Last night I got a call from "Buck Redhorse", my sometimes spiritual advisor and drinking buddy. He said he was calling to warn me that he had seen the omens and the signs were clear: The Spurs were going to lose game 3 of the NBA playoffs against Phoenix on Saturday.
It was well after midnight when he called and I was in no mood for games.
"What have you been smoking, you freak?" I demanded. "Because no sober man would dare call me at this hour and make such a nightmarish prediction."
"It's true," he said. "I saw it in a dream. I know about these things. Don't forget, man, I'm striaght off the Rez. Believe me, the Spurs? They're going to lose."
"You'll excuse me if I don't cancel my bets over a dream," I told him, deciding that if he wasn't stoned then I was too sober.
Buck isn't a bad guy but he's a relic for me, a reminder of a time in my life when such a warning would have sent me leaping for a lucky charm or some kind of totem to help dispel and ward off the ill-tidings. Buck is the otherway around. When he left the reservation as a young man he joined the military and never looked back until he started going myopic. After that he went back home and spent several years studying "Traditional Ways".
"I saw it," He insisted. "I was in the dark, and I was stumbling around while these black birds flew all around me. They started pecking at me and there was nothing I could do. Then, suddenly, there was a man in a mask, who ran in on flaming feet. He started squashing the birds and they attacked him too but he was unstoppable. And then I saw a huge black bird with silver eyes and he was crying like that old indian in the litter commercial, like he was just to shocked to do anything but stand around and cry ."
"The hell you say," I growled at him, ready to end the foolishness, but my curiosity got the better of me. "What the hell do you mean a man in a mask? The Lone Ranger has no jump shot."
"Listen, fool, I know what I'm talking about," he said. "It can only mean one thing. "
"That the Spurs are going to lose? I don't get it, Buck. It makes no sense."
"You're not looking a the signs...It means Joe Johnson is going to play in game 3 and he's going to wear a plastic face guard to protect his injuries and that the Spurs are going down on Saturday."
(Joe Johnson Story from MSN-http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/3643910)
I'd had enough of this old mans crap. "They still haven't got a prayer," I declared. "The Suns are doomed in San Antonio, and that's not a dream, that's the way it's going to be," I told him. "The hell with your masked man."
I placed a side bet with him and hung up and afterward I sat out on the patio to do some serious drinking. I needed time to think about this sudden development. In the last two games the Spurs seemed to break a small sweat to beat the Suns in Phoenix but suddenly the fact that San Antonio is the best home team in the NBA didn't seem to matter as much as it had.
The 6ft 7in, 23 year old, Johnson, who had his best season since his debut in 2001, was side-lined May 12 with a face fracture after being fouled by the Dallas Mavericks Jerry Stackhouse. In every match-up in the regular season he has done a superb job of guarding Tony Parker and is the Suns best 3-point shooter.
Word on the street here has been subdued. I get the feeling that no one wants to say the word "sweep" for fear of putting the kaibosh on the next two wins. There is a lack of the usual hype. Fewer signs and banners on the streets and on cars, not as many people wearing Spurs gear, as if the city is holding its breath until after Saturdays game.
And then it hit me: I was being psyched out. That crafty old man was trying to rattle my nerves. But why? It occured to me that Ol'Buck is always so fond of saying he's "Stright off the Rez" but it never occured to me to ask him where that reservation is, exactly. Arizona, perhaps? San Antonio's 2 away victories over the Suns were hard earned but clear-cut wins, and won with an effort I've not seen in them since they took the Rings in 2003. I called Buck back and told him off.
"It's going to take a lot more than Joe Johnson and his damn mask," I told him, "to help save the Suns. There're demoralized and they're desperate and that's going to make all the difference in the world at the SBC center."
"Believe what you want but the Suns are gonna shine, man."
"Where exactly is that Reservation of yours, Buck?"
Buck started to laugh. "Now, you're reading the signs."
I upped the bet and hung up, once again confident that the Spurs have everything it takes to beat Phoenix.
I gave up being superstitious. It's too much effort, really and it gives up too much authority over my life. I take no chances anymore because suprises can come at you at anytime. Last years loss to the Long Lost Lakers cost me more than dollars and you never really know what side anyone else is on, so I still won't predict a Sweep, but I will say that, no matter how the next game goes, the Suns have no place left to go but down.
Friday, May 27, 2005
Oh, but how will they carve the Christmas Goose?
BBC NEWS | Health | Doctors' kitchen knives ban call
Where will it end? I mean one has to take action, yes, but isn't this a little extreme?
Where will it end? I mean one has to take action, yes, but isn't this a little extreme?
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Melius tarde, quam nunquam
These charges have been brewing since it became clear that this wonky bird ran off and lied about being kidnapped. This should be a clear signal to bunny-boiling broads everywhere that their little piques and flights of whimsey that, for ages, have been used to excuse all manner of
irrational activity, should no longer be tolerated.
I mean, she needed alone time because she was under so much pressure from the wedding...Well, too freakin' bad. Are we to pity this foolishness? Deluth spent thousands of dollars in order to find her when they thought she was a victim of a crime. Not to mention how foolish all the well-meaning citizens who turned out to look for her must feel.
Take a look at her story at http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0513051wilbanks1.html
and see what you think.
irrational activity, should no longer be tolerated.
I mean, she needed alone time because she was under so much pressure from the wedding...Well, too freakin' bad. Are we to pity this foolishness? Deluth spent thousands of dollars in order to find her when they thought she was a victim of a crime. Not to mention how foolish all the well-meaning citizens who turned out to look for her must feel.
Take a look at her story at http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0513051wilbanks1.html
and see what you think.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Well, we knew that our San Antonio Spurs could do it but to see it happen just makes it all that much sweeter. In their own house, San Antonio rode in and shot it out to bring them up to a huge 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals. The entire regular season San Antonio and Phoenix were going back and forth on stats for the best team in the league. In the post season, however, stats no longer matter anymore and it's all about which team can go the distance. In the final game against Dallas the Spurs showed that they could out last and out distance their opposition. In game one against Phoenix the Spurs outplayed the Suns to a humiliating defeat and after tonight’s game, there is no more hope for the Leagues number one team.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Kudzu
*SNIP*
May 17, 2005
Summary: Kudzu and Binge Drinking Study
By The Associated Press
ASSOCIATED PRESS
POWERFUL PLANT: A small study suggests tablets made from the kudzu vine seem to curb the urge to keep drinking.
HOW IT WORKS: Scientists aren't sure but say the plant appears to speed up the effects of alcohol, so less of it is needed to satisfy people who binge-drink.
ALCOHOLICS' ANSWER? Scientists hope that one day kudzu's ingredients might lead to a drug that could help treat alcoholism.
------
I mentioned this to a friend of mine in Georgia who said "Man, I'm not eating kudzu!"
May 17, 2005
Summary: Kudzu and Binge Drinking Study
By The Associated Press
ASSOCIATED PRESS
POWERFUL PLANT: A small study suggests tablets made from the kudzu vine seem to curb the urge to keep drinking.
HOW IT WORKS: Scientists aren't sure but say the plant appears to speed up the effects of alcohol, so less of it is needed to satisfy people who binge-drink.
ALCOHOLICS' ANSWER? Scientists hope that one day kudzu's ingredients might lead to a drug that could help treat alcoholism.
------
I mentioned this to a friend of mine in Georgia who said "Man, I'm not eating kudzu!"
Anti-Terrorism- Egyptian Style
May 21, 2005
Egypt: Terror Ringleader Commits Suicide
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - The ringleader of three recent attacks that targeted Western tourists in Egypt has committed suicide, the prosecutor general said Saturday.
The official said 27-year-old Ashraf Saeed Youssef died Friday in the hospital he'd been transferred to a week ago for treatment after hitting his head several times against the wall of his prison cell.
*Snip*
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is what I was talking about a few days back. El Rais (da Prez) Hosni can't afford to take any chances considering how Sadat went out. This is how the Egypt I know and love used to take care of this sort of thing. It may not please the human rights advocates but they're not the ones who have to peddle crap to tourists to make a living. No tourists, no living. Let's call it, "Protecting Egypts National Interests".
Egypt: Terror Ringleader Commits Suicide
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - The ringleader of three recent attacks that targeted Western tourists in Egypt has committed suicide, the prosecutor general said Saturday.
The official said 27-year-old Ashraf Saeed Youssef died Friday in the hospital he'd been transferred to a week ago for treatment after hitting his head several times against the wall of his prison cell.
*Snip*
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is what I was talking about a few days back. El Rais (da Prez) Hosni can't afford to take any chances considering how Sadat went out. This is how the Egypt I know and love used to take care of this sort of thing. It may not please the human rights advocates but they're not the ones who have to peddle crap to tourists to make a living. No tourists, no living. Let's call it, "Protecting Egypts National Interests".
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Game Day
It's after 11:00 am...and i've been awake all night...sleep is for suckers anyway, an over rated band-aid for the day. What does it matter anway, now? It's too late to do anything about it. The bets are made and the teams are preparing for tonights Showdown. It's do or die for Seattle and the Spurs. Sleep won't make much difference now anyway but, what the hell...
Monday, May 16, 2005
C. Wright Mills: The Power Elite
C. Wright Mills wrote one of his most famous works, The Power Elite, at a time when the power structure of Post-World War II America was in a state of total flux. Having had a great interest in the writings of Karl Marx and Max Weber Mills expanded on their ideas of the growing unbalance of social stratification and rapid change. His Power Elite Model states that a powerful and unknown group that hold leading positions in military, business, and government make the important decisions, even in societies with seemingly democratic ideals. Although this was not a new idea it is interesting that Mills is the first credible academician to propose such a connection between, what he called, “Public Issues” and “Personal Troubles“.
In 1864, a French satirist named Maurice Joly published a pamphlet called Dialogues in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu in which he attacked Napoleon III. The plot of this story revolves around a fictitious demonic plot meant to represent the danger that the ruling class of France posed toward the people. Although probably plagiarized from other sources, Joly’s work is considered, by some, as the origins of an awful pamphlet used to justify some of the worst crimes of the 20th century, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
This wholly anti-Semitic and fictitious pamphlet has surfaced and resurfaced all over the world, at various times, to scare people into scapegoating the Jewish populations, from Russia, to Germany, to a recent publication in the United States by industrialist Henry Ford between WWI and WWII. Although the myths surrounding the Protocols origins link it to any number of names in the conspiracy theorists notebook, such as the Knights Templar, the Bavarian Illuminati, the Jesuits, and the Masons, what is interesting to note is that any reference to Jews in it can be replaced by any of the above mentioned sources and it would lose none of its hateful impact.
The Protocols “reveal” a sinister plot by powerful people to subjugate and subvert the populace by infiltrating their political, social, military, academic and financial institutions. The very existence of such propaganda reveals a deep fear which seems to have gone hand in hand with the Age of Revolution: a growing fear and distrust of the rich and the powerful ruling classes.
Mills’ view that this Power Elite operates beyond the democratic process, are members of the same social class, with similar backgrounds, educations, and goals brings up the suddenly very real possibility that a small and secretive group of people can hold an unbalanced amount of power over everyone else to their own unknown ends.
This takes on a darker significance when one looks at the events transpiring in the world, both at home and abroad, such as the Halliburton scandal, the connection with the Reagan administration and Iraq and the Taliban, and how so many of our own leaders, agencies, industrialists, scholars, financiers, and so on, are connected with groups which conspiracy watchers find recur again and again in different places and with different agendas but all with the same goal: Power.
Mills was very critical with his contemporaries and peers because they did not take a more active role in helping bring about social change. He recognized that the emergence of new ways to control peoples beliefs, lifestyles and actions could very well threaten to chip away at the democratic freedoms in the United States and lead people into social and political indifference. For conspiracy watchers, this has already happened and so long as it continues the Power Elite will continue to hold the fate of our country, if not the world in their hands
In 1864, a French satirist named Maurice Joly published a pamphlet called Dialogues in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu in which he attacked Napoleon III. The plot of this story revolves around a fictitious demonic plot meant to represent the danger that the ruling class of France posed toward the people. Although probably plagiarized from other sources, Joly’s work is considered, by some, as the origins of an awful pamphlet used to justify some of the worst crimes of the 20th century, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
This wholly anti-Semitic and fictitious pamphlet has surfaced and resurfaced all over the world, at various times, to scare people into scapegoating the Jewish populations, from Russia, to Germany, to a recent publication in the United States by industrialist Henry Ford between WWI and WWII. Although the myths surrounding the Protocols origins link it to any number of names in the conspiracy theorists notebook, such as the Knights Templar, the Bavarian Illuminati, the Jesuits, and the Masons, what is interesting to note is that any reference to Jews in it can be replaced by any of the above mentioned sources and it would lose none of its hateful impact.
The Protocols “reveal” a sinister plot by powerful people to subjugate and subvert the populace by infiltrating their political, social, military, academic and financial institutions. The very existence of such propaganda reveals a deep fear which seems to have gone hand in hand with the Age of Revolution: a growing fear and distrust of the rich and the powerful ruling classes.
Mills’ view that this Power Elite operates beyond the democratic process, are members of the same social class, with similar backgrounds, educations, and goals brings up the suddenly very real possibility that a small and secretive group of people can hold an unbalanced amount of power over everyone else to their own unknown ends.
This takes on a darker significance when one looks at the events transpiring in the world, both at home and abroad, such as the Halliburton scandal, the connection with the Reagan administration and Iraq and the Taliban, and how so many of our own leaders, agencies, industrialists, scholars, financiers, and so on, are connected with groups which conspiracy watchers find recur again and again in different places and with different agendas but all with the same goal: Power.
Mills was very critical with his contemporaries and peers because they did not take a more active role in helping bring about social change. He recognized that the emergence of new ways to control peoples beliefs, lifestyles and actions could very well threaten to chip away at the democratic freedoms in the United States and lead people into social and political indifference. For conspiracy watchers, this has already happened and so long as it continues the Power Elite will continue to hold the fate of our country, if not the world in their hands
Things are Heating Up!
NOAA News Online (Story 2437)
Make sure you check out the image links on the above page. They're quite impressive.
Make sure you check out the image links on the above page. They're quite impressive.
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Spurs Meet Sonics in Game 4
In just a few minutes the San Antonio Spurs will go head to head against the Seattle Supersonics in game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals. Although this game isn't a must win for San Antonio, it means life or death to Seattle.
Fiesta Week is around the corner -A win on this game would go a long way in making it very festive indeed.
Fiesta Week is around the corner -A win on this game would go a long way in making it very festive indeed.
New Links at the Right
I've added a few new links over on the right for your entertainment and such. These are just a few of the places I spend my time searching for more wierdness. Yes, My Freaky Darlings... This is how I spend my time.
Feel free to let me know what you think of anything you find on those sites...Please, share your thoughts with the rest of us.
Feel free to let me know what you think of anything you find on those sites...Please, share your thoughts with the rest of us.
Friday, May 13, 2005
Texans, We Find *any* Excuse for a Party
Las Vegas SUN: Judge Apologizes for Courtroom Party: "Judge Apologizes for Courtroom Party
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS (AP) - A judge who threw a courtroom party with balloons and cake to celebrate the recapture of a man who fled during his trial has apologized after a state panel admonished her.
Dallas District Judge Faith Johnson served ice cream and hung streamers for a court proceeding last year in which Billy Wayne Williams discovered he had been sentenced in absentia to life in prison.
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct, which issued the public admonition, also discovered that Johnson had planned for a TV crew to capture Williams' expression when he entered the courtroom.
'If my celebration of the return of fugitive Billy Wayne Williams offended any member of the community, I deeply apologize,' Johnson wrote in a statement released Thursday.
In 2003, Johnson granted Williams a personal recognizance bond before he disappeared during his aggravated assault trial; he was captured nearly a year later. He was accused of choking his girlfriend to the point of unconsciousness.
Johnson initially defended her actions, saying that getting a killer and abuser of women off the streets was reason to celebrate.
--
*SNIP*
Ah yes, Texas loves a party. The reason the Mexican forces retook San Antonio de Bejar without a shot in Febuary of 1836 was because the defenders were still partying from Crocketts arrival and Washingtons Birthday. I know people that have execution parties everytime the State executes an inmate. Once you've partied over that there's very little else for which one will not party.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS (AP) - A judge who threw a courtroom party with balloons and cake to celebrate the recapture of a man who fled during his trial has apologized after a state panel admonished her.
Dallas District Judge Faith Johnson served ice cream and hung streamers for a court proceeding last year in which Billy Wayne Williams discovered he had been sentenced in absentia to life in prison.
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct, which issued the public admonition, also discovered that Johnson had planned for a TV crew to capture Williams' expression when he entered the courtroom.
'If my celebration of the return of fugitive Billy Wayne Williams offended any member of the community, I deeply apologize,' Johnson wrote in a statement released Thursday.
In 2003, Johnson granted Williams a personal recognizance bond before he disappeared during his aggravated assault trial; he was captured nearly a year later. He was accused of choking his girlfriend to the point of unconsciousness.
Johnson initially defended her actions, saying that getting a killer and abuser of women off the streets was reason to celebrate.
--
*SNIP*
Ah yes, Texas loves a party. The reason the Mexican forces retook San Antonio de Bejar without a shot in Febuary of 1836 was because the defenders were still partying from Crocketts arrival and Washingtons Birthday. I know people that have execution parties everytime the State executes an inmate. Once you've partied over that there's very little else for which one will not party.
Spurs Stumble to the Sonics 91-92
Well, the Spurs are still up 2 games to the Sonics 1 but Duncan should have made that last shot and avoided helping sink a shot for Seattle. Seattle's D was stronger this time than the last two games in Texas but with any luck the Spurs will find a way around them or through them next time.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Astrologer pissed at Comet Dissed
Astrologer to sue NASA over comet plans. 07/05/2005. ABC News Online
Okay, now this is just wacky. I mean I'll read my horoscope every now and again for shits and giggles but this is almost as bad as those nuts in Kansas who want to take evolution out of their text books. What's next? Will someone sue to have the law of gravity repealed? I tell ya, my freaky darlings, the world is getting stranger and the people on it dumber.
We need an Exit Strategy.
Any Ideas?
Okay, now this is just wacky. I mean I'll read my horoscope every now and again for shits and giggles but this is almost as bad as those nuts in Kansas who want to take evolution out of their text books. What's next? Will someone sue to have the law of gravity repealed? I tell ya, my freaky darlings, the world is getting stranger and the people on it dumber.
We need an Exit Strategy.
Any Ideas?
CIA heading to the Rockies
DenverPost.com - LOCAL NEWS
Like a state losing a national franchise team it seems that there are rumblings that the C.I.A. is moving it's operations to Denver. It would make sense. Denver is a lovely place. Among the Conspiracy circles there are people whispering all sorts of things but the truth is no one is certain if, or why this move is going to take place.
One thing is for certain...It's not for the beer. Let's keep our ears and eyes open for further developments...
Like a state losing a national franchise team it seems that there are rumblings that the C.I.A. is moving it's operations to Denver. It would make sense. Denver is a lovely place. Among the Conspiracy circles there are people whispering all sorts of things but the truth is no one is certain if, or why this move is going to take place.
One thing is for certain...It's not for the beer. Let's keep our ears and eyes open for further developments...
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Spurs Kick Ass, Seattle Hopes
The Spurs comanded a superb lead tonight against Seattle. The Sonics looked less than Super as they struggled against a masterful Spurs D, stumbling over their own players and hoping for Ref calls in their favor to even out the odds.
No Such Luck. San Antonio commanded the game all the way through, leaving the Seattle weeping in their wake.
No Such Luck. San Antonio commanded the game all the way through, leaving the Seattle weeping in their wake.
Well it was Disney, damnit...
For those that expected more out of the Alamo Movie, I feel your pain. There was so much going for it...The potential for it to have been a visually stunning, historically sensitive, well-crafted work of art was completely shot out of a 20 pound cannon...For all the complains about it though...Remember, My Freaky Darlings, it was given the Disney Treatment. So, it seems that we will have to wait for someone more able and better visioned to, finally, give us a True Vision of the Grand Texican Epic.
WorldNetDaily: Nickelodeon tells kids: Alamo fought for slavery
WorldNetDaily: Nickelodeon tells kids: Alamo fought for slavery
This is disgusting. Revisionist historians are the lowest kind of scum and it's even lower to try and pull this crap on our children. As far as I'm concerned one should do the research for themselves and come to their own concusions. That's another thing...what kind of stupid kids would get thei history from the channel who's gimmick is green sludge?
This is disgusting. Revisionist historians are the lowest kind of scum and it's even lower to try and pull this crap on our children. As far as I'm concerned one should do the research for themselves and come to their own concusions. That's another thing...what kind of stupid kids would get thei history from the channel who's gimmick is green sludge?
Monday, May 09, 2005
Proximo satis pro Administratio
None are so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free.
--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Freedom's just another word for Nothing Left to Lose...
--Janice Joplin
There's really no excuse for it. It's well into the start of the 21st century and nothing but nothing has been done yet. Alot has happened but, as Hem once said "Never mistake motion for action". And motion is all that went on today at Egypts Shura Council vote to reform the Egyptian election process. This is a big step for a country that, just ten years ago, was still, effectively, a military regime, albeit, one friendly to the United States.
"Elsewhere, tho, members of Egypts outlaw party, The Muslim Brotherhood,
demonstrated.:"Where is freedom? Security stands in the way," the protesters
chanted. "The Muslim Brothers are imprisoned because of religion," others
claimed"
*snip*(Full Article at http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-egypt-presidential-elections,0,553550.story?page=2&coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines)
Mubarak is old and he knows it. There's a joke they tell in Egypt. It goes, "When Naguib chose a vice president he looked for someone dumber than he and found Nasser. When it came time for Nasser to choose a vice president he looked for someone dumber than he and he chose Sadat. Sadat, following the same tradition, looked for someone dumber than he and, for his vice president, he chose Mubarek. Mubarake has been president for24 years and has not yet chosen a vice president. He is still looking. "
Since Sadat got himself offed in '81 at that parade out in Masr Gedida, Hosni hasn't faced serious opposition in these referendum elections. Back in the 1993 election there was already so much tension going on over there on the streets tht most people felt the whole process was a joke. If one cannot change it, said one guy, might as well laugh at it.
That's the Egyptian attitude about such things. Ma'lesh, they say. Never mind, it doesn't matter. These things build up after some time. Who was it that said that reform is nothing but pressure and time? Da Hoz's critics want to paint him as some kind of Stalinist despot but don't be fooled. He's a private man but not by any means a tyrant.
The opposition points to his harsh treatment during security round ups of suspected terrorists and their families but these tactics have kept Egypt a reletively safe place for tourists. Hosni has to do that. He must, above all, protect the tourist industry in Egypt.
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Game One In SA
The San Antonio Spurs took down the Seatle Sonics at the SBC center tonight in front of a capacity crowd of cheering fans. The Spurs took charge and kept it, leading Seattle by as much as 30 points, breezing through a feeble defense and coming out to win game one in round 2 103 to 81.
Yes, the Sonics have trouble. Trouble in the form of Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. There seems to be better comminication going on on court among the team, this round, than they had against Denver. Although the boys in Silver and Black had fewer turn oversers this game than in game one of the last series, they also had fewer given shots out of them. So it's a whole different ball game now.
Yes, the Sonics have trouble. Trouble in the form of Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. There seems to be better comminication going on on court among the team, this round, than they had against Denver. Although the boys in Silver and Black had fewer turn oversers this game than in game one of the last series, they also had fewer given shots out of them. So it's a whole different ball game now.
I wish I could say something insightful and nice about Seattle but that can wait until after the series. For now, the only thing I can say is that they're good enough to have made it to play the Spurs.
I started this hours ago and got side tracked by crap. It's now well after midnight here in the Alamo City and the night is grey and cool. It rained at last today, opened up in the middle of the morning and stayed grey until sometime in the mid afternoon. The evening got windier and the grey rolled around as tho it had never gone away.
Monday, May 02, 2005
The week and a Spurs game
Just finished updating the backlogs while watching the spurs face off against the Denver Nuggets, in game 4 of the playoffs.
126/113
126/113
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Fundi's attack in Cairo
Las Vegas SUN: 2 Attacks in Egypt Leave 3 Dead, 9 Hurt: "Today: May 01, 2005 at 0:51:39 PDT
2 Attacks in Egypt Leave 3 Dead, 9 Hurt
By LEE KEATH
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -
0430egypt Two veiled women shot at a tour bus, and a man - the brother of one shooter and the fiance of the second - blew himself up as he leapt off a bridge during a police chase Saturday. All three attackers died and nine people, four of them foreigners, were wounded in an apparent revival of violence against Egypt's vital tourism industry.
The attacks occurred within two hours and at locations just 2 1/2 miles distant.
Those wounded by the explosion in the center of Cairo included an Israeli couple, a Swedish man and an Italian woman, along with three Egyptians. Two Egyptians were wounded in the shooting, which targeted a bus headed toward one of Cairo's most prominent historic Islamic sites.
Egyptian authorities deny major militant groups have returned to violence and said Saturday's attacks were a result of its crackdown on a small militant cell it says carried out an April 7 suicide bombing in a Cairo tourist bazaar that killed two French tourists and an American.
But the attacks deepened fears that militants are launching a new round of violence in Egypt, which saw a bloody campaign by Islamic extremists in the 1990s. After that campaign was suppressed, the country saw a lull in violence until October, when near simultaneous bomb blasts in two Sinai resorts killed 34 people. Then, on April 7, a suicide bomber targeted foreigners near the crowded Khan el-Khalili tourist bazaar in Cairo, killing two French citizens and an American. Eighteen people were wounded.
Tourism is Egypt's biggest foreign currency earner, and the industry had made a strong recovery after the 1990s violence. "
*SNIP*
Well this is just typical of the Islamist fundimentalists in Egypt. They make it a family affair all the way through. A cousin dies in custody and suddenly it's blood fued. This is sillier than the gang wars of the mid 90's. And worse, this had to happen during peak tourist season. I wonder sometimes, if these fundi's think this stuff through or not. How is hurting their neighbors economy going to help them?
With any luck Hosni will crush them fast and hard. As I recall there was never any doubt as to who is in control in Egypt. The Fundi's know it. They're afraid, lashing out blindly. Mubarek should continue with his round ups and use whatever methods it takes to quell this sort of thing as fast and as clearly as he can.
Truth be told, Egypt is one of the safest of the North African countries in which to travel. With as many people that are there, as long as one plays it cool and smart, the odds of not being in a random terror attack are fairly good. There was always the threat of a bomb, or a random lone gunman, or some other such attack when I lived there and that never detered me from stomping terra.
People whine about human rights without fully appreciating that, in some places, superfluous humanity makes violence and death easier than risking otherwise. This is the way it has always been. Tourists aren't allowed to see that from their bus windows. They don't put the prisons on the itinerary. Like anything else, though, just because it differs from our way of seeing things or doing them doesn't make it wrong.
At this point all eyes are going to be on the upcoming elections. This should prove to be entertaining.
2 Attacks in Egypt Leave 3 Dead, 9 Hurt
By LEE KEATH
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -
0430egypt Two veiled women shot at a tour bus, and a man - the brother of one shooter and the fiance of the second - blew himself up as he leapt off a bridge during a police chase Saturday. All three attackers died and nine people, four of them foreigners, were wounded in an apparent revival of violence against Egypt's vital tourism industry.
The attacks occurred within two hours and at locations just 2 1/2 miles distant.
Those wounded by the explosion in the center of Cairo included an Israeli couple, a Swedish man and an Italian woman, along with three Egyptians. Two Egyptians were wounded in the shooting, which targeted a bus headed toward one of Cairo's most prominent historic Islamic sites.
Egyptian authorities deny major militant groups have returned to violence and said Saturday's attacks were a result of its crackdown on a small militant cell it says carried out an April 7 suicide bombing in a Cairo tourist bazaar that killed two French tourists and an American.
But the attacks deepened fears that militants are launching a new round of violence in Egypt, which saw a bloody campaign by Islamic extremists in the 1990s. After that campaign was suppressed, the country saw a lull in violence until October, when near simultaneous bomb blasts in two Sinai resorts killed 34 people. Then, on April 7, a suicide bomber targeted foreigners near the crowded Khan el-Khalili tourist bazaar in Cairo, killing two French citizens and an American. Eighteen people were wounded.
Tourism is Egypt's biggest foreign currency earner, and the industry had made a strong recovery after the 1990s violence. "
*SNIP*
Well this is just typical of the Islamist fundimentalists in Egypt. They make it a family affair all the way through. A cousin dies in custody and suddenly it's blood fued. This is sillier than the gang wars of the mid 90's. And worse, this had to happen during peak tourist season. I wonder sometimes, if these fundi's think this stuff through or not. How is hurting their neighbors economy going to help them?
With any luck Hosni will crush them fast and hard. As I recall there was never any doubt as to who is in control in Egypt. The Fundi's know it. They're afraid, lashing out blindly. Mubarek should continue with his round ups and use whatever methods it takes to quell this sort of thing as fast and as clearly as he can.
Truth be told, Egypt is one of the safest of the North African countries in which to travel. With as many people that are there, as long as one plays it cool and smart, the odds of not being in a random terror attack are fairly good. There was always the threat of a bomb, or a random lone gunman, or some other such attack when I lived there and that never detered me from stomping terra.
People whine about human rights without fully appreciating that, in some places, superfluous humanity makes violence and death easier than risking otherwise. This is the way it has always been. Tourists aren't allowed to see that from their bus windows. They don't put the prisons on the itinerary. Like anything else, though, just because it differs from our way of seeing things or doing them doesn't make it wrong.
At this point all eyes are going to be on the upcoming elections. This should prove to be entertaining.
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