“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.”

Churchill

Make your choice, You know where I stand!

One last time: The US won’t invade Venezeula. It wouldn’t make sense for it to do so. They might assassinate the crazy bastard that is Chavez, but no Invasion will take place.

The valiant Egyptian Police has taken out 2 Sharm Bombings suspects, of whom they said were yet another 2 masterminds behind the bombing. Given that this is like the 5th time they anounced they arrested or shot a “mastermind” behind the Sharm Bombing, color me officially unimpressed.

It’s not much but it’s a start: The Palestinian Authority has started a crackdown on public displays of weapons.

Palestinian authorities began enforcing a ban on public displays of weapons Thursday, arresting three people and confiscating the guns of off-duty police officers in a key step toward imposing order in the chaotic Gaza Strip.

[...]

In a move to bring order to Gaza, Palestinian officials on Thursday announced a ban on public displays of weapons, and Hamas said it would honor it.

The Palestinian police chief, Ala Husni, said that in the wake of Israel’s recent pullout from Gaza there is no longer a reason for anyone other than security officers to carry weapons.

“The role of resistance weapons has ended in the streets. They should go back into storage and they should not show up in the streets,” he told a news conference. “Any weapon now in the street is a criminal weapon.” He said there were no plans to seize stored weapons.

Good baby step Abu Mazen, now take out Hamas and I will be impressed!

I found this slate article “defending” intelligent design to be very amusing! Check it out!

Some of you may have noticed the new link at my sidebar, but I created another blog for my own , you know, personal stuff. You know, like personal writing, lyrics, quotes, and other general artsy fartsy stuff of the like. This blog is 50% politics, 30% entertainment and 20% personal, and I figure that the majority of you only come here for the politics and the entertainment, so I thought it would be best to seperate the personal and give it its own space. If you are into this kind of thing, then by all means, go visit it!

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming!

I am seriously surprised by this, but it seems that abstainance-only education is working: Teen pregnancies and birthrates among teens is at an all time low. Whoa.

The decline, to the lowest teen birth rates since national tallies began in 1940, is a remarkable personal health reform, sharper than U.S. declines in smoking or increases in seat-belt use.
Counselors who work with teens cite many factors but give much credit to more cautious and assertive girls.

“A lot more of us are making our own sexual decisions. That way, you don’t get pushed around by your partner who wants you to do more,” said Anna Bialek, 17, of Princeton, N.J. “Of course, that can work both ways.”

Whatever the reasons, teen pregnancies and births are down about a third nationwide from their peaks in 1991, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. If the 1991 rates had persisted, about 1.2 million more children would have been born to teen mothers by 2004, Congress’ Joint Economic Committee estimated last year.

“It’s a big success story,” said Dr. John Santelli, a Columbia University public health professor and the lead author of a recent analysis of the decline. He attributes about half the drop to teens saying no to intercourse. The other half, he said, is due to their using contraceptives more often and more efficiently.

I don’t know about you, but I think that’s good news!

Here is a virtual Lite Brite for you! (Hattip Nikki)

This AP piece talks about the report that the US state department compiled on America’s image in the world and it made me laugh my ass off. Let me show you why:

Bad Bad America:

For what can be heard around the world, in the wake of the invasion of Iraq, the prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib, and the controversy over the handling of detainees at Bagram and Guantanamo Bay, is that America is less a beacon of hope than a dangerous force to be countered,” the report said.

The committee and other academic and official travelers found a “sense of crisis” abroad, the report said. “Put simply, we have lost the goodwill of the world.”

Not so Bad America:

While U.S. policies in the Middle East were condemned, the American system of higher education, science and technology were praised, as were the values of freedom, democracy and individual dignity, the report said.

“America is still seen as a place where things can happen, where change is not feared; a land of diversity, openness, candor and generosity,” the report said.

And the perfect ending:

It also urged the streamlining of visa procedures for international students.

LOL

It’s official, The world opinion on the US is schizophrenic.

Here is a great rant by someone who seemingly has had it with Boston drivers and the way they seem to “drive”. If you have ever driven in Boston or had to deal with them massholes and their shitty driving while reading the Boston Globe and talking on a cellphone, then you know exactly what this dude is talking about.

I hate to tell you this, but your children are ruining the neighbourhood.

Money shot:

I know it is not politically correct to talk about it, but your children are terrible citizens. There is a 100 percent unemployment rate among them, and they endanger the neighborhood with their reckless behavior—running out into the streets without looking, going off with disreputable strangers and tying up the police force in fruitless searches, spreading disease with their dirty hands and mouths. They bring nothing of value to the neighborhood, and the programs that cater to their “development” plaster the subway stations and alleys with their ugly, unintelligible artwork and poetry.

The other day, one of them actually rooted through my purse in broad daylight as I lunched at my favorite sushi café, and when I smacked the offending child, I was the one thrown out into the street! Oh, well, heaven forbid we be accused of violence to minors—it carries a greater charge! Your children really have a grip on the country’s legal system, and they’ve obviously completely taken over the schools. One can’t say anything against them—people clam up immediately, and you can see the horror in their eyes.

Hehehehe

The always awesome and funny Mcsweeny site has a list of Not-so-threatening Islamist groups.

My personal favorite?

It’s a tie between the Abu Nidal Ladies Muffin Club and the Log Cabin Martyrs Brigade.

Karen Hughes is not enjoying herself on her middle-east tour; she is metting discontent with muslim women in 2 countries, both of them are US allies. First Saudi, then Turkey. Bad news, no? Let’s take a closer look, shall we?

The Women of Saudi meetup:

The Audience?

The audience - 500 women covered in black at a Saudi university - seemed an ideal place for Karen P. Hughes, a senior Bush administration official charged with spreading the American message in the Muslim world, to make her pitch.

An ideal place? Really? Ok!

Who picked them and what segment of society do they represent?

The group of women on Tuesday, picked by the university, represented the privileged elite of this Red Sea coastal city, known as one of the more liberal areas in the country.

The Priviliged elite. Clearly the most oppressed of all saudi women, no?

It even shows in their grievences:

She seemed clearly taken aback as the women told her that just because they were not allowed to vote or drive that did not mean they were treated unfairly or imprisoned in their own homes.
“We’re not in any way barred from talking to the other sex,” said Dr. Nada Jambi, a public health professor. “It’s not an absolute wall.”

Not an absolute one, but a wall nonetheless! LOL

And then there is the Michael Moore effect

A woman in the audience then charged that under President Bush the United States had become “a right wing country” and that criticism by the press was “not allowed.”

LOL

As for male chauvinism and that pesky question of women’s rights?

“There is more male chauvinism in my profession in Europe and America than in my country,” said Dr. Siddiqa Kamal, an obstetrician and gynecologist who runs her own hospital.

Yes, there is Chauvinism in the west, which makes the one we have at home Ok.

“I don’t want to drive a car,” she said. “I worked hard for my medical degree. Why do I need a driver’s license?”

“Women have more than equal rights,” added her daughter, Dr. Fouzia Pasha, also an obstetrician and gynecologist, asserting that men have obligations accompanying their rights, and that women can go to court to hold them accountable.

Oh my God, this is too funny! I am laughing my ass off. Hehehehehehehee!

Gotta say, Saudi men really know to how to “break-in” their women. For those of you who may disagree, I am sure those women could’ve spoken up against male domination and managed not to get beat up by their men at home. No?

Well, enough of Saudi, on to Turkey, where things kept getting interesting for Karen, If interesting meant continuing to hear idiotic arguments:

“You are very angry with Turkey, I know,” said Hidayet Tuskal, a director of the Capital City Women’s Platform, referring to what she characterized as United States reaction to opposition in Turkey to the Iraq war, which she said was a feminist issue because women and children were dying daily. “I’m feeling myself wounded,” Ms. Tuskal added. “I’m feeling myself insulted here.”

Ok, does anyone get her point? She opposed the Iraq war because of women and children dying in it, and wasn’t concerned with the women and children dying under Saddam? And it’s a femenist issue? She feels wounded and insulted? What?

Ohh, and please, american readers, let’s take a survey: Every person who is “very angry” at Turkey for not supporting the US in the war raise your hands. Every person who couldn’t give 2 shits about Turkey’s support anyway-like the rest of the world- please refrain from laughing at her idiotic statement.

And it just keeps getting better:

Fatma Nevin Vargun, identifying herself as a Kurdish rights advocate, said she was “ashamed” of the war and added that the United States bore responsibility. Referring to the arrest of a war protester at the White House on Monday, she added, “This was a pity for us as well.”

She is a kurdish rights activist and opposed to the war that gave the Kurds their rights. Is anybody else getting this?

Ahh, me loves the New York Times. It always gives me a good laugh!

Matt Drudge proves that the cause for Katrina and Rita and other hurricanes is not Global warming, but Barbra Streissand, who is of course trying to deflect the guilt by declaring a “Global Warming emergency”, but the evidence is all against her.

But Sawyer did not remind Streisand that a Category 5 hurricane struck the Bahamas with 160 mph winds — when the singer was five years old, in 1947!

And when Streisand was 8 years old, a Cat 5 hurricane — named “Dog” — packing 185 mph churned-away in the Atlantic.

When she was 9, a Cat 5 storm named “Easy” ripped the seas with 160 mph sustained winds.

Streisand was 13 years old when “Janet” hit Mexico with 150 mph winds.

Streisand was celebrating her sweet sixteen as “Cleo” formed with 140 mph.

At 18, Streisand read news about “Donna” AND “Ethel” — both storms carried 140 mph winds and formed 9 days apart in 1960!

And the list goes on and on.

Stop the madness and future Hurricanes : For the good of all Humanity, Kill Barbra Streissand!

It’s the right thing to do!

You must read this. (hattip MVRWC)

The Palestinian President Abbas, wants Egypt to get more involved in Gaza, because he can’t seem to be able to control shit over there.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, saying Hamas is partly to blame for the latest bout of violence in Gaza, has sought to enlist Egypt’s help to halt the rapidly deteriorating situation in Gaza and the West Bank.

“The situation is deteriorating very gravely and if it does not come under control, it will be complicated and a third party, such as the Quartet, should intervene to stop the escalation of the events,” chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erikat said on Wednesday after two hours of talks between Abbas and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Ok, here is what I don’t get: They wanted their independence and they said they can handle the security and control the situation if the Israelis withdrew. So, whatever happend to that plan? Or was it, as usual, too much talk and not enough action?

Look, we shouldn’t get involved. The Palestinian people need to figure their own stuff out and handle their business, instead of always asking for help. Abbas should take out Hammas and all the other fringe groups, isntead of just saying “they are doing bad things” and not doing shit about it. If he is to be a leader, he has to lead, instead of just running to everyone else for help and the only way this will happen is if nobody else gets involved, especially us.

This is awesome:

People in this sleepy hamlet are so sure they have been receiving other-worldly visitors, they want to build a UFO landing strip to welcome them.

A bright green sign along a lonely country road in southwestern Puerto Rico proudly displays a silhouette of a flying saucer and two words: “Extraterrestrial Route.”

Most Puerto Ricans laughed when a horse farmer installed the sign on his property at the request of Reynaldo Rios, a local elementary school teacher who says he’s been communicating with alien visitors to this U.S. territory since he was a child.

Rios, a 39-year-old with a goatee and a shock of dark hair, won’t be ignored. With the blessing of a local government desperate for tourist dollars, he’s dedicated himself to building the UFO landing strip.

Gotta love dreamers, even if they are the tinfoil wearing kind!

Al Qaeda has launched an Internet News Network called the Voice of the Caliphate, and you can guess what kind of stuff they are saying:

In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate. The headlines of this news summary: Gaza has been liberated – a great victory, yet a weighty responsibility. In Iraq, Abu Mus’ab Al-Zarqawi declares a war of Sunni vengeance, and Hurricane Katrina is the beginning of the divine, just punishment.

[...]

Welcome to the program “The Nation’s Weekly News Summary.” First, the “Sout Al-Khilafa” team sends its best wishes to the Islamic nation for the defeat of the Zionist occupation in a portion of occupied Palestine. We also congratulate ourselves on the destruction caused in America, by one of Allah’s soldiers. The Muslim multitudes in Palestine were seen thronging to the liberated lands, waving the banner of victory. Meanwhile, the mouthpieces of the so-called Palestinian Authority spoke about disarming the mujahideen under the pretext of what they called “the weapons anarchy.” But the response of the mujahideen groups on the front lines was clear. They announced their refusal to disarm as long as the occupier remains in the land of the Muslims.

We now move on to the occupied land, to the land of the Caliphate, the glorious land of Iraq. The American wolves, and behind them the Rafidite Shiite dogs, have desecrated our (women’s) honor in Tel’afar and other Sunni cities, while the Muslims and the scholars of the Sultans keep silent. The valiant hero, the Emir of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Mus’ab Al-Zarqawi, rose to defend the honor of the pure Muslim women in the robbed land of Iraq. In two consecutive communiques, he declared the beginning of the Sunni vengeance raid.

The entire Islamic world overflowed with joy when Hurricane Katrina struck in America, which seemed to reel from the strength of the hurricane and went asking for aid from all the countries of the world. Broken and completely humiliated, George Bush, a fool who is being obeyed, announced his obvious incapability to deal with the wrath of Allah that visited the city of homosexuals.

LOL

Ok, I gotta say: I love it. This is great. If anyone ever doubted the insanity and viciousness of those people, this is the eprfect way to erase all doubt. I just hope they broadcast this on the nightly news, so the anti-war protestors can see whom they defend.

On another note, I find the fact that they launched this news Bulletin, right around the same time when it seemed that Tayseer Alouni’s indictment was inevitable, sort of telling. They lost their boy at Al Jazeera, so they went ahead and created their own network. Say what you say, those boys have a sense of initiative.

Ohh, yeah, and they also showed solidarity with him in a special boradcast:

According to the breaking news report, which just appeared on the Qatari Al-Jazeera TV, the Spanish court deliberating the case of our Muslim brother, Tayseer ‘Alouni, sentenced him to seven years in prison. The Sout Al-Khilafa media company released a communique over the internet, harshly condemning the conduct of the Spanish Crusader infidel court towards the Muslim journalist Tayseer ‘Alouni, a reporter for the Qatari Al-Jazeera TV. The communique expressed complete solidarity with our brother Tayseer ‘Alouni in this crisis and in light of the injustice from which he is suffering because of his reliable and completely objective reporting, which complied with the internationally accepted journalistic standards.

Yeah! Al Qaeda morons, I would like to inform you that calling him a brother, isn’t really helping his case. He is trying to prove he is not affiliated with you guys. Good job on screwing him over further you morons. Keep it up!

The democrats are truly scraping the bottom of the barrel with this:

Virginia hasn’t been kind to Hollywood celebrities who dabble in politics. That hasn’t stopped rumors that actor Ben Affleck is being courted to challenge Republican George F. Allen for his U.S. Senate seat in 2008.

The tidbit appeared this week in The Washington Post’s gossip column, which also noted that Affleck has been spotted shopping for property near Charlottesville. On Monday, C. Richard Cranwell, chairman of the state Democratic Party, declined to discuss Affleck. Affleck’s publicist has denied the chatter.

The dude hasn’t had a hit on his hands for years, clearly the kind of winning material for a democratic candidate for the US Senate. No?

Giving this the “Complaint Letter of the Year” award is no overstatement. It’s that good!