americangoy blog

Good bye myblogsite hello blogspot

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 18:20:00 -0500

Until further notice, the blog has moved here:

http://americangoy.blogspot.com/

I will give myblogsite a few more days...

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 20:07:00 -0500

And if the ability to comment is not fixed, if the security code is still non existent, I will go somewhere else and put up a link here.

Also, their CGI script page to post a form asking them for help goes nowhere... imagine that

Enough is enough.
A few more days then its new blog service time.

An idiot's view on American Healthcare System - the Insurance edition (with bonus material of a young girl dying)

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 16:44:00 -0500

Hi it's your favorite idiot here (or I hope that I make your idiot top 10 by now).

Today I will tackle the American Healthcare System. I will concentrate on the money aspect of it (as I was told long ago by Cuba Gooding jr. to always follow the money). So have a sit, grab a high fructose corn syrup beverage of your choice , and prepare for my breaking down this very complicated issue into idiot level, so that I and anybody who reads this blog can understand what the problem is with the best care in the world (tm by American TV and corporations, as well as associated lobbyists and assorted scum). I will go slow I promise.

Here's how American healthcare insurance works.
American Insurance companies are a for profit organizations - meaning they exist to make money for their owners and shareholders, the more money they make, the happier everybody is. This is standard corporate stuff, and in this instance they are no different than Ford Motor Company or Walmart or your local 7-11 store. They are in it to make the most money for themselves.

Got that so far? I will not do anything too complicated here, so please follow along at your own pace.

Lets take a look at how those insurance companies MAKE money and how they LOSE money.

First, how they make money. An insurance company, such as an HMO or a PPO, makes money by collecting a periodical sum of money from a person that belongs to that company, i.e. is insured by them for healthcare needs. Easy peasy. The majority of employed Americans have a chunk of our paycheck stubs wages taken out to cover the medical insurance. I said the majority, because not every American is insured for medical needs and emergencies, which makes us, the Yoo Ess of Ey, unique in the world. Which is a big word that means that only we do it that way. Obviously the rest of the world are idiots and we are correct, but I digress.

So, you work, you get your paycheck every week, two weeks, monthly, whatever, and you see that a % of your wages goes to the insurance company of your (employer's actually, not your own) choice.

The more that are insured by an insurance company, the more pay their dues to them, the richer the insurance company becomes.

But each company has expenses, so let's talk about how an insurance company LOSES money.
First, they need to pay for their employees' salaries, their corporate buildings upkeep - the usual stuff. This is what's called sunk cost and there ain't anything they, the company, can do about it. Think about you renting a place to live in- as long as you are in contract, you have to pay monthly whatever amount of $$$ you and your landlord signed the contract for, so you can continue to live there. Same thing.

Medical insurance companies exist (in principle) to pay money when there is a medical emergency for you, their client (and customer). When you visit a doctor, when you need a surgery, some kind of treatment, if you need to buy medicines - the medical insurance companies step in and pay the doctor who treated or operated on you, and they also pay a portion of the cost for the medicines needed by you.

That is how they LOSE money.

Hmm I am getting too wordy and complicated. Let me break it down for you in a little table for you:

If you are insured under a medical insurance company then
if you pay your dues they make money
if you have a surgery then they lose money
if you go to a doctor then they lose money
if you buy medicines then they lose money.

Fortunately for our American healthcare insurance companies, these are NOT sunk costs, and something can be done about them. The insurance company can DENY you, their customer, the surgery, doctor visit, or medicines that you NEED to survive. The medical insurance has people who's job is to evaluate if what the doctor told you you need to live is REALLY what you need to do.

So now our table looks like this:
If you are insured under a medical insurance company then
if you pay your dues they make money
if you have a surgery then they lose money BUT if they deny you they KEEP the money
if you go to a doctor then they lose money BUT if they deny you they KEEP the money
if you buy medicines then they lose money BUT if they deny you they KEEP the money.

This is not rocket science, and it should be obvious to you, the reader, as it is obvious to me, the idiot who writes this, that to maximize their profits (which is the true goal of the American medical insurance companies) it is generally better to DENY you the treatment you need.

Now, many Americans who were never sick will say that the insurance companies generally pay them for their visits to the doctor. And that is in general true, because the evaluators in the medical insurance industry came to the conclusion that the fees they must pay the doctors for their standard patient visits are small and piddly and not worth the hassle of millions of Americans being pissed off.

However, the bigger the charge for a medical service, the bigger the hassle. If you need an operation, a rare procedure, an expensive medicinal drug, then the nice people at the insurance company will stall, outright deny or perhaps recommend a cheaper alternative.

So you have a situation where a doctor tells you 'Mr. AmericanGoy, you need to have ABC medicine for your condition XYZ', and the insurance will actually call the doctor and say 'No, Mr. Doctor, who was in medical school for 7 years and then had 3 years practice internship, our people here are looking at an Excel spreadsheet and according to them AmericanGoy does not need ABC medicine - too expensive. In fact, substitute the FEG drug or we won't pay.'

This is true life here in America people. In the final analysis, it is NOT the doctor who decides on your medicines, your surgeries and your hospital stay - it is the people at the insurance companies.

And, like I wrote before, those people at the medical insurance companies have a different goal than your doctor.

The doctor wants you to live and to treat you so you won't become sick or die, because he does not want to be sued (by you or your family).
The medical insurance wants to NOT treat you, because they do not want to LOSE money.

This is not rocket science - simple common sense. Hence why I will only provide you one link to back up my claims here, which are based on my own experiences and observations.

Now, let's see how this works in practice.

A young girl needed a surgery done. The doctors decided that for her to have a chance at life, she needed a liver transplant - as quickly as possible. Now, the people at the medical insurance company decided that the transplant was an experimental procedure, and not warranted under the circumstances. Some bloggers (Daily Kos, et al) decided that they will practice mob rule and call and email the medical insurance (CIGNA, if it matters to you - they are all the same though, because they are all about maximizing profits; but I digress) and force them to pay for the surgery for the girl. CIGNA, with a heavy heart, agreed to pay for the procedure.

Fortunately, and this is very good news,the girl died before the liver transplant could take place.

And this is VERY good news.

You see, the girl was very sick, and chances are that if the operation was successful, she would be a huge drain on CIGNA's profits in the future, as they would have to pay for her doctor visits, medicines, and possibly other, life saving operations (gasp!). Obviously, her (or really her parents') dues paid to the insurance company would be much less than the expense of treating this girl and keeping her alive. In fact, just the cost of the procedure itself (and the hospital stay, inevitable post operation doctor visits) is probably more than what the parents paid in dues to the company.

Now imagine if the liver transplant was successful AND the girl lived for say 5, 10 or (gasp!) more years, and she was sick for the majority of that time. Imagine the cost to the company!

Fortunately, the girl died before the liver transplant operation could take place, after it was approved by CIGNA under heavy public pressure to save this girl's life.

So we have a win win: the company agreed to the operation (positive public relations there) but was just smart enough to deny the treatment for long enough for her to DIE (profit!).

See - the American healthcare system works fine. Perhaps those stupid Europeans and Canadians can learn something from this example, how a SUPERIOR, the BEST IN THE WORLD, healthcare really works.

Please read about Nataline Sarkisyan here.

Please join me in congratulating CIGNA on their fantastic business sense and maximizing profits for their shareholders here.

This is a very interesting map

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 15:36:00 -0500

It is a list of worldwide incidents of terrorism and other suspicious activity.

Check it out:

Interactive map

The Real Star Wars

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 03:52:00 -0500

I do not want the blog to become just about politics, doom and gloom.
Hence, entries like this:

Check out this fantastic Star Wars production, in 2 parts:
Star Wars part 1
Star Wars part 2

Do not miss the pop culture references!
Enjoy!

The future scam of America is now

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 22:24:00 -0500

Simple story.

Police come to your house, find a smudge of marijuana and confiscate all your money. Take your house. Your car. Did I mention that they take away all the money that the nice people in uniform can get their hands on?

First, read this and this.

Your blood boiled yet?

Here's the law's statement:
"Title 18, section 981 of the United States Code is the general-purpose civil forfeiture statute applicable to most federal crimes. Among other things, it authorizes the forfeiture of property involved in money laundering cases,2 property derived from or used to commit certain foreign crimes,3 and the proceeds of any offense designated as a "specified unlawful activity."4

Section 806 of the Patriot Act added a new provision to [sec] 981 that is an obvious response to September 11. Section 981(a)(1)(G) authorizes forfeiture of all assets of anyone engaged in terrorism, any property affording any person a "source of influence" over a terrorist organization, and any property derived from or used to commit a terrorist act."

That is some pretty broad law. Depending on the judge, you can lose virtually everything.

Check that.

You WILL lose everything. Car, house, money.
After all, please do not forget that since 9/11, everything can and WILL BE classified as terrorism. An ounce of marijuana, in your kitchen drawer, say...

There is of course no way for the government to abuse this law, since as we all know, judges are god like in their justice dealing and the police never, ever and ever plant evidence...

...Which will allow them to snoop around your house and then for you to lose everything as you pay 100% taxes that year...

No comments?

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 17:04:00 -0500

No wonder since you can't make out the fucking security code!
Because there is NO security code in that box.
I apologize for this myblogsite error; if you need to get in touch email me at americangoy@yahoo.com
And yes I am pissed...

I would ask you for your comments on this bullshit but (har har har).

History of Violence - Real Life Edition (with bonus Icelandic and American material!)

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 16:30:00 -0500

One thing that I, as a European, have noticed since coming over here is the respect, morphing even into fear, of uniformed police in this country. People really fear the uniform.

You can see this every time when you drive on a highway, where the legal speed limit is 55, and once people spot a parked police car on the side of the road, everybody, and I mean EVERYONE, slows down to about 40 miles per hour. Just to not provoke a sleeping bear I guess...

Here are my own experiences.
I once parked a car at the airport curb, and went inside to search for a friend of mine who was late. Big mistake. After about 20 to 40 seconds, I saw a tow truck maneuvering, angling to hook my car up. I ran out, and said: "Hey, I am here, I am leaving now", at which the tow truck driver speeded up, bumped my car so that it shook, and hooked it. I asked him why he hit my car, and he did not deign to answer, but his cheshire cat smile told me that he really enjoyed the situation.

What can I say, the man must have loved his job.

About 15 seconds later police show up. Six officers surrounded me; one of them was an older gent, probably 50 years old. He looked normal. the rest of them - sunglasses, hands on their guns/nightsticks, barrel chests, muscles bulging. The words steroids rage come to mind. Fortunately, as one of the young bucks started screaming at me about me having a problem, the older gent told him to take it easy, that there does not seem to be a problem here, and for me and him (the officer) to calm down.

As the tow truck drove away with my car, I asked the older policeman how can I get it back and how much it will cost me. He explained to take a rail train to a station, where I will be able to pay the fine at the impound lot, and also the price. I thanked him for his help and was no my way. The young bucks looked disappointed with this peaceful resolution - and bored.

I believe that if not for the older cop, I would be on the ground, with a knee on my neck, being handcuffed and arrested for "disturbing the peace". I owe him for the fact that I was not clubbed and/or tasered and/or arrested. The storm troopers in black sunglasses looked really annoyed that the older cop resolved the situation calmly and professionally without them getting to do their "fun stuff".

Next scenario. It was late weekend night, the street is a famous one here for having a zillion bars, nightclubs and pubs, and I was drunk. I totally forgot where exactly the bus stop is to take me home. Spotting a group of police chatting near a police car, I walked up and asked them if they knew where the bus stop was.

Their reaction was shock.

Who is this piece of shit that DARES talk to them. The stormtrooper heads did not deign to look in my direction. A woman cop walked in and asked what the problem was. I told her; she explained to the best of her ability on where she thought the bus stop was. She asked for confirmation from the steroid rage brigade whether what she told me was correct; she got a shrug of the shoulders for a reply. Meanwhile a little crowd of 5-6 people materialized, to see what the problem is, because when the cops are involved there is always a problem. I mean, really - asking a cop for help? In THIS country?

A friend of my ex girlfriend was taken out of a nightclub, taken behind the alley and viciously beat up by the bouncers. We are talking hospital visit bad. Cops showed up, chatted up the bouncers, laughed, watched as the guy was kicked a bit more, left.

And things are getting worse.
Remember, everything changed after 9/11. And I do mean, EVERYTHING...

Recently an Icelandic woman came to the US for some Christmas shopping and do all the other things that tourists do.
What happened next was unbelievable. In her own words,
"Last Sunday I and a few other girlsbegan our trip to New York. We were going to shop and enjoy theChristmas spirit. We made ourselves comfortable on first class, drankwhite wine and looked forward to go shopping, eat good food and enjoylife. When we landed at JFK airport the traditional clearance processbegan. We were screened and went on to passport control. As I waitedfor them to finish examining my passport I heard an official say thatthere was something which needed to be looked at more closely and I wasdirected to the work station of Homeland Security. There I was toldthat according to their records I had overstayed my visa by 3 weeks in1995. For this reason I would not be admitted to the country and wouldbe sent home on the next flight. I looked at the official in disbeliefand told him that I had in fact visited New York after the trip in 1995without encountering any difficulties. A detailed interrogation sessionensued. I was photographed and fingerprinted. I was asked questionswhich I felt had nothing to do with the issue at hand. I was forbiddento contact anyone to advise of my predicament and although I wasinvited at the outset to contact the Icelandic consul or embassy, thatinvitation was later withdrawn. I don't know why. I was then made towait while they sought further information, and sat on a chair beforethe authority for 5 hours. I saw the officials in this section handleother cases and it was clear that these were men anxious to demonstratetheir power. Small kings with megalomania. I was careful to remaincompletely cooperative, for I did not yet believe that they planned todeport me because of my "crime". When 5 hours had passed and I had beenawake for 24 hours, I was told that they were waiting for officials whowould take me to a kind of waiting room. There I would be given a bedto rest in, some food and I would be searched. What they thought theymight find I cannot possibly imagine. Finally guards appeared whotransported me to the new place. I saw the bed as if in a mirage, for Iwas absolutely exhausted. What turned out was something else. I wastaken to another office exactly like the one where I had been beforeand once again a long wait ensued. In all, it turned out to be 5 hours.At this office all my things were taken from me. I succeeded in sendinga single sms to worried relatives and friends when I was granted abathroom break. After that the cell phone was taken from me. After Ihad been sitting for 5 hours I was told that they were now waiting forguards who would take me to a place where I could rest and eat. Then Iwas placed in a cubicle which looked like an operating room. Attachedto the walls were 4 steel plates, probably intended to serve as bed anda toilet. I was exhausted, tired and hungry. I didn't understand theofficials� conduct, for they were treating me like a very dangerouscriminal. Soon thereafter I was removed from the cubicle and two armedguards placed me up against a wall. A chain was fastened around mywaist and I was handcuffed to the chain. Then my legs were placed inchains. I asked for permission to make a telephone call but theyrefused. So secured, I was taken from the airport terminal in fullsight of everybody. I have seldom felt so bad, so humiliated and allbecause I had taken a longer vacation than allowed under the law.

Theywould not tell me where they were taking me. The trip took close to onehour and although I couldn�t see clearly outside the vehicle I knewthat we had crossed over into New Jersey. We ended up in front of ajail. I could hardly believe that this was happening. Was I reallyabout to be jailed? I was led inside in the chains and there yetanother interrogation session ensued. I was fingerprinted once againand photographed. I was made to undergo a medical examination, I wassearched and then I was placed in a jail cell. I was asked absurdquestions such as: When did you have your last period? What do youbelieve in? Have you ever tried to commit suicide?

I wascompletely exhausted, tired and cold. Fourteen hours after I had landedI had something to eat and drink for the first time. I was givenporridge and bread. But it did not help much. I was afraid and theattitude of all who handled me was abysmal to say the least. They didnot speak to me as much as snap at me. Once again I asked to make atelephone call and this time the answer was positive. I was relievedbut the relief was short-lived. For the telephone was set up forcollect calls only and it was not possible to make overseas calls. Thejailguard held my cell phone in his hand. I explained to him that Icould not make a call from the jail telephone and asked to be allowedto make one call from my own phone. That was out of the question. Ispent the next 9 hours in a small, dirty cell. The only thing in therewas a narrow steel board which extended out from the wall, a sink andtoilet. I wish I never experience again in my life the feeling ofconfinement and helplessness which I experienced there.

I washugely relieved when, at last, I was told that I was to be taken to theairport, that is to say until I was again handcuffed and chained.Then Icould take no more and broke down and cried. I begged them at least toleave out the leg chains but my request was ignored. When we arrived atthe airport, another jail guard took pity on me and removed the legchains. Even so I was led through a full airport terminal handcuffedand escorted by armed men. I felt terrible. On seeing this, people mustthink that there goes a very dangerous criminal. In this condition Iwas led up into the Icelandair waiting room, and was kept handcuffeduntil I entered the embarkation corridor. I was completely run down byall this in both body and spirit. Fortunately I could count on goodpeople and both Einar (the captain) and the crew did all which theycould to try to assist me. My friend Au�ur was in close contact with mysister and the consul and embassy had been contacted. However, all hadreceived misleading information and all had been told that I had beendetained at the airport terminal, not that I had been put in jail. Nowthe Foreign Ministry is looking into the matter and I hope to receivesome explanation why I was treated this way."

This woman is petite, extremely beautiful, and has no criminal record. Yes, she overstayed her visa in '95, but she visited the USA after that without any problems. IF her overstaying was a big problem, the thing to do is to send her back to her own country. Deport her. Which was done...

But was it really necessary to treat her like a mass murderer? Why was she denied any form of contact with her embassy and friends? Why was she made to wait for hours on end, her legs cuffed and her hands cuffed to that? This system is inhumane, barbaric and designed to make the arrested feel helpless. Reading the comments at this site, there are several Americans gloating that they are happy that she was treated this way, as she broke the law, and everybody should be treated the same (Gestapo style) way.

To which I reply that I wish they and their children park their cars at the airport curb street and that when their car gets towed, there is no older, calmer cop but just the normal steroid stormtrooper brigade... After all, they BROKE the law...

The uppity Iceland government has the gall to officially complain about the treatment to its national.

Next story. Anne Gotbaum, a 45 year old woman, became irate when she was refused boarding a flight for which she was late. She was arrested, handcuffed, and taken to a holding cell.
As she was arrested, she kept screaming: ""I'm not a terrorist. I'm a sick mom. I need help!"

What an uppity woman - asking the cops for help!

Next, she choked herself to death, using her own handcuffs. According to the article linked: "It appears Gotbaum may have tried to get out of her handcuffs, which ended up around her neck". Yeah that's the ticket!

Now the amazing thing here is that here, in the Yoo Ess of Ey, nobody in the media or any other organization QUESTIONS this official story.

So I ask you, dear reader, especially if you are an American. Ask your spouse (or a friend) to handcuff you BEHIND YOUR BACK. Now, try to choke yourself to death. Try REAL hard...

See the video on Youtube.

Read the CBS News article, which quotes "Gotbaum was found unconscious with her hands "pressed against her neck area," police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill said." Yeah yeah she choked herself. We get it!

Attorney Michael Manning, hired by the family has stated: '"She was handcuffed behind her back and shackled to a table," he said. "It doesn't make sense that she could have physically managed to strangle herself."'

Really? Well, too bad this story disappeared REALLY FAST here in the USofA. Because, obviously, the poor woman choked herself to death. Nothing to see here, move on now! I mean we were already told that this woman strangled herself, while her hands were handcuffed behind her back and she was shackled to a table. The nice man in uniform told us this - and the media dutifully shut up and started to graze again...

What do you think this is, Canada? The only difference between Yoo Ess of Ey and other countries seem to be that here, those stories are not pursued, or reported - much; there is no public outrage anymore. We simply accept that police need to vent a bit of aggression on an old man, or come into a home and beat up your mother, or maybe the cops just had a bad day and had to teach a woman how to kiss the pavement.

And quit mouthing off to the officers that you cant breathe. What, you think that is a right in the Constitution?

And why do people keep mouthing off to cops who are off duty? The officer just wanted to drink, after getting into a fight with another patron, and that bitch told him he should not drink anymore. She got what she deserved.

Of course, other good samaritans in uniform, showed up shortly after the incident, and according to the victim's lawyer,' "Terry Ekl, an attorney for Obrycka, claimed that after the beating, two of Abbate's friends showed up at the bar and offered her money for medical bills and lost wages if she agreed not to prosecute Abbate. A portion of the surveillance video showing them at the bar was released later.

"He was going to plant drugs in those people's cars in the bar and to harass patrons coming out and charge them with DUI if she went forward with her accusations," Ekl said last month.' - read it here.

I mean the guy just tried to relax and beat up a patron (and then the woman). Give the cop a break!

Americans - this will be a country we'll be living in. Soon.

Go about your business - nothing to see here!

And of course the people in uniform cannot be the unbalanced, sick in the head, ego power tripping maniacs who want to feel powerful to others and hurt them.

This soldier - a medic from Iraq - had it coming. Next time, stay in Iraq, you punk! I mean really, questioning a TSA officer at an American Airport? What nerve! Thank god our brave security men beat the soldier with a billy club and then tasered him for good measure!

Tasered him three times. I mean, soldiers coming back from a war are both uppity and dangerous and need to be taught respect.

The moral of the story is that the soldier cannot deploy back to Iraq BECAUSE of his injuries sustained by being tasered and beaten by TSA, and the people who beat him will be "investigated"... meanwhile they are still at their job at the airport. And the soldier has his ribs, in his own words, "caved in".

That's what you get for questioning authority in uniform in this country.

Don't do it! Don't get uppity with the uniform people! Don't ask for help! Don't claim your rights! Don't do it!

You could get tasered three times and beaten with a nightstick...

... or perhaps you might choke yourself to death while your hands are handcuffed behind your back and are shackled to a table....

Bonus just happened material:
Dont yell at a cop. Apparently by retreating before the female officer, the woman was doing a "passive physical resistance."

Now the officer says that the woman was threatening her and yelling; what I see is the woman backing up from the pursuing overlarge woman in uniform. She actually raises her hands up as she backs away from the officer (per TV FOX News video).

Of course the woman was irate, used abusive language, so obviously she deserved it - too bad the camera does not record sound...

Moral: in America, you ALWAYS must obey the man or woman in a uniform. ALWAYS. Without exception. Or you get tasered, or clubbed (or you choke yourself to death while... yeah you know the drill).

Sigh - obligatory Chuck Norris facts

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 00:19:00 -0500

The blog was getting mighty too serious.

Chuck Norris can win a game of connect four in just 3 moves
When Chuck Norris went to the Virgin Islands and came back it was just called the Islands.
Giraffes were created when Chuck Norris uppercutted a horse.
There is no such thing as evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris allows to live.
Chuck Norris is able to divide by zero
Chuck Norris counted to infinity ... Twice
Chuck Norris lost his virginity before his parents.
Einstein's original Theory of Relativity was; if Chuck Norris kicks you, your relatives will feel it."
When Chuck Norris plays Monopoly, it affects the actual world economy.
Chuck Norris has two speeds. Walk, and Kill.
When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.
P is for Chuck Norris, as is every other letter of the alphabet.
Chuck Norris does not love Raymond.
Chuck Norris can lick his own elbows. At the same time.
Chuck Norris once played Russian roulette with a fully load gun and won.
On the Asian market, Chuck Norris' urine is worth $400 per fluid ounce.
Contrary to popular belief the Lottery numbers are not random. They are just the number of people Chuck Norris killed that given day.
When Chuck Norris picks his nose, he REALLY does find Gold.
Chuck Norris had his tonsils removed with a chainsaw.
When Chuck Norris sends in his taxes, he sends blank forms and includes only a picture of himself, crouched and ready to attack. Chuck Norris has not had to pay taxes, ever.
Chuck Norris invented Kentucky Fried Chicken's famous secret recipe, with eleven herbs and spices. But nobody ever mentions the twelfth ingredient: Fear.
Chuck Norris doesn't churn butter. He roundhouse kicks the cows and the butter comes straight out.
A Handicapped parking sign does not signify that this spot is for handicapped people. It is actually in fact a warning, that the spot belongs to Chuck Norris and that you will be handicapped if you park there.
If you spell Chuck Norris in Scrabble, you win. Forever.
The opening scene of the movie "Saving Private Ryan" is loosely based on games of dodgeball Chuck Norris played in second grade.
Someone once tried to tell Chuck Norris that roundhouse kicks aren't the best way to kick someone. This has been recorded by historians as the worst mistake anyone has ever made.
In an average living room there are 1,242 objects Chuck Norris could use to kill you, including the room itself.
There are no steroids in baseball. Just players Chuck Norris has breathed on.
Chuck Norris once ate a whole cake before his friends could tell him there was a stripper in it.
Chuck Norris can divide by zero.
Newton's Third Law is wrong: Although it states that for each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, there is no force equal in reaction to a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick.
Wilt Chamberlain claims to have slept with more than 20,000 women in his lifetime. Chuck Norris calls this "a slow Tuesday."
Chuck Norris doesnt shave; he kicks himself in the face. The only thing that can cut Chuck Norris is Chuck Norris.
Chuck Norris grinds his coffee with his teeth and boils the water with his own rage.
Little known medical fact: Chuck Norris invented the Caesarean section when he roundhouse-kicked his way out of his monther's womb.
It takes Chuck Norris 20 minutes to watch 60 Minutes.
There are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Chuck Norris lives in Oklahoma.
Simply by pulling on both ends, Chuck Norris can stretch diamonds back into coal.
Chuck Norris doesn't stub his toes. He accidentally destroys chairs, bedframes, and sidewalks.
The movie "Delta Force" was extremely hard to make because Chuck had to downplay his abilities. The first few cuts were completely unbelievable.
Chuck Norris doesn't play god. Playing is for children.
Chuck Norris is the only person in the world that can actually email a roundhouse kick.
Chuck Norris cannot love, he can only not kill.
In the first Jurassic Park movie, the Tyrannosaurus Rex wasn't chasing the jeep. Chuck Norris was chasing the Tyrannosaurus AND the jeep.
Chuck Norris does not wear a condom. Because there is no such thing as protection from Chuck Norris.

and finally
Chuck Norris gave Mona Lisa that smile.

Hayoooooooooo!

Here is the awesomness in action:
Chuck Norris...Mr. Chuck Norris to you

Breaking US cultural isolation...

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 16:03:00 -0500

... one link at a time

This is a great site that has a myriad of radio stations, from almost every country in the world.

http://www.surfmusic.de/

My hero - Steven Gilliard

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:57:00 -0500

I started my forays into blogs by reading Steven Gilliard.

Only I didn't know about it at the time.

There came a time in my life when I turned down the radio (please no more Rush Limbaugh), when I simply could not stomach the bias in TV news, when newspapers articles didn't do it for me... I needed my sanity back. If it was not too late.

Enter The News Blog.

Whoever wrote the articles wrote eloquently, beautifully and effectively put their point across. Which was to call a spade a spade, and a con man a bullshit artist.

Through the blog, I was alerted to REAL NEWS (instead of a white woman was was missing 245 days in Aruba, who dominated 50% of newscasts' air time). Real news. I forgot such a thing existed.

After a few weeks of on and off reading, in one post it dawned on me that Mr. Gilliard... is...black!

The blog was so well written, worked so beautifully, the author was so intelligent, that I just assumed that the author must be like me - white. Five seconds later, after a quick thought process, I was officially cured of any racism I had in me.

That's the beauty of blogs - you judge them by the content of the written word and intellectual honesty of the writer, not the appearance of the author. Or the skin color.

After reading Mr. Gilliard for years, his friend started writing about his upcoming operation, and then the hospital stay, and then the operation itself.

And she wrote that Steve did not wake up.

And we, the thousands of readers, followed the story as if it was a soap opera on TV.

Except it was all real. And deadly serious.

I was on the blog every day, waiting for Steve to wake up. Reading the comments from doctors who advised us about the medical procedures. And other posters, who advised us to be calm. And others whol told us to pray. And others - hope. And others who... cried.

It was not a good period in my life. My family member died recently, and she was so young and full of health that it came as a big shock to everybody. I was unemployed. My parents were getting a divorce. Selfishly, I was thinking that I REALLY dont need this crap in my life. I had one tragedy too many. I could not take Steve laying there in a hospital bed, because I thought of him as a FRIEND.

Well, I never met him. Hell, I didn't even see his picture up to that time. I doubt if he knew about me other than by my comments. And that email about computer games that we discussed. But I cared. I was invested emotionally. I felt that here was a GOOD man... and if there is a god, please please...

...and then he died.

Even though I never met the man, and before he died did not even know what he looked like...

It was a sad loss for me personally.
Another tragedy in that sad period in my life, where everything that could go... did.
Steve I miss you, your funny writing, your serious writing, your sense of humor, your optimism...and your taste in computer games.

You were, and are my hero.

Some links for you people:
This was the blog that changed my life Steven Gilliard's discontinued blog
It is now a memorial.

Mr. Gilliard's fantastic series on colonialism, well worth reading:
Mr. Gilliard's colonialism series.

This is a blog that is written by friends of Mr. Gilliard:
The Group News blog

Rest in peace, Steve.

The cultural isolation of the USofA

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 21:59:00 -0500

As an immigrant from Europe, one of the things that irks me is the incredible isolation of this country from the rest of the world. This feature of America is one of the main differences between United States and any other country in the world. Let me explain...

In Europe, one can go to McDonald's, Pizza Hut, go to a cinema watch an American movie, watch American shows on TV, listen to American music on the mainstream radio and buy that music in a store. As well as listen to French rap, watch French sitcoms and eat at a restaurant staffed by French chefs. Also listen to German pop rock, watch German movies... Same thing with Spanish, Balkan and other influences.

The same can be said of Latin America and Asia. American movies and music and influence is there for all to partake in.

You can watch the Simpsons in France, Lost in Germany and House in Poland.

Slightly different situation in USA.

In Yoo Ess of Ey, we have a gazillion TV channels. On all of them there are ONLY American movies, ONLY American sitcoms, ONLY american shows. On History channel, the shows are in about 90% about America and Americans (American Eats, Modern Marvels: Walt Disney World, History Rocks: the 80's (apparently Reagan was great), Dogfights (a show about fighter air combat. Apparently only Americans are worthy enough to be considered ace pilots to be highlighted in the show... oh, and Israelis also). To get one of them 'funny, furriner' movies with subtitles (GASP!), you must order and pay for a special, snobbish channel. And it won't be something recent, like a movie from this decade. No, think 1950's new wave French cinema. Or one of those 'artsy fartsy' movies. Something that makes us Europeans puke. Seriously.

Let's turn on the radio here in wonderful capitalist paradise. What do we have? American rap. American pop. American hard rock. Oldies from 1950's and 60's, all American. And of course let's not forget talk radio on the AM dial. Funnily enough, all talk radio is extremely pro republican party, and it is certainly not due to the fact Clear Channel Communication owns the majority of radio stations in this country, and they just happen to be BIG fans of bush.

In fact, I will do a post for all of yah about American talk radio, because what exists in this country as talk radio is simply shocking. There is no equivalent in the world that I can give to you, since the Hutu radio station went off the air in Rwanda. Stay tuned.

Where was I? Ah yes. AM dial radio. Well, there is also sport talk (all American football, baseball and basketball only), and news stations (news from USA only, of course). What did you expect? Variety?

It got to the point that what we know about France we got from the Simpsons' episode. Apparently the French talk in English in bad accents, smoke a lot and wear berets. Oh, and enslave Americans.

In the theatres here there is an undercurrent of 'beware of foreign countries!'. Seriously. The horror movies now are about innocent American kids stupid enough to backpack in European (or Latin American) countries, and they get trapped and tortured by those eeeeeevil non-Americans. See, they deserve this for leaving Yoo Ess of Ey for furriner shores. Just rewards.

So what is my point?

My beef here is that we, Americans, do not have any real mainstream exposure to the culture of other countries. We are listening, watching, eating American. While ALL other countries are exposed to not just their culture, but American, European and possibly even Asian.

We are not curious about the rest of the world, we live in our own little (or big, actually) world. We talk about world issues like Islam or world markets or politics in France as if we were informed about the nuances that make up the big picture.

Because of this isolation, it is very easy for the media (owned by 5 companies), to bash France for not supporting USA's invasion and occupation of Iraq, which reached ridiculous proportions. I mean really, this is a over the top, don't you think so? And this little gem - renaming French Fries to Freedom Fries - do Americans realize how STUPID this made us look to the world?

This is all a result of our cultural isolation, folks.

And no, eating at a Chinese buffet does not equate to a cultural experience.

Neither does seeing the Eiffel Tower in ...Las Vegas, makes you experience Parisian or French culture.

And riding a plastic Viking Boat does not make you an expert in Norway's culture.

But of course, there is one GIGANTIC exception to all this cultural exceptionalism. And if you are a true American, you were probably screaming at the screen about Latino influences in the USA. There are whole TV channels, radio stations, residential districts, shops, cinemas, stores, coffee houses, restaurants, hell, states (FLA) where no one speaks English.

But that, my dear Americans, is not cultural exposure.

That, my pretties, is a full blown invasion.

Bonus material: PBS the bastion of the (slightly) educated.
The public television (and radio) channels operating in the American market is a bright shining light in a sea of American (corporate) force fed pap of mediocrity. We get a full half hour of BBC News as well as European Journal from DeutcheWelle. I must qualify this though as not every PBS station carries these programes, and hardly any American will deign to watch them.

Props (street yo!) also go to Fox Soccer Channel, which brings us Americans UK, Italian and Argentinian football leagues. The popularity of this (true) world sport is fought tooth and nail by sports pundits on TV and on radio, with any reference to this sport qualified by laughter and snide comments. Yes, seriously. See here, here and here.

Apparently soccer is boring. And slow paced. And has lack of scoring.

I will now watch a 5 hour game of baseball, which will end in a 2-1 result. Looking at the fans, who seem more interested in their burgers, peanuts and beer than watching the actual game... Check out the action!

The Clintons are political geniuses - bow down your heads in respect people!

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 12:28:00 -0500

This will be short and sweet I promise.

Simply put, the Clinton political team is on genius level, perhaps beat only in the noggin department by the criminal bush family.

See
Clinton bush superhero team.

Clinton, of the husband variety, told reporters that bush, of the George Herbert Walker variety (not the retarded genus of 'W') will work to help Hillary Clinton in her bid to become USA's first woman president.

This is a genius move on many levels, and once I started to think on this, opened my eyes to how really smart the Clinton political team is.

First, many of the die hard republicans remember bush 'W' father as a very good president, who won a short and almost bloodless (for Americans) war in Kuwait, worked well in the international politics, and was (and is) very respected. Republicans right now have NO candidate to support - the schizophrenic, not quite right in the head McCain, the tough talking, dressing as a woman Rudy, the mormon nut Romney and the christian nut Huckabee (he of the 'my son hung a stray dog, slit the dog's throat and stoned him variety).

If there was a candidate like George H.W. bush the republicans, big business, etc would support him in a hurry. Him? What about a her?

Hillary is the toughest talking democrat on the 'bomb Iran' issue, making her a cinch in for the MOST IMPORTANT in US politics Jewish lobby vote of confidence. (see here, here, and Jewish vote goes to Madam President). And now she, despite the demonization of Bill by the ~~right wing~~ left wing American media will garner votes by the more sane republicans. Or perhaps republican women.

The Clintons were and are as much about big multinational business conglomerates as the bush family ever was (remember NAFTA?). The big business power players, after the useful idiot (bush jr) disaster, now prefer somebody who is coherent in the english language, and has a bigger IQ quotient than 15. For the big business folks, Hillary is a shoe in. This election, they will say no to religious nuts, crazy fundies and idiots. They want a tough business man (or woman) who can get shit done and know the system enough to work for it.

The powerbrokers working behind the scenes also are alarmed at how low the perception of the Yoo Ess of Ey has fallen in the world. Bill and George have been given their marching orders by their superiors, but that is not going to be enough to turn the tide of hatred towards the USA around the world, from St. Petersburg thru Berlin, from Seoul to Bombay. And who was the most liked president of USA around the world in recent modern times? Bubba Clinton, that is who.

And people around the world will think two things about her: one, that she is a woman president, which will make the Yoo Ess of Ey seem more like a sane, normal (progressive) country similar to other REAL democracies around the world, instead of the neo-fascist, marching orders from AIPAC, Taliban like religious thinking electorate country that it really is

AND

They will remember the times of Bill Clinton with nostalgia; the time when an American president could speak three or more sentences in English coherently, could travel around the world to different countries and be actually welcomed with flowers and crowds of non stoning masses, and instead of seeing Hillary they will see the shadow of Bill.

And we the people? Since when do we count for in anything in this system? In the advent of tribal politics ('Hail! I am Oprah, I am black, and so is Obama - I vote for him!', 'I am woman, Hillary is woman, I vote for her!'), do you really think the ruling elites will really let the people determine the vote of this most important election in several decades?

The ship S.S. Yoo Ess of Ey must be steadied, and picking up a useful retard did not work as well as it was hoped. Gigantic fortunes were made in ventures in Iraq, in outsourcing, in predatory lending to (really) dumb Americans, but the cost has been prohibitive in the nation's mood, general apathy, its confidence in the elites and the disdain for USA around the world.

This ship must be steadied by a system insider.

Hillary is your man.

America - I present to you the new First Family

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 17:58:00 -0500

The Huckabees!

Aren't they cute? Gosh the family name sounds like a TV sitcom!

These guys represent this country perfectly! The gleaming, happy smiles, the svelte, athletic shapes, the obvious intelligence that beams, nay, radiates from these faces! The world will love them, even more than they love the current president! The great understated taste in clothing which will wow them in Milano and Paris! The obvious class of this family will really put those snotty Euros in their place! The quotient of intelligence represented in this picture already is upsetting the Europeans and other assorted enemies of the patriotic Americans!

Now, it is very unfortunate that one of the spoiled lard ass fat piece of shit sons I mean, err sorry, golden boy of Huckster has
been caught with a gun at an airport
and also it is very, VERY unfortunate that one of the Dr. Atkins nighmares I mean errrr, one of the pious christian innocent boys, has hung a dog by his neck, slit his neck and stoned him to death and even the mainstream media has written about it.

So, fellow citizens, be ready to welcome the new First Family into your homes, into your souls, but please, not into your kennels. Or just tell them to fuck off if you have a pet. Or a daughter. Or you don't like psychopaths masquarading as oh so pious christians.

Taxes are unfair - the idiot's view on US taxation system

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 21:44:00 -0500

In my research (limited by my obvious idiocy - it's a birth condition, so give me a break OK?), I have looked at my taxes. And taxes of my parents. I looked for a way that I could pay less taxes than I was paying at the time. And there is one, very simple, obvious solution.

Become rich.

In Yoo Ess of Ey, the richer you are, the less taxes you pay.

Now many Americans will become red in the face, grab a gun and a torch, and a made-in-China american flag, and go after me with cries of commie, pinko, lib, and perhaps other names. Please, put your gun down - you are liable to hurt yourself. Settle down. Lemme explain.

It is true that a rich billionare pays a bigger amount of money than the idiot you are currently reading. No question. I pay in thousands, he/she pays in tens of thousands. But that billionare is still paying less than you.

Hey! Sit down! I said settle down and put the guns on the school desks (and the torches in the bucket of water o'er there...).

The thing is all about the %. Whereas the majority of the US citizens pay about 30% of their income (I am not counting how much you pay for a sales tax. I don't want you to have a heart attack), the 2% of the population here pays much less. In a % sort of way.

For example, take Mr. Warren Buffett, the 3rd richest man in the world. Here's what he said (money, man, on the money this):
"Mr Buffett said that he was taxed at 17.7 per cent on the $46 million he made last year, without trying to avoid paying higher taxes, while his secretary, who earned $60,000, was taxed at 30 per cent.".

Now in all the European countries, the reverse is the case - the rich pay %-wise more than the middle class and the poor.

In Yoo Ess of Ey though, the poorer you are, the MORE taxes you pay.

Why is that? Perhaps this short youtube video explains it all:

Bush's base

The article that I quote can be found here:

Warren Buffett on USA taxes

I heartily recommend reading it.

Since I am a pompous idiot, I will now recommend my view on how to fix this unfairness. It is simple, it is very easy to explain, it is really quite idiotically easy to do.

Simply tax everybody the same % on their revenue.

Whether you are a Warren Buffett or an ukrainian maid.

Only in America folks...

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 20:55:00 -0500

An oldie but goody story here.
Diebold story from 2004

In 2004, Mr. Walden "Wally" O'Dell, the chairman of the board and chief executive of the Diebold Company, said that he pledged "to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the President." This was said at a Republican fundraiser for the Republican party.

Now, in case y'all forgot, Diebold was (and actually still is) the company that is making machines that count the votes. The votes that people cast for either Republicans or Democrats. Let me break it down for you, idiot style:

There are 3 things that are wrong with this story.

1) How come a CEO of a company that makes machines that count people's votes has a fundraiser for the Republicans (perhaps a lil wee conflict of interest?)
2) How come he was brazen enough to both have the fundraiser for the GOP AND tell them that his company will DELIVER the votes to the Republican president (perhaps this is a WEE LIL CONFLICT OF INTEREST?).
3) How come we Americans don't give a shit but criticize the elections in Russia as undemocratic?
This is somewhat timely, as the following report came out:
Ohio voting machines fucked up from NYTimes

Do you still think that we Americans are living in a democracy? (I know I know technically this is a Republic, says the republican. And here's my baseball bat to your face. Yes, I got issues).

Its not a Conspiracy if it's out there in the open

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:36:00 -0500

One of the most interesting blogs is Rigorous Intuition.

The author there looks for ambivalencies and weirdness that is found in the news, the internet and other sources (books, articles, etc.). His knack is to put things that seemingly are not connected together.

His masterpiece is undoubtly this:

The Coincidence Theorist's Guide to 9/11

I will pay homage to the great man himself and copy a few choice tidbits from this guide. If they pickle your curiosity, by all means click the link above! In fact, fuck it, I will post the whole entry here (and copy it to my harddrive, juuuuuuust in case).

The post is organized as if it begins with the following phrase: It is certainly a coincidence...

That governments have permitted terrorist acts against their own people, and have even themselves been perpetrators in order to find strategic advantage is quite likely true, but this is the United States we're talking about.

That intelligence agencies, financiers, terrorists and narco-criminals have a long history together is well established, but the Nugan Hand Bank, BCCI, Banco Ambrosiano, the P2 Lodge, the CIA/Mafia anti-Castro/Kennedy alliance, Iran/Contra and the rest were a long time ago, so there�s no need to rehash all that. That was then, this is now!

That Jonathan Bush�s Riggs Bank has been found guilty of laundering terrorist funds and fined a US-record $25 million must embarrass his nephew George, but it's still no justification for leaping to paranoid conclusions.

That George Bush's brother Marvin sat on the board of the Kuwaiti-owned company which provided electronic security to the World Trade Centre, Dulles Airport and United Airlines means nothing more than you must admit those Bush boys have done alright for themselves.

That George Bush found success as a businessman only after the investment of Osama�s brother Salem and reputed al Qaeda financier Khalid bin Mahfouz is just one of those things - one of those crazy things.

That Osama bin Laden is known to have been an asset of US foreign policy in no way implies he still is.

That al Qaeda was active in the Balkan conflict, fighting on the same side as the US as recently as 1999, while the US protected its cells, is merely one of history's little aberrations.

The claims of Michael Springman, State Department veteran of the Jeddah visa bureau, that the CIA ran the office and issued visas to al Qaeda members so they could receive training in the United States, sound like the sour grapes of someone who was fired for making such wild accusations.

That one of George Bush's first acts as President, in January 2001, was to end the two-year deployment of attack submarines which were positioned within striking distance of al Qaeda's Afghanistan camps, even as the group's guilt for the Cole bombing was established, proves that a transition from one administration to the next is never an easy task.

That so many influential figures in and close to the Bush White House had expressed, just a year before the attacks, the need for a "new Pearl Harbor" before their militarist ambitions could be fulfilled, demonstrates nothing more than the accidental virtue of being in the right place at the right time.

That the company PTECH, founded by a Saudi financier placed on America�s Terrorist Watch List in October 2001, had access to the FAA�s entire computer system for two years before the 9/11 attack, means he must not have been such a threat after all.

That whistleblower Indira Singh was told to keep her mouth shut and forget what she learned when she took her concerns about PTECH to her employers and federal authorities, suggests she lacked the big picture. And that the Chief Auditor for JP Morgan Chase told Singh repeatedly, as she answered questions about who supplied her with what information, that "that person should be killed," suggests he should take an anger management seminar.

That on May 8, 2001, Dick Cheney took upon himself the job of co-ordinating a response to domestic terror attacks even as he was crafting the administration�s energy policy which bore implications for America's military, circumventing the established infrastructure and ignoring the recommendations of the Hart-Rudman report, merely shows the VP to be someone who finds it hard to delegate.

That the standing order which covered the shooting down of hijacked aircraft was altered on June 1, 2001, taking discretion away from field commanders and placing it solely in the hands of the Secretary of Defense, is simply poor planning and unfortunate timing. Fortunately the error has been corrected, as the order was rescinded shortly after 9/11.

That in the weeks before 9/11, FBI agent Colleen Rowley found her investigation of Zacarias Moussaoui so perversely thwarted that her colleagues joked that bin Laden had a mole at the FBI, proves the stress-relieving virtue of humour in the workplace.

That Dave Frasca of the FBI�s Radical Fundamentalist Unit received a promotion after quashing multiple, urgent requests for investigations into al Qaeda assets training at flight schools in the summer of 2001 does appear on the surface odd, but undoubtedly there's a good reason for it, quite possibly classified.

That FBI informant Randy Glass, working an undercover sting, was told by Pakistani intelligence operatives that the World Trade Center towers were coming down, and that his repeated warnings which continued until weeks before the attacks, including the mention of planes used as weapons, were ignored by federal authorities, is simply one of the many "What Ifs" of that tragic day.

That over the summer of 2001 Washington received many urgent, senior-level warnings from foreign intelligence agencies and governments - including those of Germany, France, Great Britain, Russia, Egypt, Israel, Morocco, Afghanistan and others - of impending terror attacks using hijacked aircraft and did nothing, demonstrates the pressing need for a new Intelligence Czar.

That John Ashcroft stopped flying commercial aircraft in July 2001 on account of security considerations had nothing to do with warnings regarding September 11, because he said so to the 9/11 Commission.

That former lead counsel for the House David Schippers says he�d taken to John Ashcroft�s office specific warnings he�d learned from FBI agents in New York of an impending attack � even naming the proposed dates, names of the hijackers and the targets � and that the investigations had been stymied and the agents threatened, proves nothing but David Schipper�s pathetic need for attention.

That Garth Nicolson received two warnings from contacts in the intelligence community and one from a North African head of state, which included specific site, date and source of the attacks, and passed the information to the Defense Department and the National Security Council to evidently no effect, clearly amounts to nothing, since virtually nobody has ever heard of him.

That in the months prior to September 11, self-described US intelligence operative Delmart Vreeland sought, from a Toronto jail cell, to get US and Canadian authorities to heed his warning of his accidental discovery of impending catastrophic attacks is worthless, since Vreeland was a dubious character, notwithstanding the fact that many of his claims have since been proven true.

That FBI Special Investigator Robert Wright claims that agents assigned to intelligence operations actually protect terrorists from investigation and prosecution, that the FBI shut down his probe into terrorist training camps, and that he was removed from a money-laundering case that had a direct link to terrorism, sounds like yet more sour grapes from a disgruntled employee.

That George Bush had plans to invade Afghanistan on his desk before 9/11 demonstrates only the value of being prepared.

The suggestion that securing a pipeline across Afghanistan figured into the White House�s calculations is as ludicrous as the assertion that oil played a part in determining war in Iraq.

That Afghanistan is once again the world�s principal heroin producer is an unfortunate reality, but to claim the CIA is still actively involved in the narcotics trade is to presume bad faith on the part of the agency.

Mahmood Ahmed, chief of Pakistan�s ISI, must not have authorized an al Qaeda payment of $100,000 to Mohammed Atta days before the attacks, and was not meeting with senior Washington officials over the week of 9/11, because I didn�t read anything about him in the official report.

That Porter Goss met with Ahmed the morning of September 11 in his capacity as Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has no bearing whatsoever upon his recent selection by the White House to head the Central Intelligence Agency.

That Goss's congressional seat encompasses the 9/11 hijackers' Florida base of operation, including their flight schools, is precisely the kind of meaningless factoid a conspiracy theorist would bring up.

It's true that George HW Bush and Dick Cheney spent the evening of September 10 alone in the Oval Office, but what's wrong with old colleagues catching up? And it's true that George HW Bush and Shafig bin Laden, Osama's brother, spent the morning of September 11 together at a board meeting of the Carlyle Group, but the bin Ladens are a big family.

That FEMA arrived in New York on Sept 10 to prepare for a scheduled biowarfare drill, and had a triage centre ready to go that was larger and better equipped than the one that was lost in the collapse of WTC 7, was a lucky twist of fate.

Newsweek�s report that senior Pentagon officials cancelled flights on Sept 10 for the following day on account of security concerns is only newsworthy because of what happened the following morning.

That George Bush's telephone logs for September 11 do not exist should surprise no one, given the confusion of the day.

That Mohamed Atta attended the International Officer's School at Maxwell Air Force Base, that Abdulaziz Alomari attended Brooks Air Force Base Aerospace Medical School, that Saeed Alghamdi attended the Defense Language Institute in Monterey merely shows it is a small world, after all.

That Lt Col Steve Butler, Vice Chancellor for student affairs of the Defense Language Institute during Alghamdi's terms, was disciplined, removed from his post and threatened with court martial when he wrote "Bush knew of the impending attacks on America. He did nothing to warn the American people because he needed this war on terrorism. What is...contemptible is the President of the United States not telling the American people what he knows for political gain," is the least that should have happened for such disrespect shown his Commander in Chief.

That Mohammed Atta dressed like a Mafioso, had a stripper girlfriend, smuggled drugs, was already a licensed pilot when he entered the US, enjoyed pork chops, drank to excess and did cocaine, was closer to Europeans than Arabs in Florida, and included the names of defence contractors on his email list, proves how dangerous the radical fundamentalist Muslim can be.

That 43 lbs of heroin was found on board the Lear Jet owned by Wally Hilliard, the owner of Atta�s flight school, just three weeks after Atta enrolled � the biggest seizure ever in Central Florida � was just bad luck. That Hilliard was not charged shows how specious the claims for conspiracy truly are.

That Hilliard�s plane had made 30-round trips to Venezuela with the same passengers who always paid cash, that the plane had been supplied by a pair of drug smugglers who had also outfitted CIA drug runner Barry Seal, and that 9/11 commissioner Richard ben-Veniste had been Seal�s attorney before Seal�s murder, shows nothing but the lengths to which conspiracists will go to draw sinister conclusions.

Reports of insider trading on 9/11 are false, because the SEC investigated and found only respectable investors who will remain nameless involved, and no terrorists, so the windfall profit-taking was merely, as ever, coincidental.

That heightened security for the World Trade Centre was lifted immediately prior to the attacks illustrates that it always happens when you least expect it.

That Hani Hanjour, the pilot of Flight 77, was so incompetent he could not fly a Cessna in August, but in September managed to fly a 767 at excessive speed into a spiraling, 270-degree descent and a level impact of the first floor of the Pentagon, on the only side that was virtually empty and had been hardened to withstand a terrorist attack, merely demonstrates that people can do almost anything once they set their minds to it.

That none of the flight data recorders were said to be recoverable even though they were located in the tail sections, and that until 9/11, no solid-state recorder in a catastrophic crash had been unrecoverable, shows how there's a first time for everything.

That Mohammed Atta left a uniform, a will, a Koran, his driver's license and a "how to fly planes" video in his rental car at the airport means he had other things on his mind.

The mention of Israelis with links to military-intelligence having been arrested on Sept 11 videotaping and celebrating the attacks, of an Israeli espionage ring surveiling DEA and defense installations and trailing the hijackers, and of a warning of impending attacks delivered to the Israeli company Odigo two hours before the first plane hit, does not deserve a response. That the stories also appeared in publications such as Ha'aretz and Forward is a sad display of self-hatred among certain elements of the Israeli media.

That multiple military wargames and simulations were underway the morning of 9/11 � one simulating the crash of a plane into a building; another, a live-fly simulation of multiple hijackings � and took many interceptors away from the eastern seaboard and confused field commanders as to which was a real hijacked aircraft and which was a hoax, was a bizarre coincidence, but no less a coincidence.

That the National Military Command Center ops director asked a rookie substitute to stand his watch at 8:30 am on Sept. 11 is nothing more than bad timing.

That a recording made Sept 11 of air traffic controllers� describing what they had witnessed, was destroyed by an FAA official who crushed it in his hand, cut the tape into little pieces and dropped them in different trash cans around the building, is something no doubt that overzealous official wishes he could undo.

That the FBI knew precisely which Florida flight schools to descend upon hours after the attacks should make every American feel safer knowing their federal agents are on the ball.

That a former flight school executive believes the hijackers were "double agents," and says about Atta and associates, "Early on I gleaned that these guys had government protection. They were let into this country for a specific purpose," and was visited by the FBI just four hours after the attacks to intimidate him into silence, proves he's an unreliable witness, for the simple reason there is no conspiracy.

That Jeb Bush was on board an aircraft that removed flight school records to Washington in the middle of the night on Sept 12th demonstrates how seriously the governor takes the issue of national security.

To insinuate evil motive from the mercy flights of bin Laden family members and Saudi royals after 9/11 shows the sickness of the conspiratorial mindset.

Le Figaro�s report in October 2001, known to have originated with French intelligence, that the CIA met Osama bin Laden in a Dubai hospital in July 2001, proves again the perfidy of the French.

That the tape in which bin Laden claims responsibility for the attacks was released by the State Department after having been found providentially by US forces in Afghanistan, and depicts a fattened Osama with a broader face and a flatter nose, proves Osama, and Osama alone, masterminded 9/11.

That at the battle of Tora Bora, where bin Laden was surrounded on three sides, Special Forces received no order to advance and capture him and were forced to stand and watch as two Russian-made helicopters flew into the area where bin Laden was believed hiding, loaded up passengers and returned to Pakistan, demonstrates how confusing the modern battlefield can be.

That upon returning to Fort Bragg from Tora Bora, the same Special Operations troops who had been stood down from capturing bin Laden, suffered a unusual spree of murder/suicides, is nothing more than a series of senseless tragedies.

Reports that bin Laden is currently receiving periodic dialysis treatment in a Pakistani medical hospital are simply too incredible to be true.

That the White House went on Cipro September 11 shows the foresightedness of America�s emergency response.

That the anthrax was mailed to perceived liberal media and the Democratic leadership demonstrates only the perversity of the terrorist psyche.

That the anthrax attacks appeared to silence opponents of the Patriot Act shows only that appearances can be deceiving.

That the Ames-strain anthrax was found to have originated at Fort Detrick, and was beyond the capability of all but a few labs to refine, underscores the importance of allowing the investigation to continue without the distraction of absurd conspiracy theories.

That Republican guru Grover Norquist has been found to have aided financiers and supporters of Islamic terror to gain access to the Bush White House, and is a founder of the Islamic Institute, which the Treasury Department believes to be a source of funding for al Qaeda, suggests Norquist is at worst, naive, and at best, needs a wider circle of friends.

That the Department of Justice consistently chooses to see accused 9/11 plotters go free rather than permit the courtroom testimony of al Qaeda leaders in American custody looks bad, but only because we don't have all the facts.

That the White House balked at any inquiry into the events of 9/11, then starved it of funds and stonewalled it, was unfortunate, but since the commission didn't find for conspiracy it's all a non issue anyway.

That the 9/11 commission's executive director and "gatekeeper," Philip Zelikow, was so closely involved in the events under investigation that he testified before the the commission as part of the inquiry, shows only an apparent conflict of interest.

That commission chair Thomas Kean is, like George Bush, a Texas oil executive who had business dealings with reputed al Qaeda financier Khalid bin Mafouz, suggests Texas is smaller than they say it is.

That co-chair Lee Hamilton has a history as a Bush family "fixer," including clearing Bush Sr of the claims arising from the 1980 "October Surprise", is of no concern, since only conspiracists believe there was such a thing as an October Surprise.

That FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds accuses the agency of intentionally fudging specific pre-9/11 warnings and harboring a foreign espionage ring in its translation department, and claims she witnessed evidence of the semi-official infrastructure of money-laundering and narcotics trade behind the attacks, is of no account, since John Ashcroft has gagged her with the rare invocation of "State Secrets Privilege," and retroactively classified her public testimony. For the sake of national security, let us speak no more of her.

That, when commenting on Edmond's case, Daniel Ellsberg remarked that Ashcroft could go to prison for his part in a cover-up, suggests Ellsberg is giving comfort to the terrorists, and could, if he doesn't wise up, find himself declared an enemy combatant.

I could go on. And on and on. But I trust you get the point. Which is simply this: there are no secrets, an American government would never accept civilian casualties for geostrategic gain, and conspiracies are for the weak-minded and gullible.

Great site to learn more about those "experts" in American News...

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:11:00 -0500

I heartily recommend a site called www.sourcewatch.org

"A primary purpose of SourceWatch is documenting the PR and propaganda activities of public relations firms and public relations professionals engaged in managing and manipulating public perception, opinion and policy. SourceWatch also includes profiles on think tanks, industry-funded organizations and industry-friendly experts that work to influence public opinion and public policy on behalf of corporations, governments and special interests."

There you go - enjoy!

My sincere wish is that after reading my blog and other sources on the internet, that you, dear American citizen, will look differently on your TV News and the friendly, smiling people who tell you what to think, where to invest, what war to support...

Making fun of Christianity

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 23:55:00 -0500

Why not make fun of Islam or Buddhism or Hinduism you ask?

Why is it always Christians?

First, I would never make fun of Islam, because people who send their own children with Semtex to blow up other people deserve my admiration. Thumbs up! You go boy (or girl!) Islam is a very peaceful and good religion, just like Christianity and Judaism. All nicey nice. I love Islam. Really. Please don't kill me.

Is that hello kitty I see?

Next, there is Buddhism and Hinduism, and like I said before, who gives a shit about people who pray to a fat dude or a cow? And Jainism is just fucked beyond all belief (truly), as for example Digambar monks in that religion do not wear any clothes. They think their holy scriptures condemn it. And I can say that because Jainism emphasises non violence. So fuck them. (Jainism on Wiki)

Also, being an idiot raised in Europe and transplanted to the Yoo Ess of Ey, I am most familiar with a particular brand of this religion phenomena insanity called Christianity.

So let's start on Christianity.

Christianity was made up by a hippy carpenter named Jesus. The Jews did not like that guy much, so they asked the Romans to kill him. After Herod, the dude in charge of Palestine at that time, did a Gallup Poll, Yeah or No, the Yeah's had it. And so the hippy was crucified.

Did I mention that Jesus was a Jew? Could be important later (could be a quiz at the end, kids!).

But before he was killed in a pretty entertaining way, Jesus taught his disciples (read - other hippies. Also all Jews. Pay attention).

The Jews believed in god's law, which was put in a local Palestine bestseller called The Torah. I recommend reading this book, as it contains an incredible amount of violence, kinkiness and other weird shit. This little propaganda booklet contains passages of incest, rape, murder, mass murder (on a biblical scale, pun intended) and kinkiness such as selling your kids into slavery per god's whim, in fact, slavery is A-OK with god in the Torah.

In fact, here are the more bloodthirsty and kinky (not in a good way) quotes of the good book.

Please keep in mind (we are all idiots here after all) that the Old Testament, aka The Torah, was written before Jesus was begotten (Apparently not born in a normal way... or something. I dont't know, ask your local priest or rabbi). And Jesus and his peeps based their own teachings on this book (they were Jews after all - a fact 100% of the Christians today seem to be missing).

Now, perhaps this version was a bit too bloodthirsty, or wacky, or there were spelling errors. Whatever the cause, a new better and improved word of god booklet was written. Due to a lack of originality prevalent at the time, it was called the NEW Testament. This new and improved version was supposedly written by the apostles. And interestingly, this is what this book is about - each dude that was in Jesus' own gang, has his own chapter called a gospel. And they talk a lot. About stuff.

Interestingly, there is less talk of killing your own kids (although there is some), or wiping out whole cities, with the victorious killing all men, women, children and animals (there is some), but the emphasis has switched. Now it became the (in)famous "turn the other cheek", whereas in the Old (Kick Ass!) Testament the emphasis was more on the "eye for an eye" kinda thing.

Eye for an Eye

Turning the other cheek

Why was that? Could it be that because the ruling elite (kings and priests in their churches) needed slaves errr docile workers to till their fields and cattle and pay their taxes? We wouldn't want the slaves oh man sorry workers to pick up swords and kill off the fat pig errrr priest who does nothing but lives off the slaving famers' backbreaking work?

In that situation, it is better to turn the other cheek when your lord/king/priest punish or torture you, and not to do an eye for an eye...

But perhaps that is just a coincidence. And perhaps I am an Irish hermaphrodite who has three arms? Perhaps?

The interesting thing is also that the people who were the church dictators err I mean elders in those times, picked and rejected gospels and holy stories according to their whim. Which is a pretty brazen thing to do if you believe that those stories COME DIRECTLY FROM GOD. I mean, those church leaders had BALLS. Or they simply knew it was all bullshit, and were shaping a religion to fit their and their KINGS' needs. Pick and choose your word of god

Kinda like the think tanks and pundits do today with facts in the American TV News and American president cherry picks intelligence about Iraqi WMD and now Iran. But I digress.

It got to be such a mess that a new version was needed. And so a King James Bible was made. Basically this was a translation from the original Greek texts into English of the New Testament propaganda. Or so they say...

So when an annoying christian tells you that the bible is the word of god, simply ask:
WHICH FUCKING VERSION OF THE BIBLE?

Now think on this.
With first one version whose theme was "eye for an eye" (god was bloodthirsty dude), then a new version whose main point was to "turn the other cheek" (god likes his people peaceful, and the sheep cuddly ready for shearing and slaughter), and then all the translations, from original Hebrew, Aramaic (Palestinians back then spoke this language. Still spoken in modern times by Christians in Lebanon), and (old version of the language) Greek, and then translated into English, and then translated into all the languages of the world...

Did you ever play a children's game where you sat in a line or a circle, and the first person whispered a phrase to another one, but said it so quietly that only the other person heard it? Now, this happens until the last kid hears the phrase.

The last kid is then asked what he/she heard. And inevitably, what that kid heard had nothing to do with the original phrase.

I bid you all good night.

We shall prevail.

I will leave you with John Lenn.... no, you fuckers do not deserve that. Instead, I give you two dissenting views on religion, as shown by the great Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch:
You gotta believe!
or
United

Bonus Material:

www.evilbible.com/

History of Religions

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 22:30:00 -0500

The following is my own take on Christianity and other religions. Since I consider myself a (barely) functioning idiot, the title seems apt. Since this is a blog to explain stuff to idiots (as a favor from me - I am also an idiot but I am blessed with the ability to read something and then understand it. Needless to say I need to read stuff many times but that is beside the point). There is no time like now, so let us get to it then (git'er done, like that fat american says):

Since the times when records were kept, religion is found in all the cultures and societies we have information on. Let us start in the beginning of history, as far back as we know. Back in the days of Sumer and Ur, there was a popular Harleqin romance novel called Gilgamesh.

Short and sweet Wiki about religion in Sumer

Sumerians seemed to worship many gods, with each city having its own patron god/saint. Whatever works for you, buddy. Moving on, the Egyptians (the cool dudes who built the gigantic pyramids and about whom a really cool historical movie was made called
Stargate). Egyptians believed in Isus, Ra and Osiris and other cooly named gods. They as a society were really stuck on the afterlife of their folks (afterlife means after someone dies - for the idiots like me who have trouble with big words). They were so hung up on the afterlife, that they developed extremely elaborate rituals to take care of the corpse. Pyramids are basically tombs for local badasses. Heartily recommend
Ancient Egypt religion

Moving on, we go to the Greeks and then immediately the Romans. Greeks were hairy olive skinned guys who lived in the mountains in the Balkans and Crete (an island) in the Mediterranean (its a sea south of Europe and north of Africa, people). They never could agree on anything, and they spent their days killing each other. When their neighbors to the East, called Persians, invaded them, they stopped killing each other and started to kill the Persians. After they under Alex the Great basically conquered the whole of the Persian empire, they happily went back to their mountains to have sex with sheep and kill each other again. I adore these people! But I digress.

The Greeks had a whole pantheon (that is a complicated word meaning a group) of gods, with my favorite being Zeus (he was the capo di capo, the boss of bosses, the mafia don, the big kahuna) and Bacchus, who was the god of getting REALLY drunk. Bacchus helped with Aphrodite, who was the goddess of screwing. Like I said, I think Greeks were really cool.

After Greeks came the Romans, who were like the modern day Japanese are today. They copied everything that they liked. And made it better. So they copied every single damn Greek god and renamed him or her. Aphrodite for example became Venus, etc.

What is interesting about all the religions is that people seemed genuinely confused about gods and goddesses, and so even if they believed in their gods, they tried not to offend other people's deities, because what if that other badass god was more powerful in certain areas (like the sea, or Egypt?). When Romans conquered a land, they did not convert the people. Neither did the Persian empire. Or the Greeks under Alex.

They left all the local gods and beliefs in place.

During the Romans times a small, insignificant sect, who used to live in Egypt, gave the world the first monotheistic religion. And all because of a hippy carpenter. Back then these people were called slaves, today we refer to these folks as Jews.

So the Jews really had a shitty life back then - they were literally slaves in Egypt. They were released from Egypt (supposedly a bearded Moses the dude did all this cool stuff to allow the Jews to leave Egypt, but since Jews were kicked out of every other damn country that they were put in, perhaps that story is full of shall we say shit). They moved on into a region called Palestine (today also called Palestine). Then this hippy carpenter was born, and he gave rise to a new religion called Christianity. And pretty soon a new religion arose in the old Persian empire called Islam, which was like Christianity a monotheistic religion.

That mono word means that instead of a huge group of gods, these folks believed in only one dude.

It also means that whereas in all the wars before these wonderful three religions came the victors of a war left the local temples and shrines and other religious places in peace, and let people worship whoever and whatever they chose. Islam, Christianity and Judaism did not allow other religions, as their folks were taught that only THEIR religion is correct.

The Jews started the bloodshed going when they massacred the towns of Soddom and Gomorrah. Apparently the people in Soddom and Gomorrah were having too much fun, which included sex, homosexuality (gasp), and so supposedly god killed them all. Men, woman and children. Next on the list is Jericho, which also seemed a cool city until the Jews went in and KILLED ALL MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN
(Jericho). Apparently this was A-OK because god said its ok to murder all the people, and even the animals. Bloodthirsty little devils aren't they? Remind me of the Mongols, but I digress...

Since the Jews were numerically weak (read - they were much fewer of them than the screaming Christians and Islamists), they were absorbed by the powers of both religions. Since the Jews were out of the running, the next title bout was called the Crusades, and was a heavyweight match up between the crazy Christians from Europe and the insane Islamists from the Arabian Peninsula. Many hacked limbs and a sea of blood later, we come to the modern times. (Note that I have skipped Zoroastrianism, the far eastern religions of Buddha, Shinto, Hinduism and Jaynism and other stuff, because, really who gives a shit).

And here we come to today.

In an age of computers, the scientific method, biology, nuclear bombs, the internet (which allows your favorite idiot to write all this shit yo are reading), people still go to their churches, mosques and synagogues. They open little books and sing (pretty bad) songs about their god. And they argue on the internet, or even kill each other (yes, still) over whose god is better and more true.

What is really wacky about this is that each religion that followed the previous ones tried to discredit its predecessors, with its priests saying that our modern, CURRENT religion is THE ONE and THE TRUTH and EVERYTHIGN BEFORE IS BULLSHIT. So sorry, people of Sumer, Greeks and Romans, Egyptians - according to Islamists and Christians, you are in hell, because you did not believe in the correct religion... even though that religion did not exist yet.

Conservative Vs Liberal - the battle of false definitions

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 23:47:00 -0500

I will blog here about how the definitions for these two words changed, what they mean now in USA and the normal world, and how stupid people here must be to realize that conservative now <> conservative 10 years ago.

again, once I get off my fat ass and finish this High Fructose Corn Syrup soda while I wolf down Xanthar Gum...

Coming soon - AIPAC

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 22:52:00 -0500

Once I get my lazy ass to propely research and write it...

Why Iraqis fight Americans in Iraq - the version for idiots

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 22:34:00 -0500

The president (the current, retarded one) has said this about why Islamists fight United States: "They hate us for our freedoms!"

That was an actual quote from the hiccup of history. What is interesting is that a multitude of Americans actually believe this statement.

So to those Americans who argue about why we must stay in Iraq to fight al Kaida, terrorism and possibly Barney the Dinosaur, I offer the following reason why they continue to fight our troops there.

It's because WE are in THEIR country!

I know I know. It is too simple. It must be the clash of civilization, the fact (snort!) that Islamists want American women to wear the burka (come to think of it, perhaps a good idea. Would cover the ugly fatties here... hmmm), that they want to establish a caliphate (Big word. Some Americans are impressed by words they do not understand. Like the words freedom, democracy, liberty for example), that they are simply eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevil.

Perhaps.

How about this scenario though.

President Bush approval rating is hovering at about 30% of our population. That, of course, is according to our wonderful non biased media, so that probably means that about 10% approve of GI Joe's pilot action figure job, and counted in that number are people in a coma, people who were lobotomized and kids in kindergarten home schooled by the previous two categories of people.

But, for the sake of argument, let's assume that the incredible number of 30% of USA citizens adore junior. That makes 70% who do not adore him. In fact, this 70% has feeling which range from mild dislike to frothing at the mouth hate.

Seeing this dissatisfaction, China invades the USA and liberates this country from Bush jr.

What would be your, Mr and Mrs American Joe/Jane Schmoe reaction to this? Especially if you are in the 70% of the population who thinks of our president as a lovable moron? Would you welcome the Chinese communists into your town, as they set up road blocks, drove around town in big armored cars and (accidentally of course) shot the hell out of every third car that drove too close to them? If the Chinese took over a prison, and took your son (suspected of anti Chinese behaviour - he must hate the Chinese for their freedoms!), and then lovingly used a cattle prod on his balls?

How would you feel Joe/Jane Schmoe American?

Even if you disliked the current president, perhaps you would thank the Chinese for their wonderful humanitarian action and then ask them POLITELY, to please fuck off from your town. And city. And country. After which chances are that either you would be taken to that local prison, so that some Chinese hillbillies would watch how you react to an electric current in your testicles (or vulva), OR that you would join the resistance.

Of course, Chinese president Huu would then say: "The ungrateful Americans, after we liberated their country from a tyrant, hate us for our freedoms!".