Soccer can be interesting:
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
History does repeat ...
In response to the horror that was Adolf Hitler, Charlie Chaplin made a film titled "The Great Dictator" in which he - with humor both subtle and bludgeoning - rebuked in the most strident of terms the idolatry of Hitler.
This video is of the 'final' speech of the film and it is as true today as it was in 1941 with the horror that is the shrub and the cabal (idolaters of that certain Austrian paper hanger) and McPain and Palen wanting to continue the same old same old.
This video is of the 'final' speech of the film and it is as true today as it was in 1941 with the horror that is the shrub and the cabal (idolaters of that certain Austrian paper hanger) and McPain and Palen wanting to continue the same old same old.
The nude photos didn't hurt after all
A bit more fluff:
Vanessa Hudgens is now a millionare.
The star of Disney's "High School Musical"
is listed in Forbes Magazine's 2008 top paid performers.
Vanessa Hudgens is now a millionare.
The star of Disney's "High School Musical"
is listed in Forbes Magazine's 2008 top paid performers.
No votes from her friends ...
Even Palin's friends won't vote for her!
And the repugicans think the rest of us will?!
Damn, if they are that deluded (and they are) I have some land about three miles east of Miami I'd like to unload - cheap.
Damn, if they are that deluded (and they are) I have some land about three miles east of Miami I'd like to unload - cheap.
And I Quote
"Anybody who believes that the Republicans can fix the mess they created
probably believes that the iceberg could have saved the Titanic."
~ Hillary Clinton
Read the NY TIMES article here.
~ Hillary Clinton
Read the NY TIMES article here.
Salvia Divinorum
Salvia divinorum is a very potent psychoactive herb that has intense dissociative effects when smoked. According to researchers, it's likely the most potent natural hallucinogen gram for gram. Salvia divinorum is mostly legal in the United States, but maybe not for much longer. YouTube has thousands of videos of people tripping on it and lawmakers are now pointing to those clips as evidence that the herb should be criminalized. Meanwhile, it's also being studied by pharmacologists for possible use in treating pain, depression, and addiction.
From the New York Times:
From the New York Times:
When the federal government this year published its first estimates of salvia use, the data astonished many: some 1.8 million people had tried it in their lifetimes, including 750,000 in the previous year. Among males 18 to 25, where consumption is heaviest, nearly 3 percent reported using salvia in the previous year, making it twice as prevalent as LSD and nearly as popular as Ecstasy.
Recent studies at college campuses on both coasts have yielded estimates as high as 7 percent. The herb’s presence on military ships and bases has prompted enough concern about readiness that the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology was asked to develop the first urinalysis for salvia and is now testing 50 samples a month....
“We have this incredible new compound, the first in its class; it absolutely has potential medical use, and here we’re talking about throttling it because some people get intoxicated on it,” said Dr. John Mendelson, a pharmacologist at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute who, with federal financing, is studying salvia’s impact on humans. “It couldn’t be more foolish from a business point of view.”
Ralph Stanley Endorses Obama
Ralph Stanley endorses Obama!
What makes this important?
Well, if you know anything about music you know who Ralph Stanley is and if you know anything about the fan base Stanley has you have the answer to the question above.
For those two or three who do not know who he is or who his fan base are ... think true conservative, real American values, mean what they say and live by their word people - the people the repugicans are deluded about being 'their' base.
And they will follow Stanley's lead.
See the full story here.
What makes this important?
Well, if you know anything about music you know who Ralph Stanley is and if you know anything about the fan base Stanley has you have the answer to the question above.
For those two or three who do not know who he is or who his fan base are ... think true conservative, real American values, mean what they say and live by their word people - the people the repugicans are deluded about being 'their' base.
And they will follow Stanley's lead.
See the full story here.
Ike is getting stronger and heading for Texas
Hurricane Ike grew stronger as it barreled across the warm, energizing waters of the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday toward the Texas coast after crashing through Cuba's tobacco country and toppling aging Havana buildings.
Forecasters said the Category 1 storm at 4pm eastern time (now a Category 2 at 5:30pm eastern time) could become a major Category 3 hurricane before slamming into Texas or northern Mexico on Saturday.
Texas officials have started to evacuate the first of millions of residents who could be in the storm's path.
Ike has bloomed to a Category 2 storm and was likely to grow even stronger before its predicted strike on the Texas coast early Saturday.
Officials in Matagorda County, about halfway between Houston and Corpus Christi, began a mandatory evacuation for residents in its coastal portions.
County Judge Nate McDonald said his region expected to be the epicenter of the storm.
If more Texas officials order a mandatory exodus, it would be the first large-scale evacuation in South Texas history.
State and county officials let people decide for themselves whether to leave a hurricane area until just before Hurricane Rita struck the Gulf Coast in 2005.
Now county officials can order people out of harm's way.
Texas emergency officials were taking no chances with the lives of its medically fragile citizens. Residents with special needs in the Corpus Christi area were set to start leaving by bus for San Antonio, and the state opened a northbound shoulder lane on Interstate 37 to accommodate the heavier traffic created by people who wished to leave.
Forecasters said the Category 1 storm at 4pm eastern time (now a Category 2 at 5:30pm eastern time) could become a major Category 3 hurricane before slamming into Texas or northern Mexico on Saturday.
Texas officials have started to evacuate the first of millions of residents who could be in the storm's path.
Ike has bloomed to a Category 2 storm and was likely to grow even stronger before its predicted strike on the Texas coast early Saturday.
Officials in Matagorda County, about halfway between Houston and Corpus Christi, began a mandatory evacuation for residents in its coastal portions.
County Judge Nate McDonald said his region expected to be the epicenter of the storm.
If more Texas officials order a mandatory exodus, it would be the first large-scale evacuation in South Texas history.
State and county officials let people decide for themselves whether to leave a hurricane area until just before Hurricane Rita struck the Gulf Coast in 2005.
Now county officials can order people out of harm's way.
Texas emergency officials were taking no chances with the lives of its medically fragile citizens. Residents with special needs in the Corpus Christi area were set to start leaving by bus for San Antonio, and the state opened a northbound shoulder lane on Interstate 37 to accommodate the heavier traffic created by people who wished to leave.
Wine critic Parker facing defamation charges
A Paris investigating judge has filed preliminary charges against influential American wine critic Robert M. Parker for alleged defamation against a former assistant, judicial officials said Wednesday.
The judge is looking into a lawsuit brought by Parker's former assistant Hanna Agostini, who broke with the critic and co-authored a book in France with a title that translates as "Robert Parker: Anatomy of a Myth."
Agostini, who brought the case last year, herself faces preliminary charges in Bordeaux involving alleged forgery in a wine-trafficking affair centering on Belgian wine trader Geens.
She denies the allegations.
The charges were filed Friday against Parker for writing on his Internet site that Agostini "could end up stagnating in prison," and for misrepresenting the penalties that she faces, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
Parker's lawyer said the critic declined comment about the case.
He was fined $2,820 by a Paris court in March for violating Agostini's presumption of innocence.
"Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide" is a well-known reference book, and his recommendations can make or break winemakers.
His publication, the Wine Advocate, assigns scores of up to 100 points to the wines it samples.
He has been called the most powerful critic in the world.
The judge is looking into a lawsuit brought by Parker's former assistant Hanna Agostini, who broke with the critic and co-authored a book in France with a title that translates as "Robert Parker: Anatomy of a Myth."
Agostini, who brought the case last year, herself faces preliminary charges in Bordeaux involving alleged forgery in a wine-trafficking affair centering on Belgian wine trader Geens.
She denies the allegations.
The charges were filed Friday against Parker for writing on his Internet site that Agostini "could end up stagnating in prison," and for misrepresenting the penalties that she faces, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
Parker's lawyer said the critic declined comment about the case.
He was fined $2,820 by a Paris court in March for violating Agostini's presumption of innocence.
"Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide" is a well-known reference book, and his recommendations can make or break winemakers.
His publication, the Wine Advocate, assigns scores of up to 100 points to the wines it samples.
He has been called the most powerful critic in the world.
Governator to be recalled
The union representing state prison guards filed a formal notice Tuesday that it will seek to recall governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Once the notice is certified by the secretary of state, the union has 160 days to collect slightly more than 1 million signatures to place the question before voters during a special election next year.
Once the notice is certified by the secretary of state, the union has 160 days to collect slightly more than 1 million signatures to place the question before voters during a special election next year.
*****
I wish them luck (though they really don't need any ... with the way the 'governator' has fucked up California collecting a million signatures will be a breeze).
Susan Sarandon's daughter says mom's fashion-challenged
Now for a bit of fluff:
Eva Amurri says she has nothing in common with mother Susan Sarandon when it come to style.
"She is really very very very disinterested in fashion," Amurri said at the Tuesday night presentation of Max Azria's spring collection at New York Fashion Week.
"She doesn't care. She wears her gym clothes from when she comes back from the gym until night. Sometimes she puts a jacket over it if I really beg her to, but she doesn't really care very much."
The 23-year-old actress is Sarandon's daughter with Italian filmmaker Franco Amurri. Sarandon, 61, has two other children by her longtime partner, actor Tim Robbins.
Amurri starred alongside Sarandon in the 2002 film "The Banger Sisters." Her other credits include the 2004 dark comedy "Saved!" and the upcoming "New York, I Love You."
Eva Amurri says she has nothing in common with mother Susan Sarandon when it come to style.
"She is really very very very disinterested in fashion," Amurri said at the Tuesday night presentation of Max Azria's spring collection at New York Fashion Week.
"She doesn't care. She wears her gym clothes from when she comes back from the gym until night. Sometimes she puts a jacket over it if I really beg her to, but she doesn't really care very much."
The 23-year-old actress is Sarandon's daughter with Italian filmmaker Franco Amurri. Sarandon, 61, has two other children by her longtime partner, actor Tim Robbins.
Amurri starred alongside Sarandon in the 2002 film "The Banger Sisters." Her other credits include the 2004 dark comedy "Saved!" and the upcoming "New York, I Love You."
No questions; Palin sticks to her script
John McCain took a risk in picking little-known Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as a running mate, but now the campaign's playing it safer. She's sticking to a greatest hits version of her convention speech on the campaign trail and steering clear of questions until she's comfortable enough for a hand-picked interviewer later this week.
More than 40 million people tuned in last week to listen to the speech from Palin, the 44-year-old, first-term governor whom McCain announced as his surprise vice presidential pick just days before. Since then, that basic script is all anyone has heard from her publicly, and her only interaction with the media was a brief conversation with a small group of reporters on her plane Monday - off the record at her handlers' insistence.
An aide told the journalists on board that all Palin flights would be off the record unless the media were told otherwise. At least one reporter objected. Two people on the flight said the Palins greeted the media and they chatted about who had been to Alaska, but little else was said.
By comparison, her Democratic counterpart, Joe Biden, has been campaigning on his own, at times taking questions from audiences. He split off to campaign separately from Barack Obama the day after Obama announced his selection. They reunited at their party's convention and spent the following weekend campaigning together.
Biden's appearances have touched on a range of issues - in Florida he talked about U.S. support for Israel, in Pennsylvania it was economics and tax policy. He was interviewed on NBC's "Meet the Press" last Sunday
Amid growing sniping from Democrats, the McCain campaign announced that Palin would sit down for her first interview this week, with ABC. It will take place over two days at her home in Alaska.
And then?
McCain campaign manager Rick Davis has said Palin will "agree to an interview when we think it's time and when she feels comfortable doing it."
"She's not scared to answer questions," Davis said on "Fox News Sunday."
So far, Palin has barely spoken with voters either. Since the convention, she and McCain have breezed through a Wisconsin ice cream shop, a New Mexico restaurant and a Missouri barbecue place, shaking hands with diners but not taking any questions. Photographers and television cameras have been allowed full view while reporters are typically kept too far away to ask questions or hear most of the conversations.
Her public remarks essentially have been excerpts of her convention speech, delivered while introducing McCain at rallies.
Her schedule released Tuesday shows she will attend a "welcome home" rally in Fairbanks, Alaska, on Wednesday evening - her first major campaign appearance without McCain at her side and his advisers hanging in the wings.
To be sure, all candidates running for office give the same remarks over and over - Barack Obama's stump speech has hardly changed throughout the campaign, and McCain has been telling familiar stories and jokes for months.
But none of the candidates in this race has been so shielded from the media, so protected from any spontaneous situation, and Palin's unvarying remarks give the impression that she and her message are being tightly controlled.
As before her convention speech, McCain's campaign is briefing Palin for her first TV interview.
After a rally Tuesday in Lancaster, Pa., a group of supporters waiting outside to shake hands with McCain and Palin screamed for her to jump up on an outdoor platform, as McCain had just done, and speak to them.
"Speech! Speech!" they cried. She continued down the line, shaking hands, and then hopped into an SUV.
In her prepared remarks, there are always descriptions of McCain as a "man who's there to serve his country and not just his party." He's someone who's "not looking for a fight but is not afraid of one either." He "doesn't run with the Washington herd." He's the only man in this election "who has ever really fought for you."
And always the same details about herself, how she "stood up to the special interests, the lobbyists, big oil companies and the good ol' boys network," as a mayor and then governor in Alaska.
A crowd favorite in her speech is that story about how she got rid of luxuries in the state Capitol, like a personal driver, chef and luxury jet.
"I put it on eBay," she says.
Audiences love this part, but what Palin never adds is that the jet didn't sell on eBay despite numerous attempts. The state eventually hired an aircraft broker to unload it.
More than 40 million people tuned in last week to listen to the speech from Palin, the 44-year-old, first-term governor whom McCain announced as his surprise vice presidential pick just days before. Since then, that basic script is all anyone has heard from her publicly, and her only interaction with the media was a brief conversation with a small group of reporters on her plane Monday - off the record at her handlers' insistence.
An aide told the journalists on board that all Palin flights would be off the record unless the media were told otherwise. At least one reporter objected. Two people on the flight said the Palins greeted the media and they chatted about who had been to Alaska, but little else was said.
By comparison, her Democratic counterpart, Joe Biden, has been campaigning on his own, at times taking questions from audiences. He split off to campaign separately from Barack Obama the day after Obama announced his selection. They reunited at their party's convention and spent the following weekend campaigning together.
Biden's appearances have touched on a range of issues - in Florida he talked about U.S. support for Israel, in Pennsylvania it was economics and tax policy. He was interviewed on NBC's "Meet the Press" last Sunday
Amid growing sniping from Democrats, the McCain campaign announced that Palin would sit down for her first interview this week, with ABC. It will take place over two days at her home in Alaska.
And then?
McCain campaign manager Rick Davis has said Palin will "agree to an interview when we think it's time and when she feels comfortable doing it."
"She's not scared to answer questions," Davis said on "Fox News Sunday."
So far, Palin has barely spoken with voters either. Since the convention, she and McCain have breezed through a Wisconsin ice cream shop, a New Mexico restaurant and a Missouri barbecue place, shaking hands with diners but not taking any questions. Photographers and television cameras have been allowed full view while reporters are typically kept too far away to ask questions or hear most of the conversations.
Her public remarks essentially have been excerpts of her convention speech, delivered while introducing McCain at rallies.
Her schedule released Tuesday shows she will attend a "welcome home" rally in Fairbanks, Alaska, on Wednesday evening - her first major campaign appearance without McCain at her side and his advisers hanging in the wings.
To be sure, all candidates running for office give the same remarks over and over - Barack Obama's stump speech has hardly changed throughout the campaign, and McCain has been telling familiar stories and jokes for months.
But none of the candidates in this race has been so shielded from the media, so protected from any spontaneous situation, and Palin's unvarying remarks give the impression that she and her message are being tightly controlled.
As before her convention speech, McCain's campaign is briefing Palin for her first TV interview.
After a rally Tuesday in Lancaster, Pa., a group of supporters waiting outside to shake hands with McCain and Palin screamed for her to jump up on an outdoor platform, as McCain had just done, and speak to them.
"Speech! Speech!" they cried. She continued down the line, shaking hands, and then hopped into an SUV.
In her prepared remarks, there are always descriptions of McCain as a "man who's there to serve his country and not just his party." He's someone who's "not looking for a fight but is not afraid of one either." He "doesn't run with the Washington herd." He's the only man in this election "who has ever really fought for you."
And always the same details about herself, how she "stood up to the special interests, the lobbyists, big oil companies and the good ol' boys network," as a mayor and then governor in Alaska.
A crowd favorite in her speech is that story about how she got rid of luxuries in the state Capitol, like a personal driver, chef and luxury jet.
"I put it on eBay," she says.
Audiences love this part, but what Palin never adds is that the jet didn't sell on eBay despite numerous attempts. The state eventually hired an aircraft broker to unload it.
Rain water helped NC woman survive ravine
A North Carolina woman said today (Wednesday) she survived five days trapped in a wrecked truck at the bottom of a ravine by squeezing water from a leaf and thinking about her family.
Amber Pennell said on NBC's "Today" show that she doesn't remember the crash Aug. 20 on U.S. Hwy. 321 in Lenoir, in rural western North Carolina, or much about the five days she spent trapped in the truck, covered by thick kudzu vines.
Pennell said she reached out a broken window to squeeze water from a leaf and recalls hearing helicopters as about 100 searchers looked for her.
The 21-year-old woman was rescued after searchers checked the location again, saw faint tire tracks and then saw part of her truck.
Pennell is recovering from a broken leg and broken arm and other injuries.
She sat in a wheelchair during the interview and wore a pink cast on her right forearm.
She said thoughts of her two children and her husband buoyed her during the ordeal.
Pennell also said she doesn't remember going off the road as she drove home after a shift at a restaurant.
"I know my children kept me going," she said. "My children mean everything to me. There's no doubt in my mind they are what kept me going and my husband kept me going."
Pennell also said she hopes to be walking soon.
"I know I will again, I just don't know how long it will take," she said. "I'm giving it a week, that's my goal, but you know, it could be a lot longer."
Amber Pennell said on NBC's "Today" show that she doesn't remember the crash Aug. 20 on U.S. Hwy. 321 in Lenoir, in rural western North Carolina, or much about the five days she spent trapped in the truck, covered by thick kudzu vines.
Pennell said she reached out a broken window to squeeze water from a leaf and recalls hearing helicopters as about 100 searchers looked for her.
The 21-year-old woman was rescued after searchers checked the location again, saw faint tire tracks and then saw part of her truck.
Pennell is recovering from a broken leg and broken arm and other injuries.
She sat in a wheelchair during the interview and wore a pink cast on her right forearm.
She said thoughts of her two children and her husband buoyed her during the ordeal.
Pennell also said she doesn't remember going off the road as she drove home after a shift at a restaurant.
"I know my children kept me going," she said. "My children mean everything to me. There's no doubt in my mind they are what kept me going and my husband kept me going."
Pennell also said she hopes to be walking soon.
"I know I will again, I just don't know how long it will take," she said. "I'm giving it a week, that's my goal, but you know, it could be a lot longer."
Scientists cheer atom smasher's success
Scientists today (Wednesday) applauded as one of the most ambitious experiments ever conceived got successfully underway, with protons being fired around a 27-kilometer (17-mile) tunnel deep beneath the border of France and Switzerland in an attempt to unlock the secrets of the universe.
The Large Hadron Collider -- a $9 billion particle accelerator designed to simulate conditions of the Big Bang that created the physical Universe -- was switched on at 0732 GMT to cheers and applause from experts gathered to witness the event.
While observers were left nonplussed by the anticlimactic flashing dots on a TV screen that signalled the machine's successful test run, among teams of scientists involved around the world there were jubilant celebrations and popping champagne corks.
Now if it only doesn't create a 'black hole' we should be okay.
Freaky Friday
There have been some strange things happen in this world and this political campaign has it's share.
Gordon Smith over @ ScrutinyHooligans said it well when he said:
"I just saw a McCain/Palin ad claiming that Barack Obama is “more of the same” and that McCain will bring “change”.
Want to read more of what Gordon has to say? Then check out www.ScrutinyHooligans.us
Gordon Smith over @ ScrutinyHooligans said it well when he said:
"I just saw a McCain/Palin ad claiming that Barack Obama is “more of the same” and that McCain will bring “change”.
The McCain folks are really going to try to pull a Freaky Friday and turn McCain into Obama and Obama into McCain. McCain is the change candidate? That’s absurd on its face. Obama is more of the same? If “the same” were sane foreign policy, true energy independence, affordable health care for every American, and tax cuts for the middle class, then McCain would be right.
But the fact is that he’s simply lying and expecting that folks won’t notice. It’s one of the most bizarre things I’ve ever seen."
*****
Try as I might I cannot fathom how stupid the repugicans think Americans are?! Even though as a whole Americans have a stupid gene that rears its ugly head every so often and they do idiotic things like vote for Raygun ... TWICE!Want to read more of what Gordon has to say? Then check out www.ScrutinyHooligans.us
Daily Horoscope
You're finding the answers you're seeking. Others admire your imagination and your sense of humor.
Sometime the daily horoscope gets it right! Wow!
Enron shareholders and investors will split billions
In the largest settlement in the history of U.S. securities fraud cases, Enron shareholders and investors will split more than $7.2 billion from financial institutions accused of playing a role in the energy giant's downfall.
About 1.5 million people and entities are eligible to share in the distribution of the money, according to Dan Newman, a spokesman for the law firm that represented the lead plaintiffs.
"Investors will get an average of $6.79 per share of common stock and an average of $168.50 per share of preferred stock," Newman said.
To be eligible for the settlement, investors and shareholders needed to have purchased Enron or Enron-related securities between September 9, 1997, and December 2, 2001.
Carolina Naturally is read in ...
Carolina Naturally is read in:
Vienna, Austria; Bucharest, Romania; Thessaloniki, Greece;
Brisbane, Australia; Beirut , Lebanon; Treviso, Italy;
Tehran, Iran; Santiago, Chile; Kuching, Malaysia;
Auckland, New Zealand; Budapest, Hungary; Nahariya, Israel;
Seville, Spain; Dublin, Ireland; Ahmedabad, India;
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Toronto, Ontario; Berlin, Germany;
Abbotsford, British Columbia; Birmingham, England; London England;
and all over the United States.
Even in Wasilla, Alaska!
Brisbane, Australia; Beirut , Lebanon; Treviso, Italy;
Tehran, Iran; Santiago, Chile; Kuching, Malaysia;
Auckland, New Zealand; Budapest, Hungary; Nahariya, Israel;
Seville, Spain; Dublin, Ireland; Ahmedabad, India;
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Toronto, Ontario; Berlin, Germany;
Abbotsford, British Columbia; Birmingham, England; London England;
and all over the United States.
Even in Wasilla, Alaska!
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