Khalilzad's remarks seemed calculated to put pressure on Iraqis to overcome their differences.

He has sharply criticized Interior Ministry abuses in the past, echoing Sunni concerns about the ministry's failure to stop the killings. He amplified those concerns on Monday, urging the leaders to appoint interior and defense ministers who are "nonsectarian, broadly accepted and not tied to militias."

If Iraq cannot control the sectarian agendas within its government, Mr. Khalilzad said, it "faces the risk of warlordism that Afghanistan went through for a period." Mr. Khalilzad was born in Afghanistan and served as an American envoy there before coming to Iraq last year.

prying1 sez: It is obvious that the murders, suicide bombings and destruction of 'Holy Places' is designed to fire up the passions of both (or all) sects in Iraq. By playing the tit for tat game the people end up fulfilling the terrorists goals of dividing the country and leaving it a no mans land for their own nefarious purposes.

Iraq is a country filled with people being dragged into violence through no wish of their own. I'm certain the majority would prefer to not play the tit for tat game but when suddenly faced with a group of people wishing revenge for whatever reason it is hard to stay neutral and live.

This upcoming meeting mentioned above - "The new Parliament is required by law to meet for the first time on Saturday" - needs to be placed on prayer lists world wide.

Technorati Tags - Islam - Iraq - Terrorism -

Where Have All the Weapons Gone? (everybody sing!)

Gentle Cricket has a great post - Where did the WMD's go? -

- quote - First, last weekend came tapes that Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, had an ongoing Nuclear program as recently as 2000. Personally, this was not a shock considering that US Forces had found 1.8 tons of partially enriched Uranium (enough to produce 30-48 Nuclear Weapons), and 500 tons of yellowcake Uranium. Furthermore, Dr. Mahdi Obeidi, the physicist who had lead the Iraqi nuclear program until 1997, revealed to US forces upon his capture that he had plans and equipment for Uranium-enrichment buried at his home. According to Dr. Obeidi, these were being hidden until a nuclear program could be reinstated.

What startles me more, however, is the accusations that Russia was implicit in the transportation of WMD's from Iraq to both Syria and Lebanon. These accusations were made in 2004 by John A. Shaw, former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, saying that

They were moved by Russian Spetsnaz (special forces) units out of uniform, that were specifically sent to Iraq to move the weaponry and eradicate any evidence of its existence
- end quote -

The question is then asked, "Why would Russia be involved in the movement of Iraqi WMD's? These were weapons that were prohibited under 17 UN Resolutions, so why would Russia be involved in hiding them?"

prying1 sez: I hope this has piqued your interest and you go to Gentle Crickets Post. Leave a comment. Thank him for his work at informing us with facts. Comments will encourage him to keep up the good work!


Technorati Tags - Hussein - Weapons - Russia -

U.S. Port Takeover By Arab Company Not A Bright Idea

I was off line for a few days and out of the loop for what is going on in the world. Saturday night I got to hear a talk radio show and the subject was the U.S. Ports security contract being transferred to an Arab company, that is, Dubai Ports World of the United Arab Emirates.

Hmmm.

The talkshow took a few callers and not one thought it a good idea.

P&O (Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation) currently has the port security contract and DP (Dubai Ports World) wishes to buy P&O. P&O currently runs commercial operations in the ports of New York, New Jersey, New Orleans, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Miami.

Fox News Reports - quote -

WASHINGTON - Executives at Dubai Ports World are intensifying a public relations effort this week as lawmakers ratchet up protests against the Bush administration over allowing the United Arab Emirates-owned firm to run six U.S. ports.

The government in Dubai will lobby port officials along the East Coast, and its chief operating officer - American shipping executive Edward H. Bilkey - is expected to travel to Washington this week for meetings on Capitol Hill and elsewhere.

Michael Seymour, president of the North American arm of Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation (P&O) - the company DP World wishes to buy in order to run the six ports said in a statement that the London-based P&O "is itself a foreign-owned terminal operator that has long worked with U.S. government officials in charge of security at the ports to meet all U.S. government standards, as do other foreign companies that currently operate ports in the United States."

"We are confident that the DP World purchase will ensure that our operations continue to meet all relevant standards in the U.S. through ongoing collaboration between the port operators and American, British, Australian and port security officials throughout the world," Seymour said.

Lawmakers are upset that P&O, which runs 100 ports in 19 countries, is being purchased by DP World with the approval of the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a 12-member panel chaired by Treasury Secretary John Snow and comprised of members of the departments of State, Defense, Justice, Commerce and Homeland Security. Some lawmakers are considering legislation to stop foreign-owned companies from running U.S. ports.
- end quote -

San Jose Mercury News reports - quote -

U.S. terms for approving an Arab company's takeover of operations at six major American ports are insufficient to guard against terrorist infiltration, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said Sunday.

"I'm aware of the conditions and they relate entirely to how the company carries out its procedures, but it doesn't go to who they hire, or how they hire people," Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., told The Associated Press.

"They're better than nothing, but to me they don't address the underlying conditions, which is how are they going to guard against things like infiltration by al-Qaida or someone else, how are they going to guard against corruption?" King said.

King spoke in response to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff's comments Sunday about conditions of the sale. King said he learned about the government's terms for approving the sale from meetings with senior Bush administration officials.

Chertoff defended the security review of Dubai Ports World of the United Arab Emirates, the company given permission to take over the port operations. Chertoff said the government typically builds in "certain conditions or requirements that the company has to agree to make sure we address the national security concerns." But Chertoff declined to discuss specifics saying that information is classified.
- end quote -

prying1 sez:

Given the current state of the Arab world I would suggest against this deal. We should pull the contract from P&O and have a U.S. company doing the security at our ports whether the deal goes through or not. Our ports are the weakest link in homeland security. Allowing any Arab country to run security on our shores is stupid. Until they clean up their act and get a long track record of stabilization I would not trust any Arab nation to guard a Taco Bell much less our nations ports.

The continuation of the Cartoon Kerfuffle shows me and the world that the Muslum and Islamic nations are unstable.

Update - GOP governors threaten to block port deal -


Technorati Tags - [Islam] - [ports] -

Breaktime!

To my adoring friends.

On hiatus 'till 2 Feb 19

Cheney Shotgun Accident Changes Status

Listening to Hugh Hewitt's radio show I heard a caller say that there are four types of incidents like the Cheney/Whittington hunting incident.

Not newsworthy - example: A man trips, catches himself and walks on...

Funny - example: A man carrying a cake trips and falls face first into the cake...

Unfortunate - example: A man trips, falls and breaks his arm...

Tragic - example: A man trips, falls and cracks his head. Dies from concussion...

Harry Whittington now has a single buckshot lodged near or in his heart. -

Quote from Dallas Ft. Worth Star Telegram -

Harry Whittington, 78, was moved back into the intensive-care unit at Christus Spohn Hospital in Corpus Christi after doctors detected an irregular heartbeat and decided to run tests. He remained in stable condition with no date set for his release.

"Some of the birdshot appears to have moved and lodged into part of his heart in what we would say is a minor heart attack," hospital administrator Peter Banko said during a televised news conference.

Cheney called Whittington in the hospital and assured the longtime Republican activist that "he stood ready to assist" in any way he could, according to a statement from the vice president's office.

"Mr. Whittington's spirits were good, but obviously his situation deserves the careful monitoring that his doctors are providing," the statement said. "The vice president said that his thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Whittington and his family."


What would have been barely newsworthy had it been Joe Blow off the street became funny when it was the VP who shot his friend. Previous VP blunders and incidents such as Gerald Ford whacking someone with a golf ball and Jimmy Carter flailing at a crazed rabbit with an oar came to mind.

But now what started out as humorous has changed status to unfortunate. I for one pray that it does not turn to tragic. I hope others will join me.

For more on the media handling of this affair check out Howard Kurtz and Hugh Hewitt.

prying1 sez: When will the media get it through their thick skulls that it is not all about them and we now have other sources for news.

Technorati Tags: cheney

Dick Cheney Arrested For Shooting Lawyers Out of Season

Ok, Just to clue you in, Cheney wasn't arrested. That was a joke. One of many of which I'm sure Dick Cheney will be hearing for the rest of his life. The man Dick Cheney accidentally shot, Harry Whittington, who was peppered with birdshot, is doing fine.

"Waskiwy Wepubwican Wawyers" better watch out too. I can hear the lawyers secretaries now, "Excuse me Mr. Finster, A call from the Vice President. He wants to go hunting for you."

RadioBlogger.com has an excellent MP3 montage of the White House Press Corps 'peppering' Scott McClellan with a bunch of egotistical, 'Why wasn't I notified first' questions. RadioBlogger notes that not once did they ask how Mr. Whittington or the VP were doing. Generalissimo says, "It seems like all they care about is not being notified for 24 hours, because of course, it really is all about them."

- I (prying1) concur... -

My favorite from the montage was some dingbat reporter woman asking, ""Would it have been much more serious if the man had died?"

I'm still rolling here over that one!

~~~~~~~~~~~

A 'borrowed' collection follows

"Daily Show" host Jon Stewart, speaking as a "concerned parent," urged viewers never to let their children go on hunting trips with the vice president. "I don't care what kind of lucrative contracts they're trying to land, or energy regulation they're trying to get lifted. It's just not worth it."


"Good news, ladies and gentlemen, we have finally located weapons of mass destruction: It's Dick Cheney." Said David Letterman - & - "We can't get bin Laden, but we nailed a 78-year-old attorney."

Rush Limbaugh: - "Would you rather go hunting with Dick Cheney or riding in a car over a bridge with Ted Kennedy?" (The punch line: At least Cheney takes you to the hospital.)

The Herald in Scotland declared, "Cheney Bags a Lawyer," while the Sydney Morning Herald headlined its story "Cheney Hunts Quail and the World Ducks."

Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal says he'd be proud to hunt with the vice president: "cautious, but proud."

Jay Leno quipped "Cheney's popularity is now at 92 percent - having shot a lawyer."

"The CIA assured Cheney that Harry Whittington was actually a pheasant," - Democratic speechwriter Jeff Nussbaum.

~~~~~

~~~~~

"It has become clear that Cheney was doing the country a service when he avoided service."

prying1 sez: - Hoping you went to RadioBlogger.com and listened to the MP3. Put him in your favorites! -

One thing I have not heard re: the MSM being notified so late is the fact that names in incidents like this are not immediately released in traffic accidents, murders, accidental shootings etc., to give time for friends and relatives to be notified prior to hearing it on the 'news'. The delay in the MSM getting this is no big deal except to show once again how these 'news gatherers' think the world revolves around them.

These liberals always talk about touchy feely and caring but not one of them cared about poor Scott McClellan and his feelings... I would not last long in his job. I'd be laughing in the faces of the idiot questioners...

- One more thing - I bet Cheney is glad his name is not associated with this one - Man's elbow, mistaken for squirrel, shot -

Check the Value of Your Home For Free!

This is a pretty handy little site. You type in your address (or your neighbors if you are insecure) and a picture pops up of your neighborhood with estimated prices of all the properties. Seems to just work with homes and not businesses.

Check it out at: Zillow.com -

Thank You Michelle Kwan For Being So Graceful

Michelle Kwan has bowed out of the Olympics. I believe it was a graceful bow she took. Bravo and a standing ovation to you Michelle! You are loved! You are a class act!

By BARRY WILNER, AP Sports Writer/via ESPN website - TURIN, Italy -- A career so long and sweet ended far too quickly, with tears and heartbreak.

Michelle Kwan heads home from the Turin Olympics empty-handed, betrayed by a body that carried her to nine U.S. championships and five world titles, but no Olympic gold.

"It's always been a dream to win the Olympics," Kwan said Sunday, her eyes red and puffy from the tears that flowed for who knows how long. "But I've learned it's not about the gold, it's about the spirit of it and about the sport itself."

A new groin injury suffered in her only practice on Olympic ice forced Kwan to withdraw from the U.S. team she made in the first place on a medical bye.

"I evaluated my body and had to make a decision," she said. "It's one of the toughest decisions I've had to make, but I know it's the right one."

And the most painful one, because it almost certainly is the end for Kwan.

At 25, it was too much to expect Kwan to soar like a teenage prodigy -- even she understood that. But skating's ultimate trouper had turned low expectations into championships so often that it wasn't a reach to rule out anything, including gold.

Until, that is, she reached the ice in Turin.

"I have no regrets. I tried my hardest," she said. "And if I don't win the gold, it's OK. I've had a great career. I've been very lucky. This is a sport, and it's beautiful."

I don't know about you but I've always loved Michelle Kwan. Still do and always will. I felt a bit closer to her than other figure skaters because I lived in her hometown of Torrance CA for many years.

I often drove by the rink she used to practice in and I would think of her. I've skated on the same ice as she did. She probably fell on it more than I did. I didn't fall as much because I never pushed myself to excellence as she did.

How I admire those who push themselves.

Thank you Michelle! The world is a better place because of people like you.

Was Hitler a Christian?

Was Hitler a Christian? Not according to the book, Hitler's Table Talk. Norm Weatherby tells about it on his site, Quantum Thought. Included are some quotes straight from the **"Complete Pagan's"** mouth . Well worth the time to visit. The book is available and can be purchased at various online book sellers if you decide you need a copy.

** - as Hitler referred to himself - **

Sonorous

I got an email from Patri-ette who had borrowed The Violence Worker's website while he is on vacation. She was answering a comment I had made that referenced Barbara Streisand. In it she said, " She is another one of the Hollywood liberal elite that believe that we are entitled to her sonorous opinion."

I loved the adjective 'sonorous'! So much so that I had to use it so I thought I would in conjunction with this post.

~~~~~~~~~
From Dictionary.com
sonorous \suh-NOR-uhs; SAH-nuh-rus\, adjective:
1. Giving sound when struck; resonant; as, sonorous metals.
2. Loud-sounding; giving a clear or loud sound; as, a sonorous voice.
3. Yielding sound; characterized by sound; as, the vowels are sonorous.
4. Impressive in sound; high-sounding.
~~~~~~~~~
Last night saw a group of kids outside a Starbucks in a local shopping center parking lot. One of them had his car stereo just blasting and rattling windows a block away. I am always envious of those who are oblivious to others around them. If I cared for my fellow man in the same fashion I could get away with a lot more and might still have a clean conscience. Well these kids seemed intent on entertaining the world for as far as they could distribute sound waves.

I went up to the car owner and loudly asked him if he ever heard the word, "distortion"?

He turned down the (so called) music and I again, not as loudly, asked, "Have you ever heard the word, 'distortion'"?

He said, Huh?

I said, "With the volume level turned up so high all you are getting is distortion. The sound has ceased to be music." I then walked away. The kids started hooting at me and I kept walking but turned and said, "Go ahead. Turn it back up."

He hadn't by the time I had gone.

At least I gave the world a few moments of peace and quiet.