Adrastas

A Short Examination and History of The Second Amendment

2009-12-06T07:54:00.002-07:00

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
-U.S. CONST. amend. II.

The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution is made up of 27 small and simple words, so it would be easy to assume that its meaning and interpretation would also be simple. That would be a mistake. The Second Amendment, its meaning and origin, has evolved over time and taken on, rightly or wrongly, new and different interpretations to different people, but where did this amendment come from, why did the Framers include it in the document that would help define the identity of the new American Nation, and what does it mean today?
One long standing impediment to a better understanding of the Second Amendment is the general tendency for legal scholars and historians to gloss over or, in some cases, to completely avoid a direct analysis of the Second Amendment, treating it as the “equivalent of an embarrassing relative, whose mention brings a quick change of subject to other, more respectable, family members” (Levinson, 1989). There are, perhaps, several reasons for this avoidance, ranging from the deliberate dodging of the politically charged issue of gun control legislation to the conspicuously absent attention historically paid to this amendment by the United States Supreme Court.
Overall scrutiny of this amendment, however, can be delineated into two, seemingly, mutually exclusive interpretations; the first is that “the Second Amendment guarantees an individual’s right to own a firearm, and…[the second] that it merely guarantees the right of the states to maintain militias, and thus does not guarantee an individual right” (Oder, 1998). These interpretations rely on the separation of the clauses of the text since “[w]hat is special about the [Second] Amendment is the inclusion of an opening clause…that seems to set out its purpose” (Levinson, 1989). This amendment “is one of only two provisions of the Constitution that contains its own preamble, and this raises a question of the extent to which this statement of purpose should guide the interpretation” (Rakove, 2002).
This makes it difficult to clearly interpret the meaning of this amendment because “legal analysts who wish to limit the Second Amendment's force…focus on its "preamble" as setting out a restrictive purpose” (Levinson, 1989), namely that the right to own a gun is dependent on membership in a state militia, and this guarantees only a collective right. Because the foremost, and only (until recently), direct Supreme Court opinion relating to the Second Amendment, United States v. Miller, (307 U.S. 174, 1939) “strongly suggested that no right to possess a firearm exists outside of a well-regulated Militia” (District of Columbia v. Heller, 2008), this interpretation of the amendment has gained a strong hold over general public opinion and has been used as the basis for popular and restrictive firearm legislation (Levinson, 1989).
Furthermore, proponents of the collective right position assert that this amendment also “protected against domestic insurrection” (Cress, 1984) in that it can be read to prohibit the ownership of firearms by people not belonging to those who are duly authorized by the state to put down such uprisings (Cress, 1984); In other words, “[i]t did not guarantee the right of individuals, like Daniel Shays and his followers, to closet armaments” (Cress, 1984), but ensured against such insurgents from possessing them. In addition, supporters of this view interpret the term “the people” in the operative clause as a collective term (Cress, 1984); to support this they turn to state constitutions, many of which “use the words "man" or "person" in regard to "individual rights…[but use] the term "the people"…to refer to the "sovereign citizenry" collectively organized” (Levinson, 1989).
This view suggests that the Framers intended the role of “well regulated militia” to be the duty of every citizen. Consider the martial connotation of the term “bear”, as in “to bear arms” in the operative clause; Since the Second Amendment, taken in this context, seems to merge the concept of the militia with both the right to keep and bear arms, it has been suggested (Cress, 1984) that “citizenship…was defined in part by militia service…not an insistence on individual prerogative” (Cress, 1984).
Opponents of this interpretation, however, hearken back to the Florentine tradition “articulated most clearly by Niccolo Machiavelli, [who] idealized the citizen-warrior as the staunchest bulwark of a republic” (Shalhope, 1982), suggesting that the Framers intent was to preserve the individual right to keep and bear arms in order to secure the framework for a lasting republic. Arguments from this side point to a clear division of the clauses as ensuring two separate and distinct rights, drawing as evidence on the clearer “usage of the term “the people” in the First, Fourth, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments” to refer to the protection of the individual right to keep arms (Levinson, 1989).
Furthermore, they, too, turn to the constitutions of the states, such as those of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, New Hampshire, and New York, to show that each of these clearly established, as an individual right, the right to keep and bear arms, separate from the right of the state to have and control their own militias (Shalhope, 1982). For those in this camp, the Second Amendment secures the individual’s right to keep and bear arms as a bulwark against the possible tyranny of federal authority “since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary powers of rulers” (Story, 1833, cited in Shalhope, 1982).
Both of these viewpoints rely on differing interpretations of events and ideologies of the eighteenth century, and both draw differing conclusions from similar philosophical and historical influence on the Framers. The conflict between these views remained unresolved, chiefly because, for many on each side of the argument, the political ramifications of this amendment reach far into the courts and the lives of Americans today and, for some, it is difficult to divorce their research from their own personal agendas and opinions (Shalhope, 1982). History, however, remains intact regardless of how it is interpreted, therefore in order to begin to completely understand the full meaning of this amendment, it is first important to understand the historical context in which it was drafted.
The Framers did not create the Constitution or the Bill of Rights “within a vacuum” (Shalhope, 1982); they were deeply influenced by the political theories of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and other Enlightenment thinkers (O’Conner & Sabato, 2008); they drew on these, and various other social and political philosophies to devise a frame of thought that has come to be described as “republicanism” (Shalhope, 1982). In this way of thought “a republic’s very existence depended upon the character and spirit of its citizens” (Shalhope, 1982), and “survived only through the constant protection of the realm of Liberty from the ceaselessly aggressive forces of Power” (Shalhope, 1982).
That the Framers were aware of the necessity to safeguard against the possibility of tyranny from within the government is easily evident in the complex system of checks and balances that they established for the new nation (O’Conner & Sabato, 2008), thus insuring against the possibility of one section of the government growing more powerful than any other. It was important for these early Americans that the authority of the government reside with the citizens. This makes it “essential…to understand the place of the armed citizen in libertarian thought and the manner in which this theme became an integral part of American republicanism” (Shalhope, 1982) .
When James Madison drafted the amendments to the Constitution, he did so out of a dire necessity to achieve a compromise among the states, in order to assure consensus on ratification (Higginbothom, 1998). The origin of the Second Amendment can be traced to the tempestuous and passionate debates surrounding the achievement of this accord among the states, and from the events that shaped the lives of those who offered suggestions and opinions on how these amendments would be shaped.
For example, much examination has gone into the events surrounding the creation of the U.S. Constitution and those directly preceding it in order to understand what kind of nation that the Framers were trying to create. Most of this study has centered on events related to the American Revolution and have completely ignored the legacy of the Colonial Wars, such as the French and Indian War. The reason that these prior conflicts should be considered is because of the extensive use of colonial militias by the British in their struggle against French, and the impact this may have had on the Framers views of “a well regulated militia”.
“Throughout the seventy years of conflict”, writes military historian Howard H. Peckham, “England never solved the primary problem of America’s indifference to military service” (1964). Again and again, throughout the Colonial Wars, and even during the American Revolution, colonial militias failed to achieve success as well as regulars (Peckham, 1964); more significantly, however, was that, even when their homes and territory were directly threatened by French encroachment, Americans remained wholly ambivalent toward military service of any kind (Peckham, 1964).
The mutually exclusive dichotomy of the idealized militia, held by so many states’ leaders during the ratification debates, and the dismal reality of the militia, displayed in actual historical events, shows that the Framers had many great and noble ideals, but that “the revolutionary generation redefined its experiences and made them as virtuous and as heroic as they ought to have been” (Shalhope & Cress, 1984). ‘This impulse”, writes Shalhope (1984), “helps to explain the exaggerated significance accorded the militia by Americans in the 1780’s”, and better illustrates the “environment filled with hyperbolic praise of the militia” (Shalhope, 1984), during the drafting of the Bill of Rights, and Congressional subsequent debates.
Much emphasis is placed on the fact that “colonial and Revolutionary Americans were virtually of one mind in espousing a well-regulated militia under local authority“ (Higgenbotham, 1998) for defense, and aggressively shunned the establishment of a standing, peacetime military force under federal control. The fear that such a force could be used as an instrument of oppression is reflected in the text of several states’ bill of rights and constitutions, which affirm, in one form or another, that standing armies are “dangerous to liberty” in times of peace and “should not be kept.” Furthermore, within these separate state documents, the right of individuals to keep and bear arms is solidly espoused, as separate and distinct from articles relating to militias (Shalhope, 1982).
Security of the nation, then, should be the domain of militias and, as many anti-federalists argued, these militias should be controlled by the individual states. The trouble with this was that Federalists were concerned that “they [the states] would not provide the resources required to maintain readiness” (Rakove, 2002). To address this, Article I, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution was drafted to help to ensure that “its [the militias] establishment, exercise, and weapons would be uniform in all the states” (Higgenbotham, 1998), however there is “no authorization for the central government under any circumstance to assemble for training or any other reason even some small part of the state militias” (Higgenbotham, 1998). The individual right to keep arms, it seems, was regarded as a distinct liberty, completely detached from any connection to service in a militia, or service to the government, whatsoever, as no mention of it is made.
The suggestion that James Madison drafted the Second Amendment to ensure a collective right to bear arms solely to those belonging to the militia, then, would seem, at best a form of well intentioned naïveté or, at worst, the intentional subversion of an individual right for the benefit of political and legislative gain. Moreover, it becomes clearer that the researcher need not be wholly versed in Colonial or legal history, or even Revolutionary ideology to better understand the original meaning of the Second Amendment, but must be at least somewhat familiar with what James Madison himself intended.
“Madison and his colleagues on the select committee…were anxious to capture the essence of the rights demanded by so many Americans in so many different forms” (Shalhope, 1982); to this end they were forced to consolidate and reword many of these suggested changes (Shalhope, 1982). The original wording of this amendment, according to “Madison’s original suggestion reads: “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; a well armed and well regulated militia being the best security of a free country; but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms shall be compelled to render military service in person” (Dumbauld, E. 1979, cited in Shalhope, 1982). This wording makes it very clear that the meaning of the Second Amendment was “to protect two separate rights: the individual’s right to possess arms and the right of the states to form their own militia” and not “to subordinate one right to the other nor to have one clause serve as subordinate to the other” (Shalhope, 1989).
The text, as it was put forth to Congress, was altered slightly, to read: “ A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, being the best security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; but no person religiously scrupulous shall be compelled to bear arms”. Shalhope illustrates (p. 610) that the debate that followed the presenting of what was then the third clause of the second proposition in Congress centered mostly on the phrase “scrupulous of bearing arms”. According to The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States, (1 Cong., 1 sess., Aug. 17, 1789, p. 778) the representative from Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry, worried that “this clause would give an opportunity to the people in power to destroy the constitution itself ” by giving them the power to “declare who are those religiously scrupulous and prevent them from bearing arms”, (cited in Shalhope, 1982). A lively debate is recorded that shows that other representatives were more concerned with matters such as to whom exactly the phrase “scrupulous of bearing arms” referred, that no one sect should be singled out, and that, perhaps, it should be made clear that “paying an equivalent” instead of serving themselves would later “be established by law”. The entire amendment was considered by Rep. Gerry “a declaration of rights…intended to secure the people against the mal-administration of the government” which “if…in all cases, the rights of the people would be attended to, the occasion for guards of this kind would be removed” ( 1 Cong., 1 sess., Aug. 17, 1789, p. 778). Not a word is recorded in that debate that either denies or supports the individual right to keep and bear arms, but it could be inferred from this silence that such a right existed as a safeguard against the future possibility of the government becoming a threat to the liberty of the citizens, and did not even require questioning.
In late 2008 the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear the landmark case of District of Columbia v. Heller, which opened the gate on tidal wave of historical, textual, and legal analysis of the Second Amendment provided as amici curiae briefs in support of each side. While the question at hand involved the constitutionality of specific city codes, the greater debate centered, once again, on the individual versus collective right to bear arms, with much textual, historical, and legal evidence in support of each side. Of these, one of the most sweeping is the brief for the State of Texas, et. al. in which the attorney generals of 31 states stood together to protect the right of the citizens of their states to keep and bear arms. “An individual right” this brief asserts, “that can be altogether abrogated is no right at all.”
On June 26th 2008, the Court offered a 4-5 split opinion, with Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the majority: "Undoubtedly some think that the Second Amendment is outmoded in a society where our standing army is the pride of our nation, where well-trained police forces provide personal security and where gun violence is a serious problem” he wrote, addressing the issue of the amendments militia clause. “That is” he continued ”perhaps debatable, but what is not debatable is that it is not the role of this court to pronounce the Second Amendment extinct." (District of Columbia v. Heller, 2008). Most importantly the Court affirmed the “individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation” (District of Columbia v. Heller 2008). “This meaning” wrote Justice Scalia, “is strongly confirmed by the historical background of the Second Amendment. We look to this because it has always been widely understood that the Second Amendment…codified a pre-existing right,” (District of Columbia v. Heller 2008).
The debate over, and search for clarity about, the Second Amendment will, no doubt, continue in the lower courts; questions concerning the proper restrictions and limitations on the individual right to bear arms will, no doubt, linger into the coming decades. In short, the examination of the Second Amendment is far from over. Nevertheless, the Heller decision has helped to at least establish a strong basis from which to begin that work, and it is “most notable for…its complete and unanimous rejection of the “collective rights” interpretation” (Reynolds & Denning, 2008). Perhaps now genuine progress can be made towards building strong legislation which protects, not only people’s rights, but their lives.

References
Cress, L.D. (June, 1984). An Armed Community: The Origins and Meaning of the Right to Bear Arms. The Journal of American History, 71(1), p. 22-42. Retrieved from JSTOR Database April 12, 2009. Document ID: 1899832.

District of Columbia et. al.. v. Heller. 554 U.S. ___ (2008). Retrieved April 3, 2009 from http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/07-2901.pdf.

Higgenbotham, D. (January, 1998). The Federalized Militia Debate: A Neglected Aspect of Second Amendment Scholarship. The William and Mary Quarterly, Third Series, 55(1), p. 39-58. Retrieved from JSTOR Database April 11, 2009. Document ID: 2674322.

Levinson, S. (December,1989). The Embarrassing Second Amendment. The Yale Law Journal, 99(3), p.637-659. Retrieved from JSTOR April 13, 2009. Document ID: 796759.

O’Connor, K. & Sabato, L. J. (2008) American government: continuity and change (9th ed.). NewYork: Pearson Education.

Oder, B.N. (1998). Teaching the Meaning of the Second Amendment: A brief note on recent research. Magazine of History, 13(1), p.64. Retrieved from ProQuest April 20, 2009.

Peckham, H.H, (1964). The Colonial Wars: 1689 – 1762. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press

Rakove, J.N. (January, 2002). Words, Deeds, and Guns: "Arming America" and the Second Amendment. The William and Mary Quarterly, Third Series, 59(1), p.205-210. Retrieved From JSTOR Database April 11, 2009. Document ID: 3491652.

Reynolds, G.H. & Brannon, D.P. (2008). Heller’s Future in the Lower Courts. Northwestern University Law Review, 102(4), p. 2035. Retrieved from ProQuest April 22, 2009.

Shalhope, R.E. (December, 1982) The Ideological Origins of the Second Amendment. The Journal of American History. 69(3), p.599-614. Retrieved April 12, 2009 from JSTOR Database.

Shalhope, R.E. & Cress, L.D. (December, 1984) The Second Amendment and the Right to Bear Arms: An Exchange. The Journal of American History,. 71(3), p. 587-593. Retrieved from JSTOR Database April 12, 2009. Document ID: 188743.

The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States, (1 Cong., 1 sess., Aug. 17, 1789, p. 778) , retrieved April 25 from http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llac&fileName=001/llac001.db&recNum=390

Dark Days

2008-05-29T05:04:00.003-06:00

Well it’s official. The NBA is rigged, George W. Bush is surrounded by yellow-dog turn coats, and the Angel of Weird still smiles in Denver. I was sitting on Tuesday night, trying to drink off a nasty funk as everyone in town cursed the day that Joey Crawford was born, when I took a call from a friend in another State.
“What about that last play?” he asked, sure that I would launch into an angry diatribe.
“What about it?” I said. “Barry was off and the Spurs lost it…End of Story.”
“But it was clearly a foul!” he screamed into the phone. “Fisher smacked Barry on the head intentionally. Barry was on fire all night long, that shot was meant to go in!”
“Barry dribbled and finished the play,“ I reminded him. “It was a good no call.”
“The hell you say! If nothing else Barry deserved a floor call, it was so clearly a foul. They could have tied the game, gone into overtime.”
“What? So Ginobili, Parker and Duncan could go on missing shots for another five minutes and hand us an even worse loss? You sadistic swine, what kind of Fan are you?”
“It was Crawford’s fault,” he whined. “Joey Crawford has it in for the Spurs!”
In fact, the entire city on Wednesday seemed to echo that same sentiment, openly reviling a respected member of the NBA Referee establishment in every local newscast, and on every street corner.
“If I were [Crawford] I wouldn’t start my own car for the next few weeks” offered one critic. Others were not so nice or nearly as subtle. But let us draw the curtain on that brand of ugliness and face up to facts. David Stern and the rest of the League would much prefer to have a Lakers/Celtics Finals in order to hoist up their faltering ratings. The NBA never did entirely recover from the lock out in ’99, and viewership has been regulated to die-hard fans and sad, sick holdouts like me who would like to have seen the Spurs go back to back at least once before Tim Duncan get’s too old to strut.
Was Tuesday’s loss the fault of a crooked official with a grudge? Was it just the Will of the League? Were the Lakers really the better team? Or was it just bad playing on the part of the Spurs. One thing I have learned over these last few seasons is to never count the Silver and Black out until the very end. Though, to hear some people talk about it, Thursday’s game will be as embarrassing as a fart in church.
It wasn’t only the Spurs who woke up to the dismal sound of doom and despair on Wednesday. George W. Bush heard his own banshee wailing within the pages of Scott McClellan’s damning memoir. McClellan was White House Press Secretary from May 2003 to April 2006 (Ah, the good years) and as such his book gave a supposedly inside look at the inscrutable W. Bush White House but in doing so basically calls the President a liar and the media a bunch of enabling cowards. He even says of himself: “I fell far short of living up to the kind of public servant I wanted to be.”
Yes Scott, you most certainly did. What happened to Loyalty? What kind of media whore did you turn out to be, after all, and what makes you any different from those you’ve condemned?
Since when has “Washington's Culture of Deception” been any different? I don’t recall being handed the whole truth by any U.S. President while I’ve been alive…Not from Nixon, Not from Ford, Not from Carter, Not from Reagan, Not from Bush and certainly Not from Clinton. Can Scott McClellan really so naïve as to believe that Politics is anything other than self promotion of some sort? Or is he just practicing his own sorry brand of it and trying to cover his own sorry ass so he can find a job when the dust settles?
What really pisses me off with his book is that it’s just going to give those idiots who blame the White House for 9/11 even more fodder for their already out of hand insanity. Show some responsibility, Scott. And let’s face it- if he’d really had that much of a problem with what was going on shouldn’t he have taken a more honorable way out? It’s not too late to fall on your own sword and regain a measure of what honor you have left, Scott.
Wait, did I just say that? No, I didn’t. And even if I did surely it didn’t suggest what it sounded like. This isn’t Feudal Japan, or Ancient Rome, or even the Nixon White House, where dissenters were in serious danger of getting threatening late night phone calls and strange packages delivered to their mother’s at grey-care.
Hell no! We live in a kinder and gentler age; a Different Time Altogether. Why, it could very well be the age of First Contact. Well, at least according to The Rocky Mountain News, who reported on Rocky Mountain Oddball Jeff Peckman. Peckman, who has been pushing an initiative to create an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission to prepare for the day that we make First Contact, has promised to show a video on Friday that purports to show a “Living Breathing Space Alien”.
Now, I’m not saying that there isn’t anything out there. Nor am I saying that Peckman might not have actual footage of something “far out”. But seriously, does he really believe that he is going about it the right way?
Of course, I know, I mean what exactly would be “the right way” to go about letting people know that “we are not alone”? Still, the only ones that are going to buy into it are the odd ball fringe that will buy into anything that will distract them from their mediocre lives. It’s going to take a ship landing on the Washington Mall to make believers out of most skeptics, and even then it’s going to take some convincing to assure them it’s not a promotion for a movie or for Pepsi.
Let’s face it, people don’t want to know if there’s intelligent life outside of our solar system. Most of them are too concerned with the orbits of their own lives to worry about such things as First Contact. They’ve become a nation of worriers, concerned about the environment, and gas prices, and being well liked by the people who want to blow us up.
They are, like I said, a kinder and gentler people…And we’re all the more fucked because of it.

The Trouble with 9/11 “Truthers”

2008-02-19T21:21:00.008-07:00

"Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives."
-Oscar Wilde

This post by Tallyman over on Surfing the Apocalypse is another good example of the stupidity that has crippled otherwise sensible people. Have we all become so brain addled and complacent that we can suffer fools like these to spew their nonsense on any public forum?
This post shows all the hallmarks of the typical “truther”. For example, notice how he begins by stating how he “was at first inclined to believe” that the attacks on 9/11 were carried out by “Arab terrorists”. He states this as though belief has anything to do with facts, putting terrorists in the same category as Santa Clause or the tooth-fairy. But wait, he has something better than facts! For, he goes on to state, “[s]omething did not look right, feel right”. Jump Back! Wait a moment! It’s all about how he FEELS, all of a sudden, and never-you-mind empirical evidence, logic, or reason. Why, in mere days (not the months of painstaking forensic study, computer diagramming, metallurgical inquiry, architectural and structural examination, etc.) this genius was able to reject the “Official Version of Events” and then “actively sought out similar points of view”...Because, as we all know, the way to seek out the truth is to find people who agree with you.
He then goes on to invoke the name of one of the nuttiest fruitcakes on the rack, David Ray-Griffin, who was neither a “main writer” nor an “investigator”, but rather a retired theologian and philosopher, who suddenly decided that he had a moral leg up on everyone else in the field and was somehow, more qualified to discuss history, politics, and the global economy.
Mr. Tallyman’s post then degenerates into a sordid miasma of quasi-religious, self-righteous ramblings, misquoting the Bible for his own ends and, at times, making up his own theological interpretations of the teachings of Christ. Through it all he remains completely laughable, taking wild strides of fancy that have made these 9/11“truthers” some of the shadiest, most devious, and dangerous chumps to hijack the alternative media.
In what I can only assume is meant to be some kind of scathing indictment of Christian leaders’ silence on his dismal view of the “truth”, he exposes some of the major flaws in the “movement”.
Take, for example, the complete lack of any textual or empirical support for his point of view (which, I suppose, is along the lines of all the other cracked pots who blame our obviously hyper-competent government for secretly masterminding and perpetrating the events of that terrible day) and instead, focuses on the absolute wrongness of those who do not Feel the way he feels. Why should Christian leaders back up his point of view? Although at one point I’m pretty certain he comes close to likening himself to Jesus Christ, I’m not entirely certain that this is enough to convince the American clergy to take it to the streets Old School 60’s style.
No, today’s modern Jesus Freak needs more than the word of a few college drop outs and mainstream burnouts. When it comes to this brand of nonsense, they need more than faith, buddy, they need facts. What does it say when the same people that reject Evolution have also, according to his post, rejected the “truth” movement?

"A word to the wise ain't necessary, it's the stupid ones who need the advice.”
-Bill Cosby

A few months back, I was talking to a Canadian friend of mine, who thought it would be a good idea to share some of her beliefs on the events of that day, mainly about how not only did the US government let it happen, but that Bin Laden and his group were the invention of the CIA, and were being used as part of a “neocon plot” to steal away our civil liberties and lead the country into war.
It was unfortunate timing on her part that I happened to be drunk, ornery, and mean when she brought all this up, and I sliced into her stupidity like a thresher into a farm boys arms. I haven’t heard much out of her since then, but then I’m not losing any sleep over it. It did make me wonder, however, because she was one of those that spent some time in the Middle East around the same time as I. Did she not encounter Islamist fundamentalist sympathizers in her time there? How could she have spent several years in the region and not once have run across some taxi driver or local yokel who tried to convert her to Islam because it was a superior way of life, and would one day spread across the world? Or meet even one glaring-eyed, gallabaya wearing idiot with a dark spot on his head (from all the praying) who condemned her with his stare for being a loose and immoral western harlot who he’d like to see stoned in the streets for corrupting his sons? Was her time in Cairo so insulated that she never once paid attention to the wild ravings on the loudspeakers from the mosques on Fridays? Could it be that she just never paid attention or was I just too over exposed to the culture?
And so it has come down to that, hasn’t it? Is it possible that my absolute certainty that a pack of knife waving, kaffeyya wrapped desert devils want nothing more than to run through the streets of American cities, shrilly chanting Quranic verses and blowing themselves up in orgiastic fits of religious expression comes from my having spent a little too much time around the natives over there?
Things were different back then, weren’t they? When they’d gather together to monotonously chant “Boosh-Boosh-Boosh” they were talking about Herbert Walker, the Liberator of Kuwait, and they meant those chants in a good way. Now when they do that they are talking about his son, our sitting president, the Liberator of Iraq, but they say it as though they are trying to spit beard hairs out of their throats, and they mean it in a most decidedly bad way. Back then the worst America-bashing I encountered came from our so called allies, the Brits, the Canadians, the Australians, all those “Commonwealth” vassals-of-the-Queen countries, who could not stand that we were, basically, their bigger, badder, and just plain cooler cousin.
Those same people are still bashing us, only now they have the company of most everyone else in the world, and a good plenty of our own people here in the Homeland, as well. This brings us back to Mr. Tallyman and his vacuous ilk, the “truthers”.
They’re the worst kind of America-Bashers. They’re not trying to seek out the truth because they’re any more righteous or moral than anyone else; they’re doing it because they want to placate the rest of the world. I think that on some deep, dark, dirty level they genuinely believe that if the Enemies of America see how well they think of themselves that they’ll just give up, put down their knives, take off their suicide belts, and want to be their friends. These people are the lowest kinds of coward, hiding behind their make-believe causes and pretending to be noble. I could excuse naiveté, even pity it, but these people are dangerously stupid if they think they’re going to make the world a better place with their delusions and fantasies, and I for one, am sick of them.

"Most people would die sooner than think; in fact, they do. "
-Bertrand Russell

Weekly World News Silenced

2007-08-30T00:02:00.000-06:00

So they’ve finally killed-off the Weekly World News and the world is a duller place because of that. No more shall we stand in a supermarket checkout line and let our attention take in the shocking news that “Dick Cheney is a Robot”. (“Just Like a Stepford Wife!” The splash assures us.) This publication started out around the time that I first started to read the things around me...I mean really take in my surroundings. For a kid, sitting caged in one of those rolling metal death traps that are shopping carts, those magazines racks were right at eye level, and I took it all in, along with the candy and bubble gum right beside them.
Now, those supermarket rags, as I understand this, are holdovers from the 1950’s, that glorious Post-War era that seems to have just paved the Yellow Brick Road to Hell for Western Civilization. It was a time when women were expected to stay at home and do housework, which, of course, included the shopping. In between her doing the vacuuming (in heels and pearls, of course!) and using the latest technological advances of a modern kitchen to prepare delicious meals for her family, she would take time out and amuse herself with a variety of entertaining game shows, variety programming, and, of course, the “stories” on television, (many of them still brought to you courtesy of the very same brand name sponsors as back then.)
Of course, this relic, this model of the “Modern Wife” of that era would also find distraction(and some still do, I believe) at the checkout line, by browsing tabloids that told not only of the gossip of the Hollywood Stars and various pop celebrities but hyped also the fictional happenings and machinations of the various characters from their stories. But I digress. You see, as a kid, sitting there, in a supermarket, deciphering these cryptic headlines on my own, I made a serious and solid decision…I chose the one about Bigfoot and UFOS over the “Who Shot JR” ones.
I wasn’t intentionally exposed to such garbage, you understand. I mean, my mother taught English and expected better from me. She selected, and made sure I completed, a summer reading list every year, and would engage me in conversation (i.e. quiz me) on selected topics from the readings, and, once, she went to bat for me with the nuns when I got kicked out of fifth grade for reading Mark Twain during recess. How could I let her know that I would cunningly purchase and read any copy of that pulp rag that I could lay my hands on? Thanks to some skillful distribution of comic books and newspapers in my life, however no one ever caught on that I was reading the Weekly World News.
In high school I realized that, no matter how cool it was to believe that Debbie Gibson was pregnant with Elvis’ two headed love child, it was really not going to happen. But by that point I was also writing actively, and taking great pleasure in learning about it as a craft, an art, and a potential livelihood, and I looked at the Weekly World News as a fun guide to outlandish creativity.
You see, the headlines were always fun and clever: “Man Marries Computer & Becomes a GIGAMIST!”, “Imelda Marcos Skins Children for More Shoes!”, “Vegan Vampire Attacks Trees”. And they always pulled it off with just the right edge of suspicion and veracity to make one both chuckle and wonder. It helped me develop a healthy understanding of the relatively plausible, the plainly outlandish, and the just plain freaky. (Gotta love those Freaks!)
In later years, through college overseas, then coming back and living in a brand new kind of neo-post-modern hell, The Weekly World News offered only small portion of its former vigor. Batboy had become all the rage and they were putting out way too many headlines about him, and about Jesus, God, and the End of Days. But they still came through, every week, drawing readers into a style and place, where anything could, sometimes did, happen.
But, in the end it seems that The Paper was just past it’s time. Still published in glorious black and white, still hawking Elvis sightings, alien encounters, conspiracies within the government, and newly discovered prophecies, it was, after a point, doomed.
I once told a good friend that I believed that, if indeed, Signs of the End of the World were to be made manifest, and the Four Horsemen were to Ride, the Weekly World News would most likely report it first. Now, I’m pretty sure, it would be on the Drudge Report, or YouTube, or some such site long before it made it to print. (And would be followed for days by talking head commentary, analysis, and reaction.)
We are living, now, in an age where real world worries and horrors far outweigh the imagined ones of extra terrestrial rectal probes and Chinese organ stealing rings. These days nothing is shocking, nothing takes us by surprise, and not much makes us think, anymore. People openly accuse the government of the most ridiculous schemes and revile their elected leaders as the worst kind of diabolical cabal, and it passes for insightful mainstream political criticism.
Parent company, American Media, Inc. gave no public reason for their decision to close down the presses at the WWN, but one insider said that the reasons for shutting down don’t make any sense. Now, they say that the Website will remain and that it’s only the print edition that is defunct, but people seem to have long given up on Bigfoot, The Loch Ness Monster, Elvis, and Batboy. What people want now are sources, they expect hard facts, and as much of the illusion of accuracy that television or the internet can offer them. Why shell out for a black and white tabloid when you can log in and find any number of strange happenings, bizarre tales, and weird people. Mostly they’re a lousy bunch of loudmouth whack-jobs sounding off about their brand of insanity but, because of the way it’s delivered, people believe that it is “Now fortified with 10% more Truth!”
I’ve long since drifted away from reading tabloids, have only scanned a few stories while waiting in line at the stores, but losing the WWN a loss is to me because they were never afraid to take it one step too far, and they never took themselves too seriously, they did as much to inform as to entertain. Their twisted style of trashy strangeness, their unapologetic exploitation of Freaks, Geeks and Weirdos, it all appealed to sick bastards out there like me. Their lurid stories were like junk food for my brain, a kind of mental candy on which to chew, and I will miss the headlines at the checkout counter, about Elvis, and Bigfoot, and even Batboy…but you know...I believe that I will miss the Freaks most of all.

2007-08-01T00:34:00.000-06:00

I was tagged by Kel over on KelKnits for a Wikipedia Birthday Meme a few weeks ago. I figured that since it was so close to the actual birthday, I would just wait and post it now.

August 1st
3 Events:
30 BC - Octavian (later known as Augustus) enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Republic.
1966 – Charles Whitman kills 15 people shooting from the Main Building at The University of Texas at Austin before being killed by the police.
1981 - MTV begins broadcasting and airs its first video, "Video Killed The Radio Star" by the Buggles.

2 Birthdays:
1819 - Herman Melville, American writer (d. 1891)
1942 - Jerry Garcia, American musician (The Grateful Dead) (d. 1995)

1 Holiday:
Lammas - Neopagan festival of Lammas.

I don’t know how much fun that was, but it was certainly informative.

Sweet Sweep!

2007-06-15T09:24:00.000-06:00

A few years ago someone I trust gave me some very good advice: “Never write about a team that you’re backing because it just invites their savage loss.” I’ve ignored that advice before and have ended up trying to rationalize some surprise flogging to a team that showed every promise of victory. The majority of those whippings have been handed to the San Antonio Spurs, after I’ve gotten too caught up in the moment and proclaimed their supremacy too soon. This has happened way too often during the NBA Finals.
Now the Fat Lady has sung in San Antonio and the Spurs have won their 4th NBA title since that ugly abbreviated 1999 season, and I feel safe enough to write about them, without the chance of calling down their doom. Of course, there’s not much left to be said, now. Now, it’s all over and the Spurs have gone far beyond the “asterisk” season.

Back when their play-off run began I was celebrating Fiesta Week (Post on that to follow). They started off low, with an April 23rd loss to the Denver Nuggets, and since I know people there and had bet on the Spurs with confidence, I was disheartened with their start. But Denver was unable to come up with another win against the Spurs, and even Carmelo Anthony, looked like he was moving in slow motion against Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. The Spurs went on to win not only their next four (4) games against Denver but their first game on May 6th against the Phoenix Suns.
That was when I started to feel that creeping doom hovering around them. I started watching the games with a sense of dark foreboding. I’d talk to people here in San Antonio who were giddy but not willing to commit to the idea that the Spurs could pull it off again. “They can do it,” they’d say. “But I’m not going to start getting crazy about it until they get into the Finals.” Quite so.
Truth is, Spurs fans have had their hearts broken too many times in too few years at that stage of the game. From Fishers impossible shot in 2004 (that not only cost us the game but the Will to go on), to the gut-wrenching game 7 loss in 2006, that went to the Dallas Mavericks in overtime because of a terribly timed foul that Manu Ginobili handed Dirk Nowitski.
That was a cruel defeat to Dallas. The Spurs were working on a repeat title win, had a franchise record of 63 wins, were #1 in the West, and had played some of the best basketball ever seen. But Victory is a fickle mistress, you know? And the Spurs and the fans found out the hard way that, sometimes you eat the bear and other times the bear eats you.
This year Dallas held such a mighty record that the rest of the League was vying for second place for the most of the last third of the regular season. So, when the Spurs failed to rank second, and had to settle for third behind the Suns, well, no one got too excited about it. If we made it past Denver and the Suns, we would surely have to face Dallas in the Western Conference Finals. Nobody, not even I, wanted to imagine that savage match-up when this whole this started back during Fiesta Week or at any other time, for that matter. This year, though, it was the Dallas Mavericks turn to be eaten by the bear and it wasn’t the Spurs that did it.
In one of the weirdest matchups of the decade, the Golden State Warriors faced off against Dallas, and when it all started, everyone outside the Bay Area just kind of ignored it. But I still know some people in the Bay Area and I had to cheer for Oakland just because I lived there. Also, I had to rail against Mark Cuban and Avery Johnson, I took note of their first win over Dallas and recognized how, with the more of that fast and ready game, the Warriors stood a good chance against them. Also, it was impossible to ignore how the low ranked Warriors were being led by Coach Don Nelson, who was the former Dallas Head Coach. People here still sometimes call the Mavs “The Team that Nellie Built”, and we kind of feel that Cuban hired on former Spur Avery Johnson as Nellie’s assistant coach (promoted to head coach) with the sole purpose of taking out the Spurs. I am sure that he chafes at the thought of walking in Don Nelson’s shadow.
I had to get a taste of that action because, in my own warped mind, I was looking at it like Obi Wan Kenobi facing off with a Pre-Vader Anakin on Mustafar. Also, after watching the way that Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson handled Dallas, I got one of those feelings about that series, a weird, tingly itch that someone who likes sports needs to learn to heed.
The Warriors ended Dallas’s dream of a NBA Title in six (6) games, and the look on Mark Cubans face was priceless. To hell with him, we wanted to start an I-35 rivalry with the Spurs, and the team did their best to work up to that, but payback is a real bitch and when you got it coming to you, not even the best record and a flawless performance can stop the hammer when it falls.
Golden State advanced to take on the Utah Jazz and lost it 4-1, and the Spurs went up against the Phoenix Suns.
The Jazz were strong all season, and took out the Houston Rockets, 4-3 in the series. Utah was relieved to have a break from another Texas team and went out to take Golden State in five (5) games.
For San Antonio, the Suns were the hardest team to overcome in the post-season. Coach Mike D’Antoni is a very sharp and shrewd opponent and Steve Nash is the Tim Duncan West of the Pecos. But the Suns are not a one horse team, hell no! Amare Stoudemire, Leandro Barbosa, Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw, and Raja Bell, those guys were a beauty to watch on the court against the Spurs. The series was bloody and intense, with an injury, a nasty flagrant foul and one bad blowout. In the end the Spurs took it 4-2 in Phoenix.
The Jazz came on strong but the Spurs were coming off back to back wins to close out Phoenix and blew past Utah for two games before they were able to match up. The Jazz were able to sock one 83-109 loss to the Spurs but the series closed out 4-1, sending San Antonio to their 4th NBA Final since 1999.
That was when people here started to get a little crazy. With our position secured it was finally time to relax and push the team to the Final Victory of the season, the Big Win. The East was ready and when the dust settled it was the Cleveland Cavaliers left standing. In the slow and jabber filled days before the first game the buzz was all about their LeBron James, “King James”.
For years yammering loudmouths have been trying to compare this kid with Michael Jordon. I could understand it back in 03, or even 05, but this was the Big Time and was neither the time nor the place for that kind of insipid and sloppy talk. We suffered all the talk about how the Spurs are “boring” (applied to Tim Duncan and our whole Fundamentals style game), or that we play “dirty” (A term applied derisively to both Bruce Bowen and Robert Horry).
The truth is that, game-for-game, the San Antonio Spurs have become one of the best teams in the NBA. Coach Gregg Popovitch has applied the strict and pure style of basketball he honed at the Air Force Academy, and added to it the sense of Family and camaraderie that makes champions shine. No one can deny that the Spurs’ have the numbers and the record of Champs but what the Spurs do not have is a moral miscreant player under investigation for a felony, which, I believe, must be a requisite to be a “superstar” team, in far off places like L.A. and Detroit, and maybe Cleveland.
I think it exposes a weird sort of prejudicial bias in America against San Antonio. People don’t have that reaction to the Mavs or the Rockets but, as we have proven time and again, the Spurs are simply a better team. We are so good, in fact, that we have never lost a Finals series…The Spurs have won the championship every time they’ve been in it.
The past few days have been a flurry of action and excitement. I needed to find a way to cash in on, what everyone knew, was a losing battle for the Cavs. After the Spurs took back to back wins in San Antonio no one was taking the LeBeron talk seriously anymore. It wasn’t just that he didn’t score well, he didn’t score at all until the 3rd quarter of one game. He missed rebounds, boggled passes, and embarrassed himself on the court in front of the world time and time again. It was bad enough that we had to watch LeBron stink up the court but were were forced to watch LeBron in the station breaks and in Nike commercials, in Sprite commercial, and in promos. When compared with his actual performance during the game it all seemed like some sad, sick joke, and helped expose the kid for the overgrown and overrated man-child product of a media driven sensationalist cash culture that can glorify the “American Idol Winner” of the NBA, and deride a solid player like Duncan, who is so focused and dedicated, that he was jokingly referred to as “Spock” by the Duke student section when he was at Wake Forrest.
When the Spurs won game 3 on Tuesday my mother took out her broom. The entire city was at last confident and content that our Spurs were not only going to beat the Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena, but that we were going to humiliate them on world wide television, win it in a sweep, and then bring the trophy home for one huge party. I bet against the Spurs in game 3. It was a fit of manic idiocy that had to be done. I was winning too many of my bets and people stopped wanting to play with me, so I had to take one in the side, and lose on what was one of the lousiest games of basketball I’ve seen in ages. The Spurs played sloppily, failing to convert on turnovers, missed easy layups, and futzed around the court way too much. The Cavs buckled under the pressure of a powerful Spurs defense, and LeBron, while active and out there, was held back by Bowen, Horry, Duncan, and anyone else who could get into position, if needed. The Spurs didn’t win it because they were better, they won it because the Cavs were worse.
Last nights game 4 was beautiful because we won. We swept and we won and, in the end, that is all that matters. The Cavs looked strong for most of the game but after the half the Spurs mustered a weak rally, relied on basics, took advantage of gaping holes in the Defense, and just outplayed Cleveland. The thought that they would lose this game never entered my mind, not even when it looked like it could go into overtime, or when it came down to free throws, fouls, and possessions. Tony Parker continued to outshine LeBron, his post-season experience helping him overcome the faltering Cavaliers defense. (Parker picked up the Finals MVP trophy, and he earned every inch of it.) Manu and Fabricio Oberto worked their magic from the inside and the out, helping the spurs over come a ping-ponging deficit. Francisco Elson and Michael Finley turned up the heat in and out of the paint, and Brent Barry and Jacques Vaughan kept the Cavs guessing and running in circle. As the clocked ticked down, it was painfully clear to the Cleveland bench, fans, and the world that this was not to be their year.
There was no confetti for the Spurs in Cleveland. There were random boos and jeers from the crowd as David Stern presented the Spurs organization with their trophies. However, there was joy there and in the locker room, and there was celebration on the streets of San Antonio. The players celebrated with each other, and with family, friends and loved ones. In bars, homes, and out on the streets of downtown, there was merriment, sound, and passion.
The Spurs arrive back in town around 2 pm. The city is running shuttles to the Airport to greet them for a party. On Sunday there is going to be a parade on the river to show off the trophies, then, in the evening, a celebration at the Alamodome.

I’ve been up all night after the celebrations and revelry. Today I will collect on my bets watch their arrival on TV, and tonight, party with the rest of the city. The Spurs have won 4 titles in 9 years, and I’m sure that people will want to start using the word “dynasty”. Probably the same morons that talk about how boringly good the Spurs are, or how great Parker has become, or how LeBron will be better someday. You won’t really hear people here talking too much about records, or streaks, dynasties. Not yet at least. I, for one, am not taking any chances. Why Doom them now? I and the city will probably just enjoy this Sweet Sweep Victory, and another title, until sometime late next season…Then come see me about the odds on a Repeat.

Call me when the Star Rush in on…

2007-05-10T21:13:00.001-06:00

Wally Schirra Dies at age 84

What can I say? I wasn't there but, I appreciate the sacrifice and duty he performed for the United States of America as well as NASA. This astronaut did the kind of things movies are made of… he was featured as one of the astronauts in The Right Stuff. Wally was more than a character though even when he was playing practical jokes. Wally is The Right Stuff when it comes to thinking about what citizens of the United States of America are all about. We go all out and prove that we can be the best in the world at something if we just put our heart and minds into whatever it is our hearts pursue.

Being an astronaut has to be more than landlubbing Earthlings could ever imagine. Seeing outer space with your own two eyes and realizing in one moment how big the universe really is just has to almost be overwhelming. My thanks to all of the astronauts from any country for making the sacrifice of reaching for the stars. I know it is an attempt to get humankind off of this mud ball at some point in time. Call me when the "Star Rush" is on. I will clean garbage cans on another planet just to see a different sunrise and sunset than the one on Earth.

Till later my spacey friends…

Email from a friend

2007-04-30T00:05:00.000-06:00

Subject: GAY FLIGHT ATTENDANT

My flight was being served by an obviously gay flight attendant, who seemed to put everyone in a good mood as he served us food and drinks. As the plane prepared to descend, he came swishing down the aisle and told us that Captain Marvey has asked me to announce that he'll be landing the big scary plane shortly, so lovely people, if you could just put your trays up, that would be super. On his trip back up the aisle, he noticed this well-dressed and rather Arabic looking woman hadn't moved a muscle. Perhaps you didn't hear me over those big brute engines but I asked you to raise your trazy-poo, so the main man can pitty-pat us on the ground. She calmly turned her head and said, "In my country, I am called a Princess and I take orders from no one", to which (I swear) the flight attendant replied, without missing a beat, "Well, sweet- cheeks, in my country I'm called a Queen, so I outrank you. Tray-up, Bitch."
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The Fiesta post will take a few days to organize...Been a helluva ride. More later.

Ain’t Gonna Rest-a Until After Fiesta

2007-04-20T14:51:00.000-06:00

At 9:00 am today, the 116th Fiesta San Antonio officially began. For those who don’t know what I’m talking about Fiesta Week lasts 10 days, draws a crowd of 3.5 million, and has an estimated economic impact of nearly $260 million. (Info from the Fiesta San Antonio website.) It is a city-wide festival in remembrance of the Battles, victories, and sacrifices of the Texas Revolution. It brings together the best of Texas Cultures, and celebrates the unique and magnificent heritage that is San Antonio.
Anyone who has seen any of my Fiesta posts from the past couple of years knows that Fiesta time is my favorite time of year. It‘s like Christmas, New Years, The Fourth of July, Spring Break, and Mardi Gras all rolled into one. It is one serious party and, as such, requires serious preparation.
For the last few days I have been getting ready. This is not one night of debauchery or a few days of decadence. Fiesta is 10 days of progressive partying. It is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. Here then, for your edification and amusement, is my Fiesta checklist:
A) Comfortable Shoes: I do a lot of walking during Fiesta because, even if I choose only one event for the day, it’s probably going to be spread out over a very large area. While the dilettante may wear a pair of new cowboy boots or some fashionable shoes, the Fiesta Pro knows that the party neither starts nor stops in one place. Comfort is rule one.
B) Hat: The Fiesta Hat is more than just to keep the Texas sun out of your face, it shows that you are aware of the past that Fiesta commemorates and that you appreciate the legacy that Fiesta has become. Men and ladies wore hats until the early 1960’s. It wasn’t just fashionable; your hat was part of your status. Consider your Fiesta Hat a similar symbol. It’s going to reflect your experience, your affability, and your levity. Mine is a slouchy Mexican Sahuayo palm straw hat, not too fancy, and distinctive enough.
C) Beads: Fiesta beads are very much like Mardi Gras beads. They come in every kind imaginable. Perhaps Fiesta beads use different iconography, (the Chili Pepper, armadillos. the Texas Flag, Beer…) but in essence they serve the same purpose: to show ones likes, turn-ons, interests, and attitudes. This can play an important part in meeting people during Fiesta because it gives you something visual to go on while drunk. The experienced Fiesta vet knows that a few small, shiny, boring, Mardi Gras throw beads in your collection can add a little flair, and they also allow you to give a few away. Also, it is important to remember that one should only wear what one can carry. The beads I wear I have had to hunt down. I wear one with Texas Flags, one with Confederate Jacks, a Jolly Roger one, and a functional plastic shot glass on a string with a removable flashing lime wedge inside it. Flashing body parts and other such outrageous behavior to earn beads is neither necessary nor encouraged. Just ask a drunk for some of their beads, or better yet, start a collection of your own, there are vendors all over the streets, and buy the ones that strike you.
D) Medals: I know there must be an interesting story as to why some people wear medals during Fiesta. I know that, much like other Spring Time Carnivals, we elect a collection of mock royalty and parade them through the streets (and along the river) to the amusement and delight of the drunken masses. I know that this is different that other Spring Time festivals in other places because this one is also the celebration the (no other word for it) Fiesta that was had by all when Texas won our unlikely Independence from the tyrannical rule of the magnificent Mexican Generalissimo Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (Santa Ana). These days, the medals take on a much less martial meaning. Companies, corporations, and the City hand them out to employees and customers. Pretty much anyone can make a Fiesta Medal. It’s not so much what’s on the medal as how many you have, and how you wear them. In other words, go ahead and award one to yourself, it’s Fiesta!
E) Collapsible/Disposable ice chest: Above all, the one thing that makes a good Fiesta is drinking. During Fiesta drinking, being moderately drunk, carrying beer. It meana that, if you are so inclined, you can wear a 70 oz. Camelback hydration system on their backs full of Daiquiri, if you so choose. (True story.) It means you can sit on the bed of a Dodge pick up, right downtown, and have a drunken conversation with an on duty San Antonio police officer. It’s always good to carry your own beer because you can offer one to the officer and, chances are, he'll take it for after shift. Most places downtown allow you to take your own ice chest, a very few do not. Most places forbid glass containers, some prefer you do not drink out of a beer container, (can or plastic bottle). In some cases, though, plastic cups are available. (I once recieved a plastic glass from another on dudty SAPD officer, in front of the San Fernando Cathedral, because I had a can of cold beer in a Koozie...Again, true story.) There is no special Fiesta time drink. Beer is what most people drink, carry, share, spill, throw, drop, buy, and sell, during Fiesta, and most people like to take a few cans, at least, of their own cold beer with them. Oh, sure there is such a thing as a Fiesta Margarita but those are usually watered down, frozen concoctions, that are more sugar water than tequila, and are served in novelty glasses and they are roundly regarded as a rookie mistake. No, the Fiesta vet knows that beer is always the way to go. No, the Fiesta vet knows that beer is always the way to go. Some carry large pull behind icechest, usually parade going families who are lugging soft drinks, a picnic lunch, and of course beer. Others carry one-time use styrofoam things they pick up when they bought the case of beer and the bag of ice. I like to tote my beer around in a little collapsible Igloo container. It holds exactly what I need, has room for a snack, and when it’s empty, you just throw out the watery ice, and it'll fit into a backpack or, if you roll it up, into a large pocket or in a strap.
F) Toilet paper/hand sanitizer: As every drinker knows, we don’t so much buy our buzz as rent it. Try as one might to delay it, one must, sooner or later, answer natures call. The City of San Antonio provides an abundance of Port-O-Johns for this very reason. They very word, Port-O-John, though, is enough to strike terror into the heart of the Amateur Fiesta go-er. But take heart. The ladies police their own stalls for a modicum of cleanliness, and the men, well, we make do when we must and allow for bad aim as we don’t ever sit down in one. In every case, no matter the condition of the outhouse or the pressure on the bladder, these two items will always come in handy.
Now, I shall go kick off my Fiesta Week. I’m heading to a downtown Cantina to drink some beer and listen to some music. I will keep notes and take pictures this week, and try to check in when I can. It is important to remember that such things as work, school, or relationships might try to get in the way of a True Fiesta Experience. I try not to let them. One can always find another job, there’s always next semester, and if you’re significant other doesn’t Fiesta with you then they are against Fiesta altogether. Que Viva Fiesta!

The Start of a Potentially Savage Spring

2007-03-25T03:16:00.000-06:00

Irate Iran Rudely Retaliates – Kidnaps 15
When I first heard about the ambush and capture of the 15 Royal Navy crewmembers by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Ras al-Beesha area of the contested Shatt al-Arab/ Arvandrud, I wasn’t too surprised. Iran did this before on June 21, 2004. Those guys were released in a matter of days, after being paraded around on television, and threatened with prosecution. Then, there’s the whole timing of the incident…The day before the United Nations Security Council was going to vote on increasing sanctions against Iran for noncompliance with UNSC Resolution 1737. It’s curious, certainly, but not entirely suspicious. However, the IRGC has had a burr in their bridle for some time over the arrests of five Iranian (alleged) Consulate members in Iraq and the capture of members of the IRGC’s elite al-Quds Force in Iran.

The Sunday Times last week quoted Reza Falker, a writer for the Revolutionary Guards’ weekly newspaper, as saying: “We’ve got the ability to capture a nice bunch of blue-eyed blond-haired officers and feed them to our fighting cocks.”

There has also been speculation that, since the IRGC take orders from the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, it was he that he gave the order to have the unfortunate crews taken into custody. Add to this mix that the Commander of the IRGC, Yahya Rahim Safavi has been financially hit by the restrictions put in place by UNSC Resolutions, the most recent one, Resolution 1746 , just passed on Saturday, and will probably further hurt his pocket. Well, then, that, my Freaky Darlings, does starts to sound suspicious. It starts to sound downright premeditated.
Now, there’s bound to be a ton of diplomatic wrangling, in the next few days. The Iranians say the sailors were in territorial waters, the UK says they were operating in Iraqi waters. It’s being spun by the Iranians as being a deliberate act of aggression; the UK is calling it a misunderstanding. Rumors of espionage, confessions, indictments, trials, and the death penalty have been swirling around all night on the various news sources, but most of the correspondents reporting from Iran are saying that trials and consequences have not been discussed by the people in power, and that they are, for now at least, only rumors.

UN Nixes Nukes, Iran Continues Contumacious Course
The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously on Saturday to impose stronger sanctions against Iran. This time the 15-0 vote passed Resolution 1746 (see above). In the past, Russia and China have seemed unwilling to pressure Iran into abandoning the path to a nuclear future. I always felt their reluctance had to do with a 2004 Chinese “Mega-Gas Deal” and a 2005 Russian Nuke deal, with Iran. However, last month Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing openly urged Iran to resume negotiations and better their relations with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), and then, just last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov encouraged Iran to halt Uranium enrichment.
I think it makes a statement of international unity. It tells me that I’m not the only one paranoid enough to believe that Iran just might really be out to get us, or worse, us and others. And, don’t let them fool you. Russia and China don’t want to diffuse the situation. It would be more profitable if that War everyone keeps talking about kicks into High-Gear. Who do you think is equipping Iran and contributing to their military growth?
In any case Iran has pledged to continue their nuclear ambitions. Tehran has openly rebuffed the UN and has given every indication of ignoring pleas from the global community. The capture of those 15 Brits suddenly looks like a brilliant Iranian diversion; instead of having to face a depressing UN resolution, the Iranian people are being told that the British have encroached on their territory, were perhaps spying, were captured by their gallant guard, and were made to confess. I doubt they’ll try and trade them for some of their captured IRGC officers. That would be a mistake, would paint them in the same dark light as those hostage taking terrorists we see in Iraq. (And they’re not meddling, in Iraq, are they?) I think it’s more likely that they will make the world sweat it out for a few days, like last time. They will push the Brits, give them the run-around, and then release the 15 captives in a grand and magnanimous show of diplomacy, saying that they meant to release them all along.

Prince Harry Whoops It Up-Tipples, Topples
Prince Harry, who is shipping out to fight in Iraq at the end of May with his regiment, the Blues and Royal, had a wild night at his favorite London nightspot, Boujis. He downed drinks with the honeys, enjoying what appears to be the savage end of a 48 hour bender. The issue comes in as he was leaving, he allegedly attacked a photographer, and, once he was under control, he had an embarrassing photograph taken of him as he stumbled “spectacularly into the gutter” as one story put it.
I really don’t see what the issue is all about, here. I mean imagine, he’s a member of the Royal Family, is shipping out to do his duty in Iraq, has just graduated and is on his way over. A couple of days ago he turns on the television and sees that 15 of his people were snatched away, without a shot fired. I mean I’d be thinking “Great Googa-Mooga, that could be ME!”
Can anyone really blame him for going on this kind of binge? He’s a 22 year old, green, soon to see combat, officer, celebrating for what may very well be for the last time. Hell, I’m surprised all he did was chase around a paparazzo. With the way those vultures treated his mother, and the training he’s received, he could very well have killed the man. So what does it matter if he got drunk and fell down (Pushed, he was pushed!) it’s fine with me. At least I’ll know, the next time that gravity conspires to use my inebriation to bring me low, that I am, at least in that respect, in very good company.
UPDATE
A more recent story from Reuters seems to contradict an earlier report from other news agencies.

“An Iraqi fisherman who said he saw Iranian forces detain them, said on Saturday
the ship British forces were searching was anchored in Iraqi waters.”

So, now the eye-witnesses have changed their tune. The plot thickens. No one seems particularly distraught over these missing crewmembers. Perhaps I’ve grown jaded after so many prime time news shows, or remember the first batch of hostages taken when our forces first got to Iraq. Or maybe the Brits are just way more respectful and reserved about these things. I mean, if they’d been American sailors/marines I’d expect to get interviews with the families and loved ones of the missing on the evening news, and on CNN. Televised Images of courageous parents, stoically saying how their child will do their duty, perhaps one anti-war wife who’d launch into an impassioned tirade in front of a bouquet of cameras, the single mother who breaks into tears, and implores Jesus, the Almighty and brings audiences to tears when she answers “Say your prayers, baby, don’t lose faith,” when the concerned female anchor asks “if you could give them a message, what would it be”.
One story suggested that:

“Iran would probably not have seized American soldiers, even on the pretext that
they had strayed into its territorial waters.”

I’ve got to agree with that. Sure, insurgents have kidnapped some fat, straggling contractor or the odd grunt in Iraq, but I think Iran was safer in choosing a UK target. Certainly not because they were an easier target, from what I understand they are fierce fighters and noble allies. No, it’s because here, in America-Land, we’d have intercepted that football and ran, ran, ran to the end zone. Give us a crisis like that and we’ll give you one hell of a celebrity charity spectacle. Media circus? More like a Media Fiesta! Press conferences on every channel, every hour on the hour, the stations can dig up old military guys as paid analysts and talk for hours about things that may or may not happen, the sound bytes and the film clips…Now, That’s entertainment!

Winter is almost gone… save me a snow doughnut though

2007-03-18T13:11:00.001-06:00

Snow doughnuts...

Attack of the Snow Rollers

They look great. I wonder if they would make great snow cream.

Not my usual type of post, but I just couldn't resist. I hope all you freaks enjoy this last blast of winter. Bikini tops and shirtless overweight men like myself are coming to grace your presence soon.

Academy Award Ceremony

2007-02-25T22:29:00.000-07:00

The intro was poignant, a montage of excerpts from interviews with the nominees. That kind of let me know that the people I want to win aren't going to win…Again. (Sorry, Mr. O'Toole, and Mr. Eastwood…I was rooting for you guys!) Ellen was cute and chatty but she was no Whoopi, Billy or Bob. (Then again, who is?)

Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman gave out the award for Best Art Direction/Set Decoration to - Eugenio Caballero, Pilar Revuelta for "Pans Labyrinth". Then a commercial, and then Will Farrell sang a song with Jack Black and John C. Reilly ("A Comedian at the Oscars"). And then they handed out the Award for Achievement in Make up to - David Martí, Montse Ribé , again for "Pans Labyrinth".

Then a pair of kids (Abigail Breslin and Jayden Smith) handed out the awards for Best Animated Short to - Torill Kove for "The Danish Poet" and Best live Action Short to Ari Sandel for "West Bank Story". (Finally, I got one right…It's "a musical comedy set in the West Bank about conflict between Palestinians and Jews set between two falafel stands".)

Steve Carell and Greg Kinear handed out the Oscar for sound editing to Alan Robert Murray, Bub Asman for "Letters from Iwo Jima".

Jessica Beal and a little Scotsman handed out the award for Best Sound Mixing to Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer, Willie D. Burton "Dream Girls". That's about all they did. (First win for "Dream Girls" of the night.)

Finally, we get to one of the big ones. Rachel Wiez handed out the award for Best Supporting Actor to Alan Arkin for "Little Miss Sunshine". (Eddie Murphy, however, was the coolest looking nominee in the split-screen and, maybe, he should have won an award just for that feat alone.)

The amazing dance group Pilobolus worked their magic to interpret the night, creating the Oscar statue early on, and then the penguins from "Happy Feet". It is performances like those that add wonder and magic to this award ceremony. Then James Taylor and Randy Newman performed the song "Our Town" from "Cars". That was followed right away by Melissa Etheridge who sang her song "I need to wake up" from "An Inconvenient Truth".

In what started as a "What the hell?" moment, Leonardo DiCaprio and Al Gore had a mutual Green Moment when they announced that the Oscars, this year, were Eco-Friendly. Leo asked again and again if the Vice-President maybe had something he'd like to announce. Finally, at the end, a reluctant looking Gore reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a speech, and began "My fellow Americans, I'd like to take this moment to formally announce my-" Suddenly, the orchestra started up and played him off stage. Who says the old robot doesn't have a great sense of humor. He rocked on SNL and he could probably rock the vote if he were to seriously run again.

After the break Cameron Diaz awarded the Oscar for best animated feature to George Miller for "Happy Feet". Then Ben Affleck chewed up the stage as he introduced a montage about screenwriters and their trade and art. The montage was wonderful, Affleck looked bored.

The incomparable Helen Mirren and Tom Hanks gave the award for Best Adapted Screenplay. While the clips from the movie were playing the presenters read the scene from the original material, adding a new dimension to the work that Screenwriters do when they adapt a previous work. I love the format, and they should keep it for next year. The Oscar went to William Monahan for the "Departed" which was based on the Japanese film "Wu jian dao" by Siu Fai Mak and Felix Chong.

Emily Blunt and the always cute Anne Hathaway presented the award for best Costume Design. This time they had models actually present the costumes for each movie on the stage, which certainly adds more life and detail to each of these fantastic designs. The Oscar went to Melena Cononero for "Marie Antoinette".

A sedate (or sedated) Tom Cruise gave the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to more than deserving Sherry Lansing, who recently left her 30 year career in show business to devote her time to her non-profit organizations .

Ellen had Steven Spielberg take a picture of her and Clint Eastwood. (Eastwood called her "Darlin"…you can take the man outta the cowboy but you cannot take the cowboy outta the man.) It was cute. Earlier she gave Marty Scorsese a screenplay to look at.

Gwyneth Paltrow (she named her kid "Apple"?) presented the award for Achievement in Cinematography to Guillermo Navarro for "Pans Labyrinth", followed by another great moment from Pilobolus, who recreated a scene from "Little Miss Sunshine".

After the break Naomi Watts and Robert Downey, Jr. presented the award for Achievement in Special Effects to John Knoll, Hal T. Hickel, Charles Gibson, Allen Hall for "Pirates of the Caribbean"

Then Catherine Deneuve and Ken Watanabe presented a montage of foreign films, and then Clive Owen and Cate Blanchette presented the award for Best Foreign Language Film to: "Das Leben der Anderen" (The Lies of Others; Germany). It was a huge upset for Mexico and Pans Labyrinth.

And then Pilobolus did a fantastic "Snakes on a Plane" scene. The always charming and ever more handsome George Clooney presented the award for Best Supporting Actress to Jennifer Hudson for "Dream Girls". In my opinion she has given the most sincere and heartfelt acceptance speech of the evening thus far.

Eva Green and Gael García Bernal presented the award for Best Documentary Short Subjects to Ruby Yang, Thomas Lennon for "The Blood of Yingzhou District". Jerry Sienfeld came out and told a few jokes before presenting Best Documentary Feature to "An Inconvenient Truth". You know, why they don't tap Jerry to host the next one? In his 45 second segment he was funnier than Ellen has been all night.

They balanced out the green talk with a real Man. Clint Eastwood strode out to the immortal Ennio Morricone score from "The Good the Bad and the ugly" and falteringly introduced Ennio Moriccone for the Life Time Achievement Award. I own more soundtracks by this man than by any other. More than James Horner, Basil Polodouris, Michael Kamen…His work always seems to perfectly capture the essence of the film he's scoring. Celine Dion took a break from Vegas and took to the stage to perform the world premier of Ennio Morricones "I knew I Loved You". Then, an emotional Ennio Morricone took the stage, delivered a moving speech in Italian, (Translated by Mr. Eastwood himself) and received a much deserved grand ovation.

After the commercial Penelope Cruz and Hugh Jackman gave the award for best Original Score to Gustavo Santaolalla for "Babel".

Toby McGuire and Kirstin Dunst came out and handed out the award for Best Original Screenplay to Michael Arndt for "Little Miss Sunshine". This award was also presented with the presenter's voice-over reading the scene from the screenplay the way it was written. I must say that I really do like the way these writing awards are being handed out. It gives people a sense of what exactly this award is all about.

Another great dance sequence by Pilopolus for the "Devil Wears Prada". They made a high heeled show with a pitchfork at the bottom of the heel.

Jennifer Lopez came out in a terrible dress to introduce the three nominated songs, sung by Academy Award Winner Jennifer Hudson and Beyonce Knowles, from "Dream Girls". It's great seeing a large woman looking good on stage. Beyonce looks too sharp edged, like you'd cut yourself if you touch her, but Jennifer Hudson had a real and honest look and sound. Her voice sounded clear and strong, without the unnecessary shrieking that has become so common in music today but it seemed to represent the film well.

John Travolta and Queen Latifah graced the stage and presented the award for Best Original Song to Melissa Etheridge for "I Need to Wake Up", from "An Inconvenient Truth". She thanked Al Gore. Travolta slipped into his "Bobby Long" accent to say that he "Luvs a full-figured woman who can get up on stage and belt out a Broadway tune…But enough about me".

A not so fresh looking Will Smith got up after the break to introduce a short film by Michael Mann that took a look at "America:Through It's movies". It was an exceptionally well made look at all the different cultures, ethnicities and influences that make America great.

A beautiful Kate Winslett presented the award for Best Film Editing to Thelma Schoonmaker for "The Departed". She credits Martin Scorsese for her career, because they met at NYU and they go back a long way.

Jodi Foster came out afterward and did the In Memorium, which included Glenn Ford, Bruno Kirby, Alida Valli, Betty Comden, Jane Wyatt, Don Knotts, Red Buttons, Darren McGavin, Joe barbera, Tamera Dobson, Gretchen Rau, June Allyson, Gordon Parks, Philippe Noriette, Maureen Stapleton, Jack Wild, Vincent Sherman, James Doohan, Shohei, Carlo Ponti, Peter Boyle, James Glennon, Sidney Sheldon, Jack Palence, Mako, Jack Warden, Basil Poladouris, Henry Bumstead, and Robert Altman.

A set change and costume change for Ellen, brought us to the Big Moments in the show. She introduced Phillip Seymour Hoffman to present Best Actress Award to Helen Mirren. (YES!! Got another one! Remember that she also won top awards for playing Elizabeth I on an HBO mini-Series) It's no wonder she stood up there, held up her Oscar statue, and said "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you…The Queen!".

After that, Pilopolus made a shadow gun for "The Departed". We're in the home stretch now, with only the big ones left.

While vacuuming, (I told you, she really wasn't that funny...)Ellen found someones rolling papers, threw them to the band, and received a thumbs up from the pit.

Then, Reese Witherspoone came out and presented the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role to (crosses his fingers for Peter O'Toole…)…Forest Whitaker. DENIED!!! Although I'm glad that Forest Whitaker received the award, and he deserved it, I still feel that Sir Peter O'Toole needed it.

And then the legends hit the stage. "The Original Three Amigos": Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas, and gave their old friend Martin Scorsese the Oscar for Best Director. That moment, that scene, when everyone in the house, was on their feet, and to see that powerhouse of directorial power on that stage was the highlight of the night. Martin Scorsese deserved it and when they walked off that stage it was like watching the Wild Bunch of Hollywood on their way into Agua Verde. Cool Stuff.

A mean, gruff, bald Jack Nicholson came out with Diane Keaton and presented the Oscar for best picture to "The Departed". Scorsese called that film "The First movie I've ever done with a plot."

And that was the show. Commentary (maybe) to follow.

Oscar Time

2007-02-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

As I am preparing for my Oscar party I barely have time to get a few predictions posted. Enjoy the telecast…It's about to start…

Best Supporting Actress:

Should Win: Abigail Breslin

Best Supporting Actor:

Should Win: Eddie Murphy

Will Win: Alan Arkin

Will Win: Abigail Breslin

Best Animated:

Should Win: Monster House

Will Win: Happy Feet

Best Foreign Film:

Should Win: Pan's Labyrinth

Will Win: Days of Glory

Best Actor:

Should Win: Peter O'toole

Will Win: Forest Whitiker

Best Actress:

Should Win: Helen Mirrin

Will Win: Helen Mirrin

Best Director:

Should Win: Clint Eastwood

Will Win: Martin Scorse

Best Picture:

Should Win: Letters From Iwo Jima

Will Win: Little Miss Sunshine

It’s a Science, Stupid!

2007-02-19T06:35:00.000-07:00

I had already started to prepare a nice little entry about the NBA All Star Game, when I happened upon this response to a post in Thoth Web. See, a couple of days ago someone called "thepodule" mentioned John Anthony West over in Thoth Web and I responded with a little anecdote.

thepodule said:

Hi all,

I thought you might like to know that John Anthony West's PhoenixFire podcast is available on iTunes now, as well as his PhoenixFire blog here:http://jawphoenixfire.blogspot.com/

He goes into the complete background of the origins of his work with Robert Schock, and the origins of the water weathering theory of the Sphinx.

All the best

Geraint

So I say:

Side note:

I remember in a class I took with Kent Weeks,
back in the early 90's (before he spent all his time on KV5) someone asked him
about John Anthony West. Without missing a beat, Doc Weeks said "John Anthony
West? What can I say? He's not a real Egyptologist...His methods are sloppy, his
ideas are ludicrous, and his mother dresses him funny."

We all had a great laugh about that.

I wasn't trying to start anything, just, really, trying to get the same kind of laugh which we all shared, at the time. Well, among the usual flutter of vapid responses this little slice of fried gold came up, purporting to be from the man himself, John Anthony West:
Jaw responds

>Without missing a beat, Doc Weeks said "John Anthony West? What can I say? He's not a real Egyptologist..<

Correct; I am not a 'real' Egyptologist. That is why I know something.

The 'real' Egyptologists (with a very few exceptions, Weeks not among them) spend their time arguing over how many asps killed Cleopatra* or, like Doc Weeks, scrabble around on their knees (apposite position) in the dust of yet another meaningless tomb, sifting rubble and eventually publishing a meaningless book or meaningless paper of zero interest or significance to anyone. **

*Serpent in the Sky, p.9, margin note.

** cf., a list of abstracts of any Egyptological conference anywhere in the world.

> His methods are sloppy, his ideas are ludicrous,

Without examples or citations it is impossible to address the charge of sloppiness, but no examples are needed to address 'ludicrous'.

If Doc Weeks is talking about my work on the water-weathering of the Sphinx and the need to drastically redate it, it should be enough to say that at two separate Annual Meetings of the Geological Society of America (1991, 2000) the overwhelming, indeed, near unanimous reaction of hundreds of professional geologists was that our evidence looked very convincing indeed. The word 'sloppy' was never used, nor did anyone shout 'ludicrous'.

I should also like to point out here, or re-point out (as George Bernard Shaw liked to say, 'I always quote myself. It adds spice to the conversation.') the argument about the Sphinx is based upon weathering patterns in rock, plain and simple, and when it comes to opinions about weathering patterns in rocks, an Egyptologist's opinion is no better than a proctologist's.

If 'ludicrous' refers to the 'Symbolist' interpretation of Egypt that I champion, as developed by R.A. Schwaller de Lubicz, well, that is another matter; one not to be solved by 'hard' science as such but rather supported by a corpus of meticulously accumulated and detailed factual documentation.

Thereafter, what is required is an ability to accurately interpret those facts. This is where 'real' Egyptologists like Doc Weeks find themselves in uncharted and, for them, scary territory. Their reaction to this work is, however, perfectly understandable.

The Tao Te Ching (google it up, Adrastus) summarizes the situation well.

'When the best student is taught the Tao, he practices it assiduously.

When the average student is taught the Tao it seems to him there one moment and gone the next.

When the worst student is taught the Tao, he laughs out loud; if he did not laugh, it would be unworthy of being the Tao.'

Or put another way; it is futile to talk moonbeams to the blind, or music to the deaf, and dangerous to talk sex to eunuchs, they just get angry, sometimes violent.

BTW, I note that the career of the legendary Adrastus was marked chiefly by a succession of failures; certainly a well-chosen pseudonym.

>'…and his mother dresses him funny ' We all had a great laugh about that'

I trust you're still laughing.

John Anthony West

Now, I don't care if it was really him, or not, it just made my day. I shelved the rather predictable All Star game (West took it 153 to 132. Kobe Bryant got MVP for his 31 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. Get back to me next week when I start actually playing for money on these games,) and went right to work crafting a response. This is the rough draft. Please leave any suggestions in the comments section. It is my intention to post it to him before sunset today :

"Tourists…The 11^th Plague of Egypt"

-Uttered by the Expat in Egypt on several occasions

Yes, I'm laughing even more heartily, now, indeed. You see, I've heard Dr. Weeks lecture, Mr. West. I've taken several courses with him at the AUC and I continue to delight for his success with the KV5 excavation. His ideas are sound, his methods are above reproach, and his results speak for themselves. He is a real Egyptologist and a man of science. I have never heard him, or anyone else for that matter, say that they take the Cleopatra-asp-myth seriously, and I think it's unfortunate that you feel that all the hard work that serious Egyptologists are doing is meaningless.
I've got to say that I didn't realize it would be so upsetting to some people that I share a little anecdote from my freshman year at the AUC. The truth of the matter is that every year, among the serious students, we would receive a few who were compelled to ask about "re-dating the age of the Sphinx" or about the "Orion Connection". The faculty response was, at times, mixed, but it was always colorful, comedic, and clever. (You probably don't want to know what Salima Ikram had to say about it.)

I have also had the opportunity to hear you speak, Mr. West. Of course, it wasn't at the AUC, nor was it on one of your renowned "Magical Egypt Tours" which, I'm sure, delight hundreds (thousands?) of people a year. No, I've heard you speak on your "symbolist views" primarily in the various interviews you've given on television and, perhaps, in the occasional podcast. Also, I've come across your work before, and have read enough follow-up material relating to you and your work. I find your ideas, and those of Schwaller de Lubicz before you, to be novel and creative. Personally, I believe that some of them might even deserve greater scrutiny in the serious academic community. What's more, I find them to be made up of the very stuff that the masses find easily digestible and entertaining. They are, quite obviously, exceptionally marketable in that capacity.

In fact, Mr. West, may I suggest that, as a premium for your AWF club, you offer little "antiqued" scarab-shaped decoder rings, with wings that open to reveal a secret message, to your members. I know a man right off Shari'a el Muski, near El Hussein, that can manufacture them for just pennies each.

The sad truth seems to be that, for centuries, Egypt has been a lure for those who would who play at being Kharteyya , and fleece the willing for their own personal gain. Tourist hawkers still line the streets of Downtown Cairo, making a living exploiting the complex culture and ethos of the place. Under the ever-present administration there this practice has become the backbone of the industry. What's even sadder, Mr. West, is that you have made yourself a part of that.

No, you are certainly not a real Egyptologist. I think you're a huckster, today's equivalent of a sideshow barker, mixing together their patent blend of smoke and mirrors with a palatable mix of pop archeology and pseudo-history. You deliver it well, Mr. West, with all the skill and craftiness of a modern day P.T. Barnum. It's no surprise that you won an Emmy Award 6 years before Susan Lucci did. (Feel free to Google up that one.)

In short, Mr. West, you are just a tour guide; and by the look of it you are an exceptionally successful one. You lead bands of jaunty, sedate, truth-seeking Khuwaggas up the Nile and back again. They buy many pretty souvenirs at all the shops along the way, and then they go home again with their interesting and exotic stories with which to amuse family and astonish friends. For many people what you offer is enough.

They don't want the traffic and the noise and the spicy political situation there. Hell no! They don't want to deal with the rampant superfluous humanity in Cairo and all the daily travails that brings. What they want is to go to Egypt and have magical experiences from abroad. They want to purchase the mystique of Egypt and bottle it up, bring it back home with them as their very own. On the whole, what they want is fast-food-Egyptology and you, sir, are its Colonel Sanders. So, yes, the reaction that real Egyptologists might have toward your work is, indeed, perfectly understandable.

Anyway, thank you for your response. Regardless of your beliefs your thoughtful comments will certainly be taken under consideration. I have enjoyed our short correspondence. Not only have you given me another amusing anecdote to tell but it has elucidated me about you. Up until now, I was under the impression that you were an unapproachable and mystic man, with a wise mind and clever wit, but you're really rather quite sensitive, aren't you.
All My Best
Adrastas

Well, let me know. I'm open to ideas for the final draft.

========================================
UPDATE
Well, they closed the thread to further comments (most probably at his request). I sent the above missive in response to a private msg he sent me at Thoth Web (in which the tour guide called me a “windbag”). It makes me wonder how much work he’s actually doing (outside of the leisure industry) if he has enough spare time on his hands to cruise blogs and new age forums. Well, it just goes to show you, my freaky darlings, the nuttier the bird the louder it's heard .
=====================================================
UPDATE-8:30 pm
I recieved this information about the Lost Thread on ThothWeb from FyreSpirit:
"Mal removed it, since that horse's ass JAW broke all of our major posting rules. I was actually about to copy and paste your excellent reply into it since I can't override the admin's ability to boot you from the thread. Kudos for what you said to him, I hope your blog is widely read.
Fyre"
I would like to thank FyreSpirit and Kel for their supportive comments, and Mal for having the sense to put an end to that thread befor it got any worse. It's great to know that there are still some good people out there who are willing to stand up against the rising tide of ignorance and deception in our world.

Oops…

2007-02-18T02:59:00.000-07:00

I came across a post on Surfing the Apocalypse titled "TEXAS REPUBLICANS ARE ANTI-COPERNICUS...HUH" . It was mainly one long quote from a post over on The Daily Kos which was, in turn, an editorial on a different post over on Burnt Orange Report.

Basically, the posts were gleeful, anti-Texan rants about how the chairman of the Texas House Appropriations Committee, the unfortunate Warren Chisum, circulated a memo, penned by Ben Bridges, (R, Georgia House of Representatives, 10^th District) that was a weird attempt to "challenge the evolution monopoly in the schools". The memo stated that:

"…the Courts have ruled that "creation science" (& "ID") has a religious agenda and….[violates] the U.S. Constitution."

And that:

"Evolution science", on the other hand, has been viewed by the Courts as "secular science" with no religious agenda…has been deemed lawful under the Constitution."

Then, like the impassioned pitch of an infomercial huckster, goes on to say:

"All of that can now be changed! Indisputable evidence-long hidden but now available to everyone-demonstrates conclusively that so-called "secular evolution science" is the Big-Bang 15-billion-year alternate "creation scenario" of the Pharisee Religion".

That's right, the Pharisee Religion. I believe that what the Hon. Ben Bridges is trying to say is that Jews are somehow responsible for spreading Biological Evolution Theory, Copernican Cosmology, Quantum physics, the whole Big Bang, and just about every other advancement in science in the last 250 years. But wait, there's more! According to this memo all of these ideas are:

"…derived concept-for-concept from Rabbinic writings in the mystic "holy book" Kabbala dating back at least two millennia. Evidence in the URLs below shows conclusively that "evolution science" has a very specific religious agenda and (as with "creation science") cannot legally be taught in taxpayer supported schools, according to the Constitution."

Aha! Why it's all been an insidious Jewish plot to bring down the good and moral Christian values of home town America. There are three links and they all lead to pages at a site called www.fixedearth.com. It turns out that, not only is that website extremely stupid, it is also extremely and, quite predictably, anti-Semitic. I think we can all see where they were trying to go with this one, though. They were trying to pull the old "what's good for the goose is good for the gander" on science, but once again, ignorance is its own undoing. As The Houston Chronicles "Sci Guy", Eric Berger, said about it:

"If you have a reasonable understanding of science, this is all completely ludicrous…"

So, after an immediate outcry by the Anti-Defamation League, Mr. Chisum apologized for his association with this memo, and stated that:

"I sincerely regret that I did not take the time to carefully review these materials and recognize that I may have hurt or offended some groups including some of my dear friends."

The truth is that Warren Chisum represents only about 143,979 people in District 88, which is spread out over nineteen counties in the Texas Panhandle. That's a part of Texas that I like to call "Lower Oklahoma". It is a flat and desolate place. It is isolated and remote. It is a place where the horizon and the wind can drive a person mad with the enormity and solitude of it all. It is a twisted and awful place full of cracked pots and road-kill. It is not a place known for breakthroughs in science, art, literature, or any of the Humanistic sciences or arts.

The scary part, as stated by Mr. Berger, is that:

"This would all be really funny if the Texas legislature didn't have some sway over the State Board of Education (which is subject to the Sunset Law) and if Chisum weren't a powerful Rep (he's chairman of the Appropriations Committee.) The Texas House could pass a bill ordering the board to stop teaching evolution, or perhaps Chisum could easily enough lean on some of the board's more conservative members to take action."

That's Lower Oklahoma for you.

Spurs vs Mavs: Showdown in San Antonio

2007-01-05T17:15:00.000-07:00

With back to back losses in the New Year, Spurs fans have a good reason to worry about the Dallas Mavericks, tonight. Dallas is coming into San Antonio with momentum and a grudge.
The momentum comes off their Texas sized 12-game winning streak, and the grudge comes from Coach Avery Johnson, (Formerly the Co-Captain of the San Antonio Spurs, under David Robinson).
Mavs owner Mark Cuban has worked his hardest over the last few seasons to create the “I-35 Rivalry”, and so, when Dallas comes into town, Spurs Fans always take notice. This time, however, there’s a sense of trepidation and concern.
The stats from Spurs.com tell it all:

“In the last 10 meetings between San Antonio (23-10) and Dallas (25-7), the Mavericks have averaged 92.8 points, while the Spurs have averaged 91.6.”

And it seems that some fans are already demoralized:
“The Spurs,” said one of my sources, “are going to lose tonight. My money is on Dallas.” Sadly, though, it does represent the general mood here in San Antonio about tonight’s game.
“The Spurs start strong early in the season, but about this time of year, they slack off. It goes on that way until after the All-Star Game,” said another. “They’ll pick it up in March.”

Still, many fans are sure that the numbers are actually working against Dallas. With 12 consecutive wins the odds are against them. They’re due a loss, and why not at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs. Two losses in a row is not that large a setback, if they can come back tonight and cash in on the odds.
With about an hour before game time, I still think that the Silver and Black can pull it off, if they can contain Dirk Nowitzki and keep the Mav offense off their toes in the paint.

A Quick Hello to NBA Bloggers

2007-01-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

To those of you reading this on NBA Bloggers, Hello, and welcome to this blog. Now, it's not exclusively an NBA blog. In fact, it mainly covers the San Antonio Spurs, and mainly during play-off season. The rest of the site is a mix of news, wierdness, and just general wacky stuff. So, just check back every now and then and see if there's something up about the Spurs, or the NBA. Again, welcome, and enjoy.

Don't pass me that ketchup bottle.

2006-12-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

This sad but apparently true article seems like the stuff of urban legends. What can we say about this incident? Not a whole lot really... we all went to school with someone that was just like this kid. Maybe when they arrest him they can also charge him with a sex crime. That way he will not be allowed to be within 500 feet of a school?

You might ask yourself how he would finish school but, the point is exactly that. Maybe he shouldn’t finish so that he can wander around in life knowing that if he had not done that disgusting act while he had a full life ahead of him things would be ok.

I think he deserves the Idiot of the Week award. Then again he might be on some future sluts to do list at this point. Maybe he has a future in pornography. Only time can tell the tale.

Next time put a condom on before you jerk off into the condiment bottle.
Until next time my fellow freaks.

2006-11-09T20:54:00.000-07:00

I ran across this article over on the Daily Mail Online. I wasn't familiar with Nick Pope or his work with the Ministry of Defense over in the U.K. but I found an audio interview with him here.

A few unnerving quotes from the artcile:

"If you believe these things are extra terrestrial craft then you cannot rule out that what is happening is some kind of covert reconnaissance."

"The consequences of getting this one wrong could be huge," he said."

"And while Mr Pope says that there is no evidence of hostile intent, he insists it cannot be ruled out. "

"There has got to be the potential for that and one is left with the uneasy feeling that if it turned out to be so, there is very little we could do about it," he said. "

Announcement

2006-11-06T22:36:00.000-07:00

"Reporters without borders organises 24-hour online demo against Internet censorship
Help to combat online censorship by taking part

Everyone is invited to connect to the Reporters Without Borders website (www.rsf.org) between 11 a.m. on 7 November and 11 a.m. on 8 November."

Saddam Gets Death!

2006-11-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

He's Guilty! The judge has ordered that the former dictator be hanged from the neck until dead. The trial, which has lasted the better part of a year, and has been filled with drama, death, murder, and tears, ended with three death senteces, (Saddam, Barzan Ibrahim, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar) three lengthy prison sentences, and one aquital.
Now the death sentences go through an automatic appeals process, which could take anotehr six weeks or more. When all is said and done, it could be spring before the sentence is carried out.

As I am so fond of saying: Fiat iustitia et pereat mundus!

Vulnerant omnes, ultima necat

2006-09-28T04:34:00.000-06:00

------------------------------ 1933-2006 ---------------------------
The end for the Esquire Tavern came suddenly like the death of an old relative that you never even knew was sick. We always remember where we were when we receive news of a catastrophe. I got the news late in the afternoon on a very hot day, at a mild, little watering hole called the Bar Lay Low.
“Did you hear the news?” the bartender asked me, as I was tipping into my third bottle of beer. “They’re going to close The Esquire. Tonight’s the last night”
“The hell you say,” I said, annoyed that anyone would even joke about such a thing. Sadly, though, it was not a joke. He produced an article in the San Antonio Express News confirming that last call had indeed come for one of my closest, oldest, and dearest friends.
Without delay I gathered up some people and made the trip downtown to see the old place for the last time.
I don’t remember the first time I ever went to the Esquire, but it it was probably in 1976. . Every time my grandfather took me with him on his downtown errands, and it was just the two of us, we would almost always end at the Esquire.
For years, it was the only place I could get an underage beer. They served me because they knew my grandfather. Even after he passed away, in 1989, I could drink there without hassle, as long as I sat in the booth in the back, so that I could slip out the back door to the Riverwalk, in case the authorities walked in the front.
It was strange walking through those doors, on 155 E Commerce St, knowing it was going to be for the last time. Those doors have offered welcoming shelter to generations of San Antonians, and visitors from afar, since 1933. To the left is the longest long bar in the State of Texas, stretching almost the entire length of the room.
On the right, the row of high backed wooden booths that had offered me anonymity and safety, were all filled up. We had to wedge ourselves into the crowded bar, amid the regulars, and fans, and the gawkers that had come to watch the old place go down in style.
After talking to a few people I found out that the two fat-cat grossero owners, who had bought the bar out from under the original owner 15 years ago, had, at last, tired of the place and had decided to rape the place for her charms, and dress her up into another trendy tourist trap. Blame it on the Riverwalk Expansion Project, or on progress, or on greed.
Whatever the reasons, however, it was evident that The Esquire was making her last stand.
"They're keeping the light fixtures and the bar, I think," said one patron. "But I think they're going to rip out the wall-paper and paint over the murals on the wall."
The ceiling, I found out, is also going to be kept. It's a wonderful goddamn coffered thing, a real work of art, the kind of thing that makes it look like a real saloon. Photographs don't really do the wall-paper justice, but that too is part of the whole Old West Saloon feel. It's textured, and old, and feels like touching the past.
"I offered to buy one of those lamps on the wall," he went on. "But the they won't sell me one." He took a deep swallow off his longneck beer. "I'm going to steal one when no one's looking," he chuckled.

The jukebox was playing something up-beat, and there was a band setting up in the back, so we stood at the bar drinking beers , with an occasional shot of tequila or bourbon, to mark the passing of a landmark, trying hard to forget how fast the clock was moving.
We are always aware of the mortality of our favorite places, the intense fragility of a time and a place, but one expects a certain level of venerability of such a thing as an old bar. When one of them is taken from you it strikes you hard, and leaves you feeling stunned and hollow, like a batter giving it your all and still coming up one run short.

News of such a tragedy hits different people in different ways. Some of them weep openly, others enter into a state of denial, and still others stoically belly up to the bar and take part in the age old ritual known as The Wake, wherein fond memories and bitter-sweet recollections are passed around like a bottle. Pain shared is pain lessened, as the old bar room adage goes.
A booth opened up and my party went to sit there, but I stayed at the bar, talking to Joe Anthony, who was so proud of having just been interviewed for the Express News. He told me how he remembered coming to the bar with his mother, when he was a child, and raising cain until she took him to the Woolworths down the block to buy him a toy. "I'll still keep coming here when they reopen it. It's the only bar I haven't been thrown out of," he chucked. "And I've been thrown out of lots of bars."
But I won't be back. A few years ago I had a friend come all the way from Tasmania to visit. For most of her trip, she found some way to unfavorably compare things to her country. Now, it’s always been my habit to take tourists and friends from My Famous Alamo Tour to the San Fernando Cathedral, by way of The Esquire. It’s right along the way, from either the Riverwalk or the street level.
With her, I cut the Alamo tour short, and herded her into one of those tall wooden booths, where for the next two hours, she sat in wonder, drinking cold beers, and rolling her own cigarettes, finally giving me the satisfaction of hearing her say “We have *nothing* like this back home.” How can I top that in a "Family Friendly Atmosphere"?. No. I won't be back.
A little later, I was at the bar trying to get a bartenders eye, when I met a lovely couple from Houston. They were intensly absorbed by the extra innings of the Houston v. Pittsburgh game (Go Astros!), and I struck up a conversation. It turns out that they just needed to get away, came down to San Antonio, and had found the bar by accident. He lamented The Esquires fate, correctly blaming it on “the yuppies”. It turns out that the same thing is going on in Houston, the "trendification" of historic sections of town, sacrificing historical value for the mighty tourist dollar. I was glad that, even on her last night as a real Bar, The Esquire could still pull them in from near and far.
I stood there, at the bar, glad to be there at that time, and at that moment, letting my hands drink in the rough, worn, wood on the lip of the bar, as if I could, somehow, infuse myself with a small part of the place, take it with me when I left, and carry it forever.
When I was a kid I remember watching men in Western movies step up to the bar and order a shot of whiskey, toss it back, flip some money on the counter, and walk out. Even when I was in Cairo, where I'd honed my drinking skills to a near expert level, I had never had occasion to do that. So, one afternoon, after a particularly sour date, not long after my return to San Antonio from Berkeley, I walked in to The Esquire, feeling low, and ordered a double shot of Wild Turkey. I swigged it down and paid before the bartender could even blink, and I walked out of there without a care in the world, feeling just like Jesse James. It's not something that I do often, nor is it something that I recommend for the faint of liver or will, but I do think everyone should do it, at least once.
Later, I sat alone in a booth, listening to the loud rockabilly stylings of Mitch Webb and the Swindlers, and I thought about some of the musicians I'd met here, over the years.
The Esquire was never known for being a music venue. Live music is not a staple in such a narrow and enclosed space, but I could list some names that have shaken the pillars of heaven and hell with their music. Legends whose music still moves with me and will always be part of the sountrack to my life. To not only have heard their music, and met them, but to have shared a beer with them, talked to them. That's a rare thing that will not come that easily again.
Some of them are dead already, and some of them are on their merry way, but for me, they will never sound as good as they did when heard from one of those little booths in that long, old, narrow room, with a cold beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Maybe that's they way it'll be when I get to where they're at, and maybe they'll sound just as good as they did back then, but I have a feeling that, wherever it is, it will look and feel a lot like The Esquire.
As one patron said that night : "Damnit, if they take away The Esquire, where the hell is Jesus going to go and get a drink when he comes back?"
I had been there a couple of hours, that final night, roping up memories like strays, and drinking beer like it would actually do some good, when I noticed that several people wandering around the bar had adhered bits of masking tape to themselves, and on them they had written little messages in support of preserving the old place. It was pleasant to see them doing this, and they all seemed to be really into the idea of saving The Esquire, but, I felt, it was too little too late. Where were they when the plans were announced?
To be fair, however, if the gant-hawk owners had bothered to let the people know of their intentions ahead of time I am sure that these people could have mounted one of those industriously futile, grass-roots, kind of movements to try and Save the Esquire, the way they do in cities that actually give a rats fat ass about their heritage and history. Maybe it would have gained some support from the city drunks, maybe even from the old timers from the court house across the street, who used to wander in for a lunchtime triple shot and an ice cold bottle of beer. Maybe it might have actually done some good. Unfortunatly, however, all we had left to offer were little ticky-tacky scraps of tape with which to offer feeble support for a cause that was lame from the moment it left the gate. I noticed that hardly any of the regulars were wandering around the place with pieces of tape stuck to them. Certainly none of the Staff.
In fact, I noticed that the staff seemed quite surley and bothered by the fuss. Maybe it was the crowd, the rush for .75 cent beer, that made them cranky, or maybe it was that they felt the loss in a very personal and deep way that they chose not to share with the public on the opposite end of the bar, but I did notice that the moment was not wasted on all of them, that at least this one took the time to take a picture of the crowd.
After seeing the little strips of tape everywhere I had to go in search of the people that were scribbling these tags, and fighting the good fight. I couldn't confirm that they came up with the idea, but I was led to this couple with the tape and the marker. It seems that they had moved back to their native San Antonio from San Franciso, and had found out the terrible news much the same way as I had, and had to hurry down to the bar, to give it their fond farewell.
I reminisced some with them about the bar, and some good times in the Bay Area, but, after a round of drinks, I realized that, sweet as they seemed, they were not at all the type of people that would have ventured out of the City unless they had to, not into the DMZ of the part of Oakland I loved, and certainly not into Connolly's bar, at 4822 Telegraph Ave. It just wasn't their kind of place, and neither, for that matter, was The Esquire.
I remember when The Esquire carried a certain kind of seedy respect, when it was the kind of place that you didn't take a respectable date, and you took your life into your own hands by just walking into the place. The Esquire has always had a shady, sort of rough reputation. In its 73 years of business, more than one patron came to a messy end mid-swig and unaware. This prompted the management to hire security to frisk patrons at the door.
One chilly night in December of 1999, I went in there dressed wearing my winter long coat, tall combat boots, mirror shades, and black leather gloves and young, plump security guard was suddenly busy elsewhere. Since I wasn’t frisked an entire section of the bar moved closer to the back door, and every conversation stopped when I settled in. For the duration of three beers and four shots, I generated enough nervous energy in those people to launch the space shuttle. Being a total nerd, however, I was oblivious to this until my uncle told me about it later. They thought I was going in there to take some one out; they thought it was a hit.
Just as near back as then, there were not yuppies in the bar, and people didn't think it was trendy to go there; they hadn't yet built up the balls to "slum" it in that side of town.
I think of all the places here in San Antonio that have been taken over by the young, and the fashionable, and the altogether clueless, like the Bar America, and the Mission Drive In, and the entire south side of downtown, and I suddenly don't feel so bad about how The Esquire went out.
She didn't get taken over by the tourists, or the cash-rich, or the fraudulently cool, like so many other places in this town. Whatever they open up in her place might have the same name, but the intention was made clear already to make it a "family" "BBQ" establishment. In other words, The Esquire of my youth is dead, and nothing can change that, but at least she didn't fizzle, and reek, and fester in the throes of transition, at least she didn't get her spirit squashed out by the invasion of the trendies.
My grandfather was the same way, a relic from a different age. The weekend he died, he went partying on friday night, saturday night out with his girlfriend, and then to church on sunday morning. . That night he took me in his arms and gave me a monsterous bear hug that made my spine crack, and it was strong, and memorable, and forever. Monday by noon-time, he was dead. Just like that. No illness, no worry, no fear. That's the way I'd like to go.
I'm glad that he went out that way, and in the same way, I am glad that The Esquire did, too. We should all be so lucky.

Every (hour) wounds, the last kills

- Inscription on Roman Sundial

Pope, Dope, Get a Rope

2006-09-16T04:20:00.000-06:00

Pope

By now, I’m sure, everyone has heard about the furor caused by the comments Pope Benedict XVI made during his recent trip to Germany. He was quoting from an argument between Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos and a Persian emissary.

"Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."
(Full Text)

First it is important to remember that the Pope was not claiming this to be his own views, but rather, was questioning the idea of Jihad, or “holy war”. Also, the historical context of these statements is very important to remember when considering what the Pope meant

The Ottoman Empire, at the time, was a sudden super power, and was threatening to overwhelm The Byzantine Empire, an event which eventually happened in 1453. (That’s why it’s now Istanbul, not Constantinople.) In other words, Manual II was the third to the last of the rulers of a doomed kingdom, who had lived his entire life in the shadow of war, defending a crumbling empire, losing family and friends in war with the invading Muslim horde.

Now, that the Pope was taken out of context is one thing. Misunderstandings happen. What is no mistake, however, is that the hostility and violence that Muslims worldwide demonstrated in the past couple of days has, in many ways, proven what Manuel II said as correct. Muslims can be a violent people, who will use any excuse to show this violent behavior to the world.
It stuns me to think that, in the 21st century, Islamic clerics can condemn the Roman Catholic Pope of being “medieval” and “Ignorant” when they repeatedly call for violence against people and nations, murder of their enemies, political mayhem to those who disagree with them, and all in the name of a very strict and temporally provincialist, ethnocentric religion.
I am reminded of an incident that happened to me in Cairo, back in the innocent days before the world fell into it’s present state of chaos. I was having lunch with an exceptionally snotty bunch of Western students, who had made no effort whatsoever to fit in, or make native friends, or get to know the people in any way at all. I listened to them share their overtly PC and saccharine thoughts and opinions about Islam, and when I’d had enough, I blurted out, ”You’re all full if it. Islam makes people stupid.”
Now, this was back in the days before the Islamofascist movement had taken a strong foothold in Cairo, otherwise, I may have been rent limb from limb like a bastard in the street. Fortunately, all I succeeded in doing was shocking my innocent Western brood. I went on to explain that Islam, by its very nature, calls for mindless submission, suppression of individuality, and drone-like servitude. I used the notion of praying 5 times a day, at intervals which interrupt a person’s sleep schedule, to show that one of the religions main purposes is to manipulate and warp. Sleep interruption and deprivation is a well known and time tested technique used to break down people’s will, and soften them up for mind control sessions. This has been used by interrogators, cult leaders, and bitchy domineering girl-friends for centuries, and usually leaves the broken subjects open all sorts of suggestion. Quod erat demonstrandum.
Now, it was not my intention to insult Islam, and yet, any Muslim listening to me would have been shocked and appalled, and probably visited upon my person great violence and harm. In this way, Islam keeps free dialog and debate from ever happening, and prohibits progress and open mindedness. The Pope, it seems, has had to learn this the hard way.

Dope

After my post on Tom Cruise I took some flack from one of my biggest fans over the rancor and ire that I heaped upon the wacky Hollyhood star. It made me think about why I dislike the guy so much, and if I was perhaps being irrational about it. I realized that I started to dislike the guy when he went off the deep end with this Scientology crap.
Those thugs are dangerous and have infultrated the American Film Industry to a dangerous degree. Take this story from RadarOnline.Com.

"According to a high-ranking media executive, Paramount Pictures honcho Grey had a highly unpleasant run-in with the Church during his tense negotiations with Cruise over Mission: Impossible 3. Grey, who had recently joined the studio, entered the talks determined to make Cruise accept a smaller share of the gross revenues than he had from the first two installments in the franchise. (For those films, the actor reportedly took home an unheard-of 30 percent of the total revenue.) Leaving the office one night, the diminutive Grey, walking to his car in the Paramount lot, suddenly found himself surrounded by more than a dozen Scientologists, who pressured him to ease up on the actor, according to the source."

So, now it comes out that one of the main reasons that Paramount Studios decided to end their contract with Tom Cruise is that he resorted to strong arm tactics to try and extort a better deal from executives. Now, surely, this is not the only times this kind of thing has happened in Hollywood. I saw the Godfather. But this is not the Cosa Nostra. We expect actions like that from Tony Soprano, or Don Vito Corleone. This comes from the Church of Scientology. Now, I'm no expert on cults, and, this being The United States of America, a person is free to worship in any way they choose to do so. However, when their church uses methods normnally reserved for orginized crime or dark Op's Government agents, then I start to get worried.
I start to wonder how many of our beloved hollywood celebreties are being held against their will by this strange and whacked out cult. Kirstie Alliey, John Travolta, Emelio Esteves, Candice bergen, Juliette Lewis...the list goes on.
Perhaps there is something more to this whole Scientology boondoggle than meets the eye, a sinister and dark plot to control celebreties and their money, who can in turn, control the very fabric of American cinema. If that is the case, then we must ask ourselves...What would Ronald Reagan do? What would John Wayne do? Maybe there is a link between the Scientology connection and the level of bad stinky acting coming out of hollywood in this day and age?

Get a Rope

Venezuelan strong man Hugo Chavez is at it again, stirring up trouble the day after a somber United States commemorated the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In a speech to supporters he has started to support the fringe conspiracy theory that the United States was responsible for the events of that awful day.

‘The hypothesis is not absurd ... that those towers could have been dynamited…A building never collapses like that, unless it’s with an implosion…Why? To justify the aggressions that immediately were unleashed on Afghanistan, on Iraq.”
(link)

Now, this insulting idea has been spreading like a fungus around the internet for years, mostly, I have found, by anti-American foreigners who are looking to add insult to injury. There are several Americans who seem to believe this non-sense, mostly out to discredit the Bush administration, and bring dissent and doubt to the people. These subversives are probably bolstered by foreigners.
I’ve run up against the idea that the American Government was either directly responsible for the attacks, or allowed them to happen. Mostly, the unwashed masses that spew out this misinformation are barely literate, trouble makers who are as likely to protest the moon landing as they are the attacks. They use the flimsiest of “proof”, and illogical queries to dissemble their misinformation. They ask that rational people prove that it did not happen the way they say it did, without realizing that the burden of evidence rests with them to prove that it did.
To date, not one of their arguments has stood up to scientific scrutiny, and I believe that little green men from Mars will be proven to exist long before these nuts can present their ideas in a clear cut, scientific, and logical manner.
This, however, doesn’t make them go away. Remember, “They who know not, and know not that they know not…Shun them.”
They are relentless, assaulting the intelligent person with a barrage of meaningless questions as though their lack of answers of evidence somehow proves their point correct, and yours wrong. It’s like arguing with a Creationist, or a Liberal, there’s no winning, because they have already made up their mind that you have lost. It is these nuts that are letting the terrorists win. Chavez is just showing his true allegiance. In fact, in 2002, Free Republic News reported this:

“The private pilot of Hugo Chavez, Major Diaz Castillo has since defected and
has started to talk. As the trusted insider who flew the president's Airbus, he
was an eye-witness to secret meetings between Chavez and some of the top
dictators in the world. He was also in charge of organizing one million dollars
worth of assistance from Chavez to Al Qaeda.”
(link)

So, it’s very likely that, although he is aware of the truth in the 9/11 attacks, he is doing what he does best…Adding fuel to a fire. One day, though, that fire is going to burn him, and when it does, I hope it will be broadcast live on CNN, so that there’ll be no mistake who did what, to whom, when, and how.

We Will Never Forget

2006-09-11T00:01:00.000-06:00

It's a Girl?

2006-09-06T07:19:00.000-06:00

Vanity Fair revealed the cover of their new issue which features a photo of the happy Cruise family. The wacky couple chose this way to reveal their bouncing baby Thetan to the world, whom they have named Suri.
Much fuss has been made over Tom Cruise and his overt weirdness over the last year or so. His strange antics on the Oprah Winfery Show didn’t win him any fans, and his bizarre outburst with Matt Lauer on the Today show, where he calls Psychiatry a "Pseudoscience", and bashes Brooke Shields made even Tom Arnold voice in, calling Cruise's comments "Ignorant". You know it's bad when Tom Arnold gets a dig on you.
Brooke Shields responded as well, in a her usual classy way, and has recently said that Cruise apologized to her. But the damage was done. Even Legendary actress Lauren Bacall was quoted in July of 2005 as saying "His whole behavior is so shocking. It's inappropriate and vulgar and absolutely unacceptable to use your private life to sell anything commercially, but I think it's kind of a sickness." (link) Earlier this year he made, what some would consider, a distasteful promise to "eat his baby's placenta" after it was born.

His belief in the strange cult of Scientology has brought him nothing but the ridicule and ire millions of people, and ultimately led to his being fired from Paramount Studios. In fact, his "erratic behavior" was one of the prime reasons cited by the Studio for dumping him. His antics hit the studio where it hurt the most, the Bottom Line. The long anticipated Mission Impossible III took a beating at the box office this summer, and I, too, believe it was because he hasn't been able to control himself.
But now that he and his Katie-beard have their freaky little alien baby, will he still act like a total, freaking, nut-job? Of course he will. If there’s one thing we can all count on in this mixed up world it’s that this freakish little midget psychopath will still be out there, whooping it up and spreading his particular brand of crazy for the whole world to see.

I know his kind of crazy. I have seen it before in the eyes of religious zealots and fringe fanatics. I’ve seen it on the faces of people who are ready to take it to the line and are absolutely certain of the veracity of their beliefs. There’s lots of different kinds of crazy in the world today, tin-foil hat wearing nerds, twisted little geeks who spend hours chasing conspiracy boogey-men. Tom Cruise fits in there somewhere between them and a teenage suicide-bomber in Baghdad, and mark my words, sooner or later, this little weirdo is going to push it too far, and blow his 30 year career and celebrity status off the face of the earth in one horrible, beautiful, resounding, ka-boom. You can also be sure of another thing: When the hammer falls on him we will be there to watch it happen…And we are going to laugh.

Steve Irwin Killed By Stingray

2006-09-03T23:32:00.000-06:00

Lovable Australian Steve Irwin, "The Crocodile Hunter" was killed this morning swimming off the Low Isles off the Queensland coast. He was 44. Details are still sketchy but initial accounts say he was stabbed through the chest by a stingray. It is a sad day for Animal lovers and fans of this enthisiastic and boyish television personality who brought joy to so many.
It is my belief that the murderous stingray should be caught and made to pay.

Steve Zissou: I'm going to find it and I'm going to destroy it. Possibly with dynamite.
[a woman asks a question about the shark Zissou is hunting]
Festival Director: [translating] That's an endangered species at best. What would be the scientific purpose of killing it?
Steve Zissou: Revenge.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

================================

UPDATE

It seems Steve Irwin was filming a childrens documentary with Phillipe Cousteau, on the Great Barrier Reef for the Discovery Channel ("Worlds Deadliest Sea Creatures" or something like that) when he came up on a stingray in the sand and the evil bastard stung him in the chest, (some sources say "in the heart").
"The stingray barb that struck Steve Irwin would have been as deadly as a rifle bayonet driven into one of his vital organs, Australian wildlife filmmaker David Ireland said today." (link)

Rescue was about 30 minuntes in arriving since a helicopter had to be called to the nearest island while Croc One, his boat, raced him toward help. Irwin was not concious and went into cardiac arrest. CPR was administered on the boat but by the time medical attention arrived, he had already passed away. He leaves behind two young children and a very loyal and loving wife.

"The world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads on the planet," John Stainton, Irwin's friend and producer, said in the statement. "He died doing what he loves best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind. Crocs Rule!"(link)

I still think this Stingray needs to be hunted down and killed. (Yes...Possibly with dynamite.) I know it goes against the whole spirit of Steve Irwin, and I know that it's not what he would have wanted, being such a staunch activist and defender of the Animal World, but I cannot help feeling that the stingray must be made to pay. I mean, there are millions of stingrays all over the world, but there was only one Croc Hunter, and now, because of one ill-tempered (and I suspect malicious) stingray, Steve Irwin is gone.
Phillipe Cousteau should launch an expedition to even the score. I bet ol' Jacques would have done so. Maybe Jack Hanna, Steve Irwins friend and fellow animal lover, should do it. Or maybe they should team up with the Widow, Terri Irwin, and all go after the mean bastard together. They could put that on the Discovery Channel, or on Animal Planet, and make a whole event over it. What do you think?

“Six, after the war”

2006-08-02T23:19:00.000-06:00

IDF commando’s attacked a hospital in Lebanon, today. Unverified reports accuse them of gunning down fleeing medical staff. Well, maybe, maybe not. Killed 10, captured 5 Hizbollah militants, is the official spin on it. Also, they shelled southern Beirut again. They are clearing out the area south of the Litani, village by village, house by house, life by life. They brought bull-dozers which makes me think they have come there to stay. An IDF spokesperson said that, what will happen after this will be talked about: “Six, after the war”, meaning, at six o’clock, after the war, they will meet for tea and discuss it. In other words, right now, they really don’t care.
There’s talk about an international peace enforcement force to take over the area but the IDF intends to hold it until that force is in place. The way that The System works, however, that could take years. No one seems to be offering troops. Syria and Iran have been taken out of talks, and no one else seems eager to send troops. After Israel murdered those four U.N. troops, and the specter of other wars going on in the world, no one is enthusiastic about offering the lives of their own citizens for someone else’s battles.
They know a lame horse when they see one.

"It is time for a new Middle East...It is time to say to those that don't want a different kind of Middle East that we will prevail. They will not." -Condoleeza Rice

The truth is that the idea of a New Middle East is not going to fly. For one thing, most people, in the States, have no idea what life is like in the Muslim World. Our Glorious Leader hasn’t even picked up the phone to call over there and see what the hell is going on. For another, who the hell are we to tell them how to live. They have been at this for seven thousand years. (Some say more, some say less…eh, whatever.) All we seem to be doing, from my America, is getting our hands on a piece of the pie. That idea doesn’t please anyone. Not in Europe and not in the Middle East. This idea of a New Middle East will force others to accept a vision of the future that is, simply, incompatible with what they have now, what they have had for centuries.
It’s not that I’m against Democracy, but what does it say about our contemporary views of it when Palestinians democratically elect members of Hamas to political office only to have the US cut off funds, and diplomatic ties with them, effectively freezing the peace process. It says “if we don’t like your democratically elected leaders, we’ll cry foul until we get someone we like.” Yeah, that’s Democracy.
I don’t know why some of these Super-Christians are so against these people, when, in reality and practice, they are more like them than the everyday person in America. In the Midle East they are a people to whom God, Blood Feud, and honor still mean something. Super-Christians are a people who pray daily, champion the family, and strive for specific ideals. One, I think, is better at it than the other but Americans don’t know a thing about life in the Middle East so the similarities, sadly, are lost on them.
Today is the Tish'ah b'Av, the Ninth of Av. It is a day of sorrow to Jews, who, on that day, commemorate the destruction of both the First and Second Temples. Some Islamic religious leaders are concerned that Zionist Extremists will use this time of turmoil as a chance to carry out attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
They have, I feel, good reason, for concern. This happened before and it pissed off Hezbollah .
Christian extremists, who, as I have said before, keep shoveling money at Israel (and, quite possibly, Zionist Extremist groups) feel that the return of their Messiah cannot take place until the Temple is rebuilt are all for the destruction of the Mosque. So, why shouldn’t they feel threatened?
So, maybe, the use of the term “WWIII” might not be such a wacky idea, after all. It would be a very tricky scenario but it could, indeed, happen. An attack on the Noble Sanctuary could trigger it, but remember, over here, in the land of Mega-Churches and GenriChristianity, that’s what some of those cracked pots want. So, if you hear that it was attacked, expect several, if not all, of the Muslim countries to get involved. Expect Russia to back them. Expect riots in Muslim communities all over the world and celebration amid the hard-line Jews. In short, my freaky darlings, Expect the Apocalypse. If that happens then follow these instructions for your safety: Clasp hands together, bend all the way over, and kiss your sweet asses good-bye.

Casualties...

2006-08-02T06:09:00.000-06:00

Today, Kel sent me this link. It's a scary illustration of how bad this war is getting.
About a week ago I was talking to some people about the Israeli war plan. Now, since right after this thing started, the IDF has been telling Lebanese citizens to move north of the Litani River, roughly 30 miles or so from the border. The reason for this, they said, is to clear out civilians so that they can attack Hizbollah fighters in the area.
Heavy shelling and nearly indiscriminate air-strikes have killed scores of civilians, though, children mainly, all over the area.

Now, this area south of the Litani River was, roughly, the area that had been occupied after the Arab-Israeli war in 1949. About 12 miles of this area was occupied by Israel for 22 years as a buffer zone, an occupation which ended in 2000.
Now, the IDF is at it again, with Ehud Olmert pushing the IDF back to the Litani, to recreate the buffer zone between Israel and Lebanon. Several people with whom I have spoken about the escalating situation, however, seem to believe that it is the Israeli intent to annex the land south of the river, not only for security reasons but to occupy it and, eventually, settle it. In other words, they need “Elbow Room”, a little "Lebensraum".
Today, 10,000 Israeli troops launched a massive invasion of Southern Lebanon and contrary to statements made by the Israeli government it looks like they are going to stay. Also, commando attacks were made deep into the heart of Lebanon, on the ancient city of Baalbek some 100 kilometers north of the Litani River.

With Israel attacking so far north, can there be any doubt that, any day now, further attacks will be launched into Beirut?
Early on in this conflict, Israel launched attacks on southern suburbs of the capitol, flattening roads, bridges and buildings, ostensibly to hinder the political wing of Hizbollah, but killing several civilians in the process. Many believe it is only a matter of time before Israel drops the façade and engages openly in an illegal attempt at regime change, or worse, out and out destruction of the country of Lebanon.
The world waits and watches but remains frustratingly indecisive and of split opinion over what, if any thing, there is to be done to end this conflict. With no real support for a cease-fire from the United States, Israel has no reason to stop their invasion, and the killing. In other parts of the world, however, public sympathy has slowly started to polarize against Israel, and, by default, the United States. In a world where the last Super Power has lost much of its credibility this openly pro-Zionist stance may ultimately serve to sway opinion completely against us.
WWIII is a term that has been thrown around rather carelessly lately, over this. Super-Christians are still fervently praying for this to be the End of Days, and expecting the fiction of the Rapture to sweep them away from their milquetoast lives at any moment. Evangelical preachers are being flooded with money to help Israel and it is to their financial benefit to milk the cash cow at the expense of Lebanese blood. The mindless flock will keep emptying their coffers to support this illegal military action as long as they feel they are sanctioned to do so by their fatback grossero ministers. Israel will continue to reap the rewards of American religious ignorance as long as the money keeps coming.

Speaking of American Ignorance, let’s take a moment to look at one of the domestic victims of this crisis in the Middle East. Yes, I’m talking about Mel Gibson. By now, I’m sure, everyone has heard that the openly Traditionalist Catholic Actor/Director was arrested for a DUI in Malibu. However, that’s not why everyone is raising a stink.

It turns out that he made a remark about Jews. I believe he said “Fucking Jews, they are responsible for all the wars in the world.” Then he asked one of the arresting deputies : “Are you a Jew?” (He also asked a female officer at the station “What are you looking at, Sugar Tits?”)
His statement about the Jews angered, shocked, and dismayed several people. However, Gibson is not actively involved with any sort of hate-mongering or anti-Jewish organization. He was a drunk, expressing his opinion, and, the last time I checked, The First Amendment has not yet been repealed here. That’s the one that allows Freedom of Speech. Now, who says that we must like or tolerate everyone? I know that there are certain people, or types of people, or even whole generalized groups that, I myself, cannot tolerate. Does that make me a criminal? Should I be forced to publicly apologize for my feelings, thoughts, and words? I mean, I can understand prosecuting hostile actions that were motivated by deep-seated resentment, intolerance, and hatred, towards others. Those are called hate-crimes. But where do we draw the line? I mean, so Mel Gibson doesn’t like Jews. Big deal, so what…Why, I’m sure if one posed the question in Lebanon, right now, you’d find several people who might share this sentiment. Should they apologize, too?
I think that there’s a big difference between bigotry and racism, and Mel Gibson did not cross that line. People are calling for Gibson to “Pay the price of Bigotry”, does it come down to money or just a pound of flesh? Is that a bigoted statement, too? Again, who cares? It’s everyone’s right, as an American, to dislike whomever the hell they want. As long as they don’t physically harm others, or advocate the harm of others, then there’s really nothing hurt but feelings. So, what’s the price to pay for hurt feelings? And why the hell should we care about someone else’s hurt feelings, anyway? Everyone has their own personal bigotries and that, my freaky darlings, is a fact.

Oh, It's War, Baby...

2006-07-20T20:05:00.000-06:00

“And when the Lord your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them.”
Deuteronomy 7:2

In an area where conflict has become a way of life it can be a difficult task to try and figure out what's going on. For the most part, people that I talk to in the 'States about this aren't very clear about it. There seems to be a somewhat sizeable chunk of them that still think that one side is right and the other is wrong. Many of them still believe that God gave the Israeli's that land. (It was Ralph Bunche, and the UN, that did it, actually.) Hell, My Freaky Darlings, I barely believe in a God, anymore. That's not meant as a proclamation of Atheism, but rather, as a reaffirmation that no one is going to put one over on me.
The media here has the usual Pro-Zionist slant to most everything coming out of there, right now. There has been much coverage of people evacuating, cramming into cars, and military aircraft, or chopper. The ones on boats got particular attention, as they were the pretty people.
Loud-mouthed, GerneriChristian leaders are thumping their Bibles from their pulpits, proclaiming that the End Times are upon us, and the cracked-pots that follow them are rejoicing with much hallelujah-ing and giving of money to Israel. On the flip side, we’ve got bloggers flooding the internet with news, words, and images of destruction, devastation, death, and despair of Lebanon.
It may not be the start of the Apocalypse, but the shit has surely hit the fan.
With everything happening so fast, it’s sometimes hard to realize how they’ve reached this point. Let’s take a look at some of the events that led up to the sorry, sad, deadly situation going on right now.
Here’s a map to help:

On Saturday, June 24, 2006, Israeli Defense Forces abducted two Palestinian civilians, a doctor and his brother, in Al Shouka, near Rafah. They have not been heard from since. This is not uncommon in the Occupied Territories.
On Sunday, June 25, 2006, Palestinian militants crossed into Israel through a tunnel from the Gaza Strip, and attacked an IDF post, killing two Israeli Defense Force soldiers and wounding four others. A wounded, 19-year-old, Corporal, Gilad Shalit, was captured.
On Monday, June 26, 2006, his captors offered to exchange Shalit if Israel would release all female Palestinian prisoners, and all prisoners under 18.
At 11:51PM, on Tuesday, June 27th, 2006, Israel launched a full scale attack on Gaza. Israeli fighter jets destroyed bridges and, at 1:42 AM, took out the Gazan power plant. (This was, incidentally, insured by the US government and will cost American taxpayers some 48 million dollars to rebuild) At 2:24 AM, Israeli tanks and troops moved in to occupy the area east of Rafah. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the aim of these attacks was "not to mete out punishment but rather to apply pressure so that the abducted soldier will be freed. We want to create a new equation: freeing the abducted soldier in return for lessening the pressure on the Palestinians."
On June 28th, 2006, Israeli forces launched search & rescue operations in Khan Yunis. David Siegel, spokesman at the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. said that "Israel did everything it could in exhausting all diplomatic options and gave Mahmoud Abbas the opportunity to return the kidnapped Israeli... This operation can be terminated immediately, conditioned on the release of Gilad Shalit".
That same day Palestinians fired a barrage of Qassam missiles at Southern Israel, and, for the first time, a katyusha-style rocket. Few serious casualties were reported.
On July 1st, 2006, in the midst of continuing Israeli attacks, the Palestinians raised the ante by asking for the release of 1,000 additional prisoners, and a cessation to the assault on Gaza, but, still, the Israeli operation continued, killing and injuring several. Reports came in from the Rafah border crossing of deaths due to Israel’s refusal to allow anyone in or out. Israeli authorities threaten that the "sky will fall" if Shalit is harmed.
On July 3rd, 2006, the Palestinians issued a 24-hour ultimatum for Israel to meet their demands; however, a few hours after this, Israel officially announced that "there will be no negotiations to release prisoners." Prisoner exchanges have been a regular practice there over the last several years.
For the next 9 days Israel carried out ever more devastating attacks on civilians in Gaza, primarily around the Rafah area, where they they believed the captive to be held. Again, scores of civilians were killed and injured, and vital infrastructure in Gaza destroyed.
Then, on July 12, 2006, with Israel once again threatening a long term occupation of the Gaza Strip, the armed wing of Hezbollah launched Operation Truthful Promise, in regards to a promise made by their spiritual leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, to capture Israeli soldiers and trade them for the remaining Lebanese prisoners held by Israel, taken during their occupation of the region. .
In an early morning diversionary tactic, Hezbollah launched Katyusha rockets and mortar shells along the Israeli/Lebanese border, allowing Hezbollah commandos cover to enter and attack two armored IDF humvees near the village of Zar’it. This attack killed four Israeli soldiers. In this attack, two more IDF soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, were captured. Four more IDF soldiers were killed when theur Merkava Mk. II tank was hit by a 200 kg IED while pursuing the attackers.
For the last several days, Israel has been carrying out “Operation Change of Direction” (renamed from “Operation Just Reward”) as a retaliatory strike at Lebanon. This started with a series of devastating air raids on bridges and roads all around in the south of Lebanon and around the southern suburbs of Beirut. Also, they took out the Beirut International airport, effectively stranding civilians in a war zone. A naval blockade of the country has kept vital supplies from reaching a beleaguered Lebanese populace, and brutal cross-border raids by IDF tanks, troops, and APC’s along the border, have driven thousands of people north of the Litani River.
Hezbollah has continued an extensive rocket bombardment on cities in northern Israel, including Haifa, Nahariyya, and Nazareth. Lebanese government officials have tried to distance themselves from Hezbollah but have not openly condemned them. As Israeli attacks have grown more frequent and deadlier, Lebanese government officials have urgently called for UN condemnation on Israeli actions, and have asked for help to bring about a ceasefire.

This is by no means a complete timeline, nor does it take into account much of the posturing and rhetoric that has gone on with leaders on both sides, as well as around the world. More has happened since then and, I’m sure, more will continue happening. And, of course, I have more to say about it, but I’ll leave you with that for now, because, really, it’s all too much to chew on at once. For those not accustomed to the taste of Middle Eastern politics it’s very easy to choke and gag. Until then, though, My Freaky Darlings, Watch the news, Stay informed, and Watch your backs!

It's War?

2006-07-13T02:48:00.000-06:00

Okay, This just in from yonakatan in Israel over on the Surfing The Apocalypse Network.

Hi Fellow STAers,

We're on high alert here in Israel-- "It's War!" is heard on every channel. Fighter jets flew early before dawn (around 0400) this morning waking my sleep and there's an eery tension in the air.

Within the last hour they are reporting missiles were fired into Nahariya, Israel from Lebanon. 1 dead, 16 injured so far. Remember, this is a very tiny country-- that's only about 2 hours from Jerusalem. [Nahariya (meaning river of God) is situated on the sea coast (northmost seashore town in Israel) between Acre and the Lebanese border; 25 km north of Haifa.]

I will keep you all posted as information becomes available, or if things escalate.

Shalom ...

--
Things are gettting uglier...

Oh, Zindane!!

2006-07-10T03:03:00.000-06:00

Damn.

Well, I know I haven't kept the others up to date but it ended and this is all that everyone will be talking about.
When I get over this I'll try and put up the resst just for fun.

WORLD CUP -Round of 16: WIn or Go Home

2006-06-27T13:37:00.002-06:00

I must apologize. World Cup Fever got the better of me last week and I found myself caught up more in the games, and the fanfare, than about writing about it. I was up to 6 games a day, the two games, with their replays in English and Spanish, as well as tapes of the games which I reviewed, later. I found myself swept away in strident conversations with other fans, on-line and in bars, about the line-ups, the matches, the results and, of course, the evil referees. I abandoned hard copy note-taking in favor of a digital voice recorder, to free up both hands for beer and cigarettes. I was living in the glow of televisions, to the hum of VCR’s; my lullaby- the roar of a crowd, my sustenance- cigarettes, sandwiches, cold beer, and tape time.
The Round of 16 was intense. Each game in the Round of 16 was breathtaking, electrifying and, at times, even heart-stopping. Each match was an elimination game; each win meant a ticket home for the loser. There were no ties. Ties at the end of regulation time were decided by 30 minutes of extra time, with a short break at the 15 minute mark for the teams to switch sides and get a drink of water. If, after extra time, there is still no clear cut winner, it goes down to penalty kicks. Each side chooses 5 players to strike from the penalty area, and each Goalkeeper takes them one at a time, trying to defend his net, and the chance for his team to advance. The Round of 16 ended today, though, and the world gets two days of rest before the Quarter-Finals start on Friday.

=================
Germany v Sweden

It’s always good to see the host country advance in these games, and usually, when they win, there’s talk about “home court advantage” and “favoritism from the refs”. In this case, however, Germany made a fantastic showing against Sweden, with a hard offense and tight, unrelenting defense.
Jurgen Klinsmann led his team to Group A wins over Poland, Costa Rica and Ecuador, and, in this elimination match, German forward Lukas Podolski kept the German crowd cheering. With the help of Miroslav Klose he scored first at the 4 minute mark, and then again in the 12th, securing a commanding lead for the Mannschaft.
Sweden coach Lars Lagerback tried to rally The Blue and Yellow, but was stunned when Brazilian referee Carlos Simon reduced them to a 10 man squad, with Teddy Lucic getting two yellow cards before the half. Sweden held the German assault off as best they could and could have picked up a goal early into the second half with a penalty kick that might have energized the team, but Henrik Larssons shot went up and over the crossbar.
Germany has made a strong showing since their 4-2 opener against Costa Rica and, with this win, will take on Mexico or Argentina in the next round. They have been playing like champions, displaying the combination of teamwork and skill that has helped make it 68 years since they lost a game in the second round of the World Cup. If they can keep it together it could take them all the way to the Final.

Argentina v Mexico

Here was a match in the true spirit of the game. Fans on both sides displayed their pride and their confidence in their teams with the passion one has come to expect from Spanish speaking countries.
On the Spanish channel, for example, the Mexicans were started their broadcast in full party mode, and invited several Argentinean friends to participate in the fun. In Germany, the fans arrived with face paint and hats, waving banners, flags, and singing, and everyone seemed to be dancing.
Mexico started strong, with excellent plays in the center, trying to take the ball to Argentina, again and again, with a pay-off in the 5th minute when Rafael Marquez sent the Mexicans into hysterics with a fantastic goal. Argentineans looked shocked as the Tri Colores held their team through until a devastating penalty kick from Argentina 4 minutes later.
Midfielder Juan Riquelme took the kick, and Hernan Crespo went in for the finish but it went off the head of Mexican Forward Jared Borgetti and into his own goal. With the game at a draw, tension filled the stadium like an over stuffed tamale.
Mexico tried to recover testing the net as often as they could, playing excellent defense to deny Argentina anything more through the half. Argentina pushed hard, taking the ball to the net, but getting only heart-break and rejection from Oswaldo Sanchez.
In the second, both teams moved with confidence and determination, each side vying for the one goal needed to keep them from elimination, knowing the clock was slowly edging them towards the first overtime of the series. Several times each side gained and lost control of the ball, taking excellent advantage of opportunities that presented for a goal. Lionel Messi was able to net a ball but the shot was rules offside, and, when the whistle blew, the score remained 1-1.
The capacity crowd was filled with apprehension, neither side as confident, but both still exuberant and hopeful. With barely a minute between the end of regulation and the start of the 30 minute overtime, players on both sides seemed a little slower but no less hungry for winning goal.
It came 8 minutes into the over time, when Juan Sorin passed the ball across the pitch to the right corner penalty area and Maxi Rodriquez chested the pass before letting fly with a hard left foot that sent it past Sanchez and into the net. Argentinean fans sent up a roar that could be heard in Buenos Aires, Maridona, who had looked so glum at the end of regulation, was back to his cheering, flag waving self, and order, it seems, was once again restored.
Mexico, however, continued to try and equalize, pushing at every opportunity. Los- Albicelestes, however, held on to their lead, and the ball, as much as they could, eating up the clock, demoralizing the Mexicans, and pushed their lead through to the end.
This was one of the most exciting and satisfying games of the whole tournament. Afterwards, the teams embraces, and, through tears of loss and joy, wished each other well. Fans on both sides spoke only well of each other, and partied together all over the world, with the friendship and sportsmanship unique to the World Cup.

England v Ecuador

England is a perennial favorite at the World Cup. They have qualified all but six times since the games began in1930, have made it to the quarter-finals 6 times, came in 4th one and, in 1966, they actually won the World Cup. They come from one of the strongest soccer nations in the world, and, as I have said before, have some of the most passionate fans in Europe.
All that being said, however, they came out against Ecuador with very little new to offer their fans, and it was primarily a weaker Ecuadorian offense that kept them from getting beat. Ecuador, for their part, made several attempts at scoring, using thrilling ball handling and excellent strategy to outmaneuver an English team that looked, at times, confused and out of synch.
It was, in the end, a typically stylish free-kick by Superstar David Beckham that sent England past Ecuador and into the next round. With the kind of show they put on out there, however, it doesn’t seem likely that this is their year to repeat the Joy of ’66.

Portugal v Netherlands

This was a match that displayed just how important a win is at this stage, with vicious playing from both sides to secure a spot in the next round. The fact that both teams are riding 15-game winning streaks may have helped to fuel the pressure. The tensions and passions on the field kept Russian Ref Valentin Ivanov busy. He handed out a record-tying 16 yellow cards, and threw 4 players out with red cards. He also had to reprimand players and step in over several minor disputes.
In one, in the 8th minute, Defender Khalid Boulahrouz was yellowcarded for a hard check on Christian Ronaldo. Ronaldo was bothered for the rest of his 43 minutes in the game, limping through his plays and requiring treatment for his thigh two times, before leaving the field in tears of agony.
The Netherlands pushed hard, trying to secure a goal early on but faced a strong Portuguese defense that game them no ground to on which to play. Clashes and tumbles were many as both teams battled hard for control. The fans picked up on the nervousness in the game and watched with a fierce breathlessness.
Then, in the 23rd minute, Pedro Pauletta found fellow midfielder Nuno Manche near the net. Manche moved in with grace and fury around defender Joris Mathijsen, to launch a shot into the right corner of the net and bring the fans back to life. The men in Orange try a quick come back with Mathijsen out to prove a point but his shot goes high and over the net.
The game went back and forth, each team the equal of the other for defensive and offensive zeal. A number of well timed shots went off the crossbar, sidebar, or missed by wishes-breath. The Netherlands played hard to equalize the score, push the game into overtime, to find one more chance to pull through, but the Portuguese seemed to play with God on their side, making excellent saves, well timed blocks, and keeping enough pressure on the Dutch to keep them off their game.
The Selecção das Quinas went on to win it 1-0 and go on to face England in the next round.

Italy v Australia

The Azzurri were always the favorite coming into this match-up but the Australians game them a fantastic run, keeping the score to 0-0 to within kissing distance.
The Italians were taking no chances with the dark horse team from Down Under, however, issuing hard tackles to assert their authority early on. The Aussies would not be intimidated, however, and played with their usual force.
Italy seemed unable to find their rhythm in the game, and were kept off balance by a highly motivated Australian team, that seemed to get fired up with every cheer from their rowdy fans. With artistic ball handling, though, and lively passes, Italy kept the Australians guessing. The Azzurri displayed the famous Italian poise and style as they edged themselves into the next round.
Unfortunately, it was not a strike that did it but a stoppage time penalty kick that broke the hearts of Australians everywhere. With 30 seconds to the end of the match, Francesco Totti made a penalty kick that had the Socceroos kissing their chance of advancement goodbye.

Switzerland v Ukraine

Games like these make me crazy. Both of these teams won their right to play each other at this stage but neither team seemed to push as hard as they could have. With several missed opportunities and lost chances to score in regulation time, this game went into a 30 minute over time, and then, when that remained scoreless, it came down to penalty kicks.
Now, for many people, games like this, are a measure of each sides resolve, tenacity, and defense, but after having come so far, I find it a shame that a spot in the next round should be decided by a series of penalty kicks.
Either way, it turned into a match up of goalkeepers, with Pascal Zuberbuhler tending for the Swiss and Olexandr Shovkovskyi for the Ukraine. It’s a very interesting sort of ritual, these penalty shots, with the goalkeepers warming up, the quintet of men for each side who will take the shots focusing and concentrating. With absolutely no clear way to predict the outcome of this sort of shootout, all anyone, fans and players alike, was watch, hope, and pray.
Andriy Shevchenkos shoots first for the Ukraine and it goes to the right and so does Zuberuhler for a fantastic save.
Switzerland forward Marco Streller shoots his shot straight at Shovkovskyi, for a turnaround save.
Artem Milevskiy stepped up and gave the Ukraine some joy with a shot into the net. For the Swiss Tranquillo Barnetta sent the second Swiss kick into the crossbar.
Serhiy Rebrov placed another past Zuberuhler to make it 2-0. Ricardo Cabanas, for the Swiss, shot down the center and was met with denial from Shovkovskyi. With only one shot needed to win the shoot out Oleg Gusev eyed the ball with no trepidation or concern. He lounched and landed the shot to win the Ukraine a place in the next round with a 3-0 win.
Now, this win doesn’t exactly mean that the Ukraine is the better team. In fact, Switzerland hasn’t allowed a goal in this whole tournament. In 390 minutes or so of play, their defense was strong enough to keep their net untouched. So, in these games, as in life, the uncertainty remains to the very end, and no one can predict how they will turn out. As the guy on the Spanish station said- “Es la ley del futbol” –“It’s the Law of Soccer”.

Brazil v Ghana

Although, as the previous game showed, there are no sure wins in the World Cup, this game showed that there are such things as safe bets. Brazil was a safe bet. It was a wonder that The Black Stars of Ghana made it as far as they did. These debutants may not have had a chance of winning but they were thrilled to be playing their heroes at the World Cup.
Ronaldo hit an interesting high point by becoming the highest scorer in World Cup finals history with is 5th minute score. With comments still being made about his weight, he again proved that he still has the artistic ability and skill. His 4th minute goal was a graceful dance around Richard Kingson, leaving the net empty and wide open for him to tap it over the line.

Ghana played hard, however, keeping the Brazilian defense working hard, but their less than formidable finishing and, perhaps, lack of experience at this level, left them goalless. In the 45th minute Adriano made it 2-0 at the half.
Ghana came out pushing hard but missed several chances and had several more taken away from them by the better team. With one of their strongest players, Michael Essien, on the bench, the Black Stars lost their poise and focus, leaving the door wide open for Brazil to shine through.
In the second Brazil seemed more at ease, the comfort of a team with a padded lead. It was Brazils turn to turn up the heat on Ghana, taking it to the net and forcing Richard Kingston to use every skill he had to keep the ball clear of his goal. Ghana did not give up, however, and kept working to score, pushing hard but losing time and opportunity.
At the 84th minute, Jose Ze Roberto brought it into the net for another Brazil goal, leaving the Africans out of the next round, but with more experience, and the memory and joy of having played Brazil in the World Cup.

Spain v France

When this match up was announced I was decidedly for Spain. Having been following these games on several Spanish language stations, it just seemed the natural selection to back. That was before I heard about the controversial and racists statements Luis Aragones made about Thierry Henry last year. He was

WORLD CUP - Group Round Finish

2006-06-23T09:05:00.001-06:00

I’m not certain if it’s the lack of sleep over these games or all the drinking because of them that has worked me over but I’m still here, still watching, still cheering the players and still booing the ref’s. With the grace of God and more beer, I will be here doing that until the sweet, sad end of the World Cup on July 9th.
This week 32 teams played again but only 16 of them go through into the next round. Even though half of them were eliminated, it’s important to remember that they’re all champions. These teams spent most of the last 3 years playing qualifying matches all over the world to arrive at these last three weeks, so, win or lose, none of them have lost any glory because it’s an honor just to be in the World Cup.
The only ones that have lost much of their honor this week are the referees. The trend that started last week continued in many games this week with the referees flashing yellow-cards and handing out red ones like garage-band flyers. Bad calls over phantom fouls led to the elimination of more than one team this week. In one CNN vote over yesterday’s Croatia- Australia match 100% voted to send English referee Graham Poll home.
The fact that many of these referees have day jobs in another profession does not inspire fan confidence in their ability to officiate a game any better than your local bartender. More than one penalty kick was handed out over a simple foul, yellow cards and red cards, when a simple warning was all that was needed. In some games players were ejected in the first five minutes and, in others, in the last five seconds of play. In some cases referees missed red-card fouls and let play continue to the devastation of a team’s chance to advance. In others they halted play much to the same effect.
More than one team had their hopes married to O.J. over a questionable call that lead to a penalty kick. When these games are over, FIFA would do well to review their policies and raise the referees to the same champion level as the players over whom they officiate.
The other thing I’ve notices this week, as World Cup Fever gets into full swing, are people who don’t understand the appeal of the World Cup. These are the same people that are “not into soccer”, or say that soccer is a “wimpy sport”. The World Cup is not just soccer, and not just a sport. These games represent the hopes and dreams of millions of people, everywhere, whether their country is in it or not. In Egypt, Mexico, and countless other countries, massive-screened monitors were set up in public squares so that fans without televisions could also enjoy the games. In Somalia, angry fans planned massive protests because Islamist Rebels cut the electricity to outdoor theatres, and in Bangladesh, mobs of angry fans stormed electric company offices after power failures interrupted two elimination games.

“As the pinnacle of the only truly global game, played in every country by every race and religion, it is one of the few phenomena as universal as the United Nations. You could even say it's more universal. FIFA has 207 members; we have only 191”
Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations, “An Open Letter to Football Suppoorters Around the World”

Now, onto the recap of this last week of Group Action and the eliminations:

GROUP A

Ecuador v Germany

These two teams both qualified for the Round of 16 with thrilling wins in the first couple of game and were playing only for the number 1 spot in Group A. Although they were both assured a spot neither side let up the pressure. Ecuador emerged strong and took about a minute to take the first shot of the match when Midfielder Luis Valencia made a hard cross to the net but was denied joy by German Goal Keeper Jens Lehmann. Germany retaliated 3 minutes later in the form of a left-right flick to Midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger who caught Forward Miroslav Klose in the penalty area. Klose launched a slick strike to the net and sent the fans into thunderous cheers.
The Ecuadorians tight defense, and missed chances, along with several wide shots from Die Nationalmannschaft kept it at 1-0 until the 44th minute, when Klose closed the play around Goal Keeper Cristian Mora with a pass from Midfielder Michael Ballack before the half with a fantastic follow through to the net, ending the first have with a deuce-nil to the sound of singing German fans.
Germany came out hard in the second half as Midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger launched a low strike 40 seconds in that was tipped out by fleet footed Mora. Midfielder Edwin Tenorio played a 35-yard shot over Lehman to stay in the game but without success, and in the 57th minute, Lukas Podolski came in hard and close to give the Germans 3-0 lead over Ecuador, and the German fans another reason to cheer.
Germany now takes on Sweden on Saturday and Ecuador is set to face England on Sunday.

Costa Rica v Poland

This was an honor game for both these teams. Going into it Poland, who’d remained scoreless in this entire tournament, had no hope of advancement. Costa Rica also had no chances to take it into next round. They arrived in Germany with the misfortune of playing the hosts, proceeded to make a good show with a 4-2 loss against them, but looked stunned by Ecuador for a 3-0 loss.
The heat was on as 4 minutes into it Forward Ronald Gomez took a 35-yard free-kick that slammed off of Defender Barosz Bosacki . Forward Maciej Zurawski took an awkward free-kick 17 minutes into it but goalkeeper Jose Porras stopped it with ease. 7 minutes later Gomez shoved one past the Polish Defense and through Goalkeeper Artur Boruc in front of a disheartened and mostly Polish crowd but despite a continuing Costa Rican assault, that kept Borac busy at the net, the Bialo-Czerwoni was far from beat this time.
Poland Midfielder Ebi Smolarek slid a smooth one to forward Ireneusz Jelen, 6 minutes later, for a clear smash at Porras, who appeared undisturbed. Polish fans looked like they were once again facing Sultan Osman II, but now, as then, they rallied. In the 33rd minute of the first half, with Porras nowhere close enough to block it, Bosacki cannoned one into the net to tie it 1-1 and give Poland their first score at the World Cup.
The players seemed as energized as the fans, and went on a wild, but fruitless, offense before and after the half, with a flurry of blocked and missed shots until the 66th minute when Bosacki struck gold, again, from the corner off midfielder Jacek Krzynowek blocked shot, that silenced Costa Rican fans and made it 2-1.
A tense moment came in the 82nd minute when it seemed that forward Paulo Wanchope had tied it up but he was offsides and the point thrown out, sending Poland home with their honor intact, and their fans in better spirits than when they came into this game.

GROUP B

Paraguay v Trinidad & Tobago

This game was much like the last one, with the hopes of advancement for of teams jockeying for position in the dirt derby. Neither team won a match, although Trinidad & Tobago did play Sweden to a 0-0 draw that, theoretically, gave them the better chance to advance with a win, both teams had yet to score a goal in Germany. The dejected fans in the stands mirrored the subdued performance of the teams on the pitch, which led to a very reserved game. There was excellent defense and great shots on both sides, but the players lacked intensity and the crowd lacked the energy to give it to them.
T & T Forward Cornell Glen hit La Albirrojas goal hard but was denied by Goalkeeper Aldo Bobadilla. Edgar Barreto retaliated with hard long shot off of Kelvin Jacks chest that very nearly let forward Nelson Valdez sneak one in around back.
The Soca Warriors started Kelvin Jack as their Goalkeeper and benched dynamo substitute Shaka Hislop. Jack, who was kept out of their previous matches with a hurt ankle, defended the net fiercely, and was given a Paraguayan work out from the start. Roque Dos Santos attacked with a fearsome strike that Jack was just able to keep out of the net, but 25 minutes into the first half, rattled and disoriented Defender Brent Sancho smacked midfieldman Roberto Acuna’s free-kick with his head and into his own goal.
The goal gave Paraguay the energy they needed to renew their attack on the T & T net, keeping The Soca Warriors busy on defense until the half. Valdez sent two shot into face Jacks rejections. Midfieldman Carlos Paredes launched one at the net only to have it sent out of the box by Kenwybe Jones, who’d come in for injured defender Avery John, 31 minutes into the first. Finally, defender Denis Caniza netted ball past the exhausted Jack but the shot was ruled offside.
In the second half, Trinidad & Tobago came out strong, with a pair of incomplete low crosses from Midfieldman Carlos Edwards, and star player Dwight Yorke, “The most celebrated name in the history of soccer in Trinidad and Tobago,” rallied his team and the fans, to a make it a real game. Russell Latapy came in for Aurtis Whitley and helped keep the pressure on Paraguay with a massive 20-yard shot that danced off the bar on the net.
Paraguay came at them hard toward the end of regulation and kept up the pressure with some superb ball handling from Dos Santos and Nelson Cuevas, who came in for Nelson Valdez in the 66th min. In the end this was not to be the year for the Soca Warriors. It was Cuevas who scored in the 86th minute, giving Paraguay back their dignity, and sending the Long Shots from the tiny Caribbean country back home with only one goal to show for their time in Germany…Sanchos own goal in the first half.

England v Sweden

Before I discuss this game I want to say something about the English Team and their fans. This team is the best team in the United Kingdom. They have gone to the world cup 12 times, as opposed to Scotlands 8, Irelands 2 and Wales 1. That means that they have been more times than the next three teams put together. Of the 53 games they have played at the World Cup, they won 24, tied 16 and lost only 13. They’ve scored 73 goals and allowed only 47. Their fans, regardless of their negative image in the press, are the best in all of the United Kingdom. They show a spirit, energy, passion and desire on a truly National level and, unlike their closest neighbors, know the sweet smell of a Victory in a world cup Finals match.
This is not yet the Final but England has an excellent chance of taking it all the way.
Also, I bring this up because, after Midfielder Joe Cole’s goal 34 minutes into the first half, the English fans started to sing God Save the Queen so loud that it drowned out the colorful commentators on the Spanish station.
Up until that point the action had gone back and forth, with neither side seeming to have the advantage. Concern washed over fans of the Three Lions in the 4th minute when Michael Owen went down hard with a horribly wrenched knee and Peter Crouch substituted in his position, and demoralized both fans and players alike.
Crouch, who made his first appearance in this tournament, came out strong to replace him, and picked up the pace to bring the game to Sweden, with midfielder Frank Lampard hitting for the goal twice only to twice be repelled by confidant Swedish Goalkeepr Andreas Isaksson, but the Blagult were relentless and came back for a volley of plays that were all kept safely out of the danger-zone.
England fought back ferociously, with midfielder Owen Hargreaves working off position in central midfield, and forward Wayne Rooney and midfielder Joe Cole backing up the counter attack. Defender Teddy Lucic sharply rejected a Rooney attempt, off a Beckham hard, stretched cross 25 minutes into it. Nine minutes after, Joe Cole took the ball down and sent it soaring passed a floundering Isaksson, into the net, rousing the crowd to song, and silencing the broadcasters.
After the half, the Swedes came back strong, slipping through a firm English defense and, at 51 minutes, Midfieldman Tobias Linderoth air-mailed one across to leaping forward Marcus Allback, in from the left, who butted it in past Paul Robinson to tie the game 1-1, giving the Swedish fans a chance to cheer and jeer.
At 55 minutes Paul Robinson glanced away a rocket that shot through a screen of defenders by Henick Larsson. 4 minutes later defender Olof Mellbergs shot slapped the bar and midfielman Kim Kallstroms shot from the line was blasted away by an alert Stephen Gerrard at the 71 minute mark.
Again, with a tremendous roar from the crowd, at the 85th minute, Gerrard snaked in for a powerful head-butt into the net. It looked to be over, with England up 2-1 over Sweden but amid the celebratory elation of the fans, Larsson pushed through to bop a strike at the 90th minute, tying the game 2-2, and sending both these fantastic teams, and their exuberant fans, into the next round.

GROUP C

Ivory coast v Serbia & Montenegro

The Ivory Coast came into this game #3 in their group, having scored a pair of 2-1 games against Argentina and the Netherlands. To have any miniscule chance of moving into the next round, however, they needed Argentina to trounce the Netherlands, and a huge win against Serbia &Montenegro. Serbia & Montenegro, for their part, came in to it with slim to no chance to advancement and Slim was already on the plane home.
Amid a steady rain, and very little reason for either side to fight on the damp pitch, neither the fans nor the players let their losses or the weather dampen their spirit. The Elephants, however, came in to the game without a red-carded Didier Drogba, and a weak defense, which was only made worse by the slippery pitch, which saw players on both sides sliding around like they were the D troupe of Disney on Ice.
9 mins in to the first half, Midfieldman Dejan Stankovic launched a ball to Nikola Zigic letting the forward dance one past confused and off-balanced goalkeeper Boubacar Barry for a 1-0 lead. In the melee in the box defender Mladen Krstajic collided with midfielder Gneri Yaya Toure and they both went down. Barry gave a bewildered shrug over his miss and seemed to indicate the wet ground and the replay showed definite slippage action going on around players boots and the pitch.
The Elephants charged back, though, with midfieldman Kader Keita feeding star forward Aruna Didane a tight one but his strike was denied by goalkeeper Dragoslav Jevric, and the second-chance slipped painfully past forward Kanga Akale, to lose the opening to tie it up.
The Plavi went into full offense mode after that, attacking the Ivorians with all they had. Defender Cyril Domoraud lost the ball to midfielder Predrag Djordjevic who passed to midfielder Sasa Ilic for a clear shot the past Barry to make it 2-0 match at the 19 and a half minute mark. Through the rain that continued to fall, the fans of the Plavi could be heard singing. A free kick at 33 the minute mark by Midfielder Dejan Stankovic failed to make it in the net. Defender Emmanuel Eboue took an elbow to the eye but there was no card or penalty.
Defender Milan Dudic took a caution for a hand ball in the 37th minute, allowing the Ivory Coast a free kick to let the Elephants come stomping back with Didane shooting, and landing, the shot twice past Dragoslav Jevric from the line because Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez forced a do-ver when some over zealous Elephants encroached over the line. The game stood at 2-1.
The Serbs receive a penalty kick but can’t cash in because it was deflected by Barry at the post. Dindane picks up a yellow card for chasing down a pass from forward Arouna Kone but cannot figure out why…He was on the receiving end of a trip by Jervic and it was never made clear why he drew the card.
In the second half The Elephants looked hungry for a win. Serbia & Montenegro was playing a man short because of a second yellow card on midfielder Albert, and they felt the pressure of an Ivorian battering in a series of rapid fire attacks, first by forward Akanga Akale who challenged Jervic head on with no fear, then from Kone, whose shot went a little too wide to threaten the lead. Defender Blaise Kouassi’s downtown shot bounced off the goal bar, but the Ivorians were relentless. Dindane finally made good on a cross pass from Abdulkader Keita, sending the soggy crowd to their feet, and started the African team dancing a festive celebratory stomp in the corner, the score standing at 2-2. Serb fans looked on sad, silent and subdued.
Still The Elephants kept coming like something out of Hemingway’s African nightmares, playing the short game in the danger zone and keeping the pressure on Serbia & Montenegro, who looked organized but too rattled to make good on a Djordjevic free-kick. At the 90 minute mark, however, with Barry on his knees praying at the opposite net, the Serbian & Montenegran World Cup dream went tail-gaiting with Jesus as Midfieldman Bonaventure Kalou made good on a freekick of their own to send the Africans home with a 3-2 win, the first World Cup win ever for their country. The Ivory Coast showed great faith, spirit and camaraderie. There was great ball handling on both sides but the second half belonged to them.

Argentina v Netherlands

The wild fans on both sides were not only the highlight of this game but the main feature in this scoreless draw. Raucous, rowdy and noisy, they cheered with the confidence of people that knew for certain that their berths in the next round were secure. The fact is that either one of these teams could go all the way in the Final, to win it all. They both show the talent, skill, and audacity of World Cup Champions.
There was excellent ball handling on both sides and athleticism that left one marveling at repeated dashing cross field sprints from both ends. Argentina is another one of those Soccer loving nations that sent a huge contingent to cheer their team in Germany, and the excitement they and their Dutch counterparts are going to be add extra excitement to their next round matches: Argentina against Mexico on Saturday and Holland against Portugal on Sunday.
Midfielder Juan Riquelme and forward Lionel Messi displayed the panache for which Argentina has become famous, with Maradona cheering fanatically from the stands. Riqulme, forwards Carlos Tevez and Maxi Rodriguez kept the pressure on goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar. Riquelme sent across past Van der Sar but defender Khalid Boulahrouz footed it away off the bar to preserve the 0-0 game.
Both teams displayed superior defense, Van der Sar shining again and again, taking on a head on Messi kick that he snatched like a Shaquille O’Neil rebound. Forward Dirk Kuyt came close for the Dutch with an off-the-the bar shot to take it into the half.
Argentina stayed on the offensive in the second half with
Riquelme sending a wide shot to the net. Midfielder Phillip Cocu tied to give the Boys in Orange the lead but had it knocked away by and alert Roberto Abbondanzieri at the net. Tevez attacked Van der Sar’s net but in the end both teams were content to wait and take it into the next round.

Group D

Iran v Angola

Las Plancas Negras needed a win in this game, coupled with a loss to Portugal from Mexico to advance into the Round of 16, but Iran sent those chances to hear the Fat Lady in concert with a goal by defender Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh in the 76th minute. The Iranians were playing for their honor after a 3-1 loss to Mexico and a 2-0 loss to Portugal, and they looked determined to make a showing at this one.
Team Melli came out with a strong defense but failed to make a single goal in the first half. Angola was defiant of the odds and gave no ground, needing to make the point differential to stay in it after their 0-1 loss to Portugal and a hard won 0-0 tie with Mexico. The first have ended scoreless, and it was very much either sides game going into the second half.
60 minutes into it, though, Amado Flavio smacked in a magnificent head shot into the net to give the Angola the much needed advantage. Iran came back hard, and Mkhtiarzadeh made good on a pass from Mehdi Mahdavikia to tie it 1-1. This was Iran’s first and only goal in Germany, this year, and was enough to satisfy honor in a game that had no chance of earning them any sort of advancement into the next round.
Goalkeeper Jaoa Ricardo blocked a rapid fire Iranian offense, led by a desperate Ali Daei. There was to be no joy for the veteran scorer, and the game continued to trudge on without pushing the score any higher. Both these teams went home, Iran with two points scored and Iran with just the 1.

Portugal v Mexico

Meanwhile, over at the Arena AufSchalke, in Gelsenkirchen, Portugal was facing down Mexico. Now, the Mexican fans are another one of those passionate Futbol crowds. A noisy sea of red, white, and green poured across the stadium, with may more who couldn’t get tickets setting up camps in bars all across the world. It amazed me to see so many of the fans dressed like the Frito Bandito, complete with over sized sombreros and fake mustaches. The fans knew that it was not so much important to win as to make a good show of it, as they were almost assured a place, as long as the #3 and #4 teams (Angola and Iran) didn’t pull a miracle out of their hats.
Ricardo La Volpe, looking more than ever like a tough-guy out there, ran his team hard, even though they were a man short. In the 2nd minute Francisco Fonseca took a shot but goalkeeper Alexandre Ricardo wrapped his body around it to prevent the score.
Mexico weathered a major blow when Sambrosa Simao passed one to midfielder Nuno Maniche at the 6 minute mark to put them down 1-0. 2 minutes later Omar Bravo brought Mexican fans to their feet with a almost point blank shot went wide of the net. 12 minutes later, Portugal got the break when a handball by Rafael Marquez earned them a penalty kick that they turned into a fantastic slam to the net in by Simao.
Helder Postiga tried to make it three but Oswaldo Sanchez slapped it away. Cardoso Tiago tried for the second chance but couldn’t get it to work for him. El Tri could have tied it before the half but Ricardo denied any and all shots at his goal.
The second half brought no joy to mexico, missing a penalty kick at the 58 minute mark and this one ended with a 2-1 loss for Mexico. Somehow, thought, they coasted into a spot in the next round by the skin of their teeth

GROUP E

Ghana v USA

If the USA‘s games against the Czech Republic and Italy were painful to watch, this one was pure heartbreak. Team USA needed Italy to come out on top of the Czechs, and they needed to beat Ghana in this one for a hope to move into the next round. No one thought it would be easy, and with key players benched for each side because of red-cards in previous matches, starters on the American side were played off position, which may have led some to their confusion.
The yellow cards kept flying in this one, too, the first coming in the 4th minute when midfielder Michael Essien dropped Team USA Captain Claudio Reyna with a hard tackle. Defender Eddie Lewis picked one up for a hand-ball three minutes later.
Defender Jimmy Conrad fouled and gave Ghana a free kick that Midfielder Stephen Appia fed to Essien, who launched it up way too wide. 17 minutes into the first Lewis took an elbow to the head from Defender John Pantsil, and had to hit the sidelines to get a cut over his eye examined. USA kept up the pressure to deny Ghana any opportunities. Midfielder Landon Donovan slipped up and took a wide shot to the sound of a disappointed crowd. Soon after, Lewis found an opening but had it slapped away by Goalkeeper Richard Kingston. Kingston moved like a cat and stayed on top of his goal the entire game.
Finally, in the 22nd of the first, Midfielder Haminu Drama pulled past an off-position Reyna, stripped him, and came in hard to score one past Keller and put Ghana up 1-0. Reyna went down hard with what seemed to be a wrenched knee from the match-up to defend against Drama and was stretchered off the pitch. He came back in a few minutes later to a thunderous American crowd but looked winded, and slower.
Meanwhile, at the other net, defender Carlos Bocanegra collided with Kingston, and the game was stalled for ac little while, to allow the Ghanan goalkeeper time to get treatment on the pitch for what seemed to be an injury to his back. When play resumed The Black Stars come out strong and put the USA on the defensive right away, moving with speed and ease.
At the 30 minute mark it looked like forward Razak Pimpong was going to make it a 2-0 game but the shot went wide. Midfielder Clint Dempsey took an elbow to the head from Defender Illiasu Shilla, who drew a yellow card for the bump. 11 minutes before the end of regulation time, Forward Brian McBride sent a long ball to Midfielder Landon Donovan , who blew a sweet shot, sending what could have been an easy goal too wide to make it any good.
At that point Bruce Arena looked like he wanted to strangle someone. Midfielder Haminu Dramani triped up defender Steve Churundalo on a wild dash to the goal, and gave the US a chance to equalize. Defender Eddie Lewis takes the penalty kick looking for Dempsey at the end of it but Kingston deflects it out of danger. Lewis slips another a fantastic pass but no one was in the box to take the shot.
The USA launched an attack with Dempsey, Donovan and McBride on but are stopped short with an empty cross from McBride, and go back on the defensive to face an aggressive African team. At the 40 Reyna goes out and Olson comes in. Olsen immediately gives a hard foul on Midfielder Michael Essien .
Finally, a little bit of fried gold in the 43rd minute when Clint Dempsey scores a goal. It was a clean shot by the Texan into the net, which he celebrated in the corner with a little honkey tonk shuffle. The celebration is short lived when, in the 46th minute, amid boos and jeers from the crowd, ref Markus Merk gave Ghana a penalty kick off an invisible foul on defender Oguchi Onyewu. Stephen Appiah converts on the 12 yard kick to score with Kasey Keller going the wrong way. The call and the goal put American hopes of advancing on the unable to breathe list.
The second half started slow, with the USA against the wall. Team USA spent too much time on defense, and picking up petty violations. Ghana seemed confidant and strong, taking shots like winners and keeping Keller busy at the net. Team USA looked disoriented and confused, and that confusion and lack of support from Bruce Arena, and several mistakes by Donovan and Reyna, led to tears of frustration and despair on the eyes of some American fans.
Ghana left the game exuberant hitting the field to pray, and dance, and give thanks for their win against Team USA. Ghana advances to the Round of 16 and it’ll be interesting to see how they fare against Brazil on the 27th.

Czech Republic vs Italy

With the stinky games by other teams in Group E, Italy could have just sat this one out, drinking espresso on the sidelines and watching the clock run out. Win or lose, on other words, they were going to advance. The Czechs, however, had to win or tie to advance, and Midfielder Pavel Nedved was coaxed out of retirement to try and help his team do just that.
Italy has always been a Soccer powerhouse in Europe, but the Czech team hasn’t seen a World Cup since 1990, when things were different there, before everything changed. For them, I think, it was more than a matter of national pride, it was a matter of national identity.
Both sides came out playing elegant defense, and moved the ball quickly into strike range with a fierce determination. The Lokomotiva tried to take advantage of the talent gap left open when Defender Alessandro Nesta went out with an injury and Marco Materazzi came in in the 17th minute. The Czechs displayed spirited and agile ball handling but the Italians held them off and went on the offense, driving again and again to the box, finally carving out a score in the end of the 25th minute from Materazzi butted close off a corner kick.
The Czechs came back with a gritty assault, trying to keep their chances alive, but the Italian crowd sang and chanted and let the world know that, once they’d taken the lead, they planned on taking it the distance. The rest of the first half saw some close calls but the score remained the same into the second.
In the second half, the players surged back and forth across the pitch, the pressure to score was intense, with exciting steals, perfect tackles, and slick Euro-Style blocks. The Czechs looked close to equalizing and were certain to have done so if the Azzurri creative efforts had not foiled their runs, dribbles and shots.
Finally, in the 87th minute, Forward Filippo Inzaghi surged into the penalty area and knocked one into the net with a fiery left foot, ending the Czech Republics chances to move beyond the Group Round. Next, Italy faces Australia on June 26th.

GROUP F

Croatia v Australia

The Socceroos came a long way to play this game, much farther than the 10,000 some odd miles from Sidney to Berlin. The last time they made the trip to the World Cup, in 1974, it was also in Germany. Back then they were knocked out in the First Round without having scored a goal. In their first game against Japan, this year, however, they scored 3 and, although they remained scoreless against powerhouse Brazil, they came into this game determined to make a good showing to keep their dream alive.
For Croatia, this was their third time to the World Cup. They made won Third place in 1998 but were eliminated at this very stage in 2002. They’ve remained scoreless so far this time, and came out to the pitch eager to redeem their honor, and , with a win, their chances of advancement with a win.
The referee seemed determined to addle both teams, however, and through out the game Graham Poll awarded 17 fouls, 4 yellow-cards and 2 red-cards to Croatia and 21 fouls, 1 yellow-card and 1 red-card to Australia.
So far, this year, this was the most thrilling game in Germany. Starting with a free-kick goal 2:06 into the first half, masterfully played into the net by Midfielder Darijo Srna, the action came fast, and tense. With the score 1-0, Croatian hopes of moving up looked better than they had in the whole tournament.
Australia looked baffled at their poor start, and spent several hard minutes trying to regain control and get into the game. A vigorous Srna kept the Socceroos off their game, battling defender Craig Moore at every turn for control of the ball. At 6:30 into the first, Defender Josip Simunic tipped his teams hand and revealed just how desperate the Vatreni were to win this game, by bringing down forward Mark Viduka hard in the box. Graham Poll, the referee, however, let play go on, without a call, giving the Aussie fans another reason to get rowdy.
The Socceroos were pinned down by the Croats, who defended fearlessly by Defenders Stjepan Tomas and Igor Tudor against several sloppy Aussie attacks. Simunic and Srna, kept the pressure up with excellent ball handling and a manifest desire to take the game to the net Down Under, serving up rough steals and hard passes.
Bret Emmerton held off midfielder Niko Kranjcar in the corner, showing off the brash style of dogged soccer that brought this team into the knock out round. At the 13 minute mark forward Harry Kewell made a wild attempt from 30 yards out that pegged a sideline camera man right in the gut. Not productive shot but something that I’d been waiting a long time to see. Next, I hope to see one of the security guys that stand with their backs to the pitch take one in the back of the head.
Mile Sterjovski gets taken down hard in the corner by Babic and earns the Aussies a free kick and a chance to tie it up but Scott Chipperfields shot gets cleared off Simunc’s head. A little while later Simunic kicks his boot dangerously close in Cahills face, but there’s no card and the ref lets the game go on, giving the ball to Croatia.
It went on this way, with each side growing more restless to hit the net. A series of bad calls from an either careless or inept referee did not prevent either side from pushing to the limit, and getting rough with each other, with several empty strikes and close saves at both nets.
In the 37th minute Cahill caught a shove to the neck that was ignored by the ref and a yellow card for Tudor but Tomas gets the call for a handball, giving the Aussies another chance to tie it up with a penalty kick. Craig Moore takes the shot and ties the game 1-1 at the 38th minute. Amid a roaring dancing crowd of Australian fans and Socceroo fans world wide.
The second half moved fast and smooth with the Prso getting a fruitless free kick and the Australians pushing for the initiative, through a sometimes violent Croatian defense. Nico Kovac takes the shot and Australia goal keeper Zeljko Kalac put his whole 6ft 8 in frame down to block it but the ball bounced off and over, and rolled neatly into the net sending Croatian coach Zlatko Kranjcar again leaping into the arms of the closest person around with a 2-1 lead.
This would be the last moment of joy for the Croatians in this years World Cup. As in their game with Japan the Australians stepped it up in the end when Harry Kewell finally found the net to tie it up and send the Australians onto the next round, and giving the Croatians a ticket to ride the Perma-Pine highway all the way back home.

GROUP G

Switzerland v South Korea

This was an important game not only for the teams but for the very complicated workings of the FIFA ranking system. Follow me on this one as best as you can. Now, a South Korea win would have put them in the next round along with France, who are supposed to play Togo. A tie would also send them into the next round as long as France could win by a point. A score-less draw and a 2-1 French win would leave Switzerland in the #1 group spot with France and South Korea with exactly the same score and goal differential. If France beats Togo 2-0 and a1-1 tie with Switzerland and South Korea would leave both the Swiss and the French qualified and shut out the other two teams but, then, Switzerland and France would have exactly the same standing. This would mean a drawing of lots as a tie-breaker to decide the Group G second place. Basically, it’s as if they flip a coin.
Both sides wanted to avoid this tricky situation, and both sides came into this game confidant of a win. South Korea showed excellent motivation and hustle with the ball and goal keeper Woon-Jae Lee was alert and on the ball at the net. In fact, a vigilant South Korean defense kept the Swiss from making any progress until defender Philippe Senderos slammed home a Hakan Yakin free-kick, and sent the Swiss fans into paroxysm of delight and glee.
As in many other games in this tournament the end was decided upon an unpopular and a questionable call by the referee, Horacio Elizondo. In the 76th minute of play, well into the second half, with the score still 1-0 and South Korea still very much in the game, Xavier Margairaz shot bounced off a Korean defender in the box, and the lineman raised his flag to signify an offside play. Swiss Forward Alexander Frei collected the ball, after several South Korean players paused play for the flag, and launched a surprise shot into the net that caught everyone off guard. At first, it looked as though the score would remain unaltered until Elizondo over-ruled the lineman and let the Swiss advance 2-0.
This turn of events severely demoralized the South Koreans and pissed me, and thousands of South Korean fans, off. Since the flag was clearly raised the mistake lay not with the players but with the officials. Perhaps that sort of thing could be understood in a qualifying match, or in the earlier rounds, but in an elimination game, if the officials error then neither team deserves to be penalized.
I am starting to pay more attention to the referees than to the games and that’s a shame, since so many of these teams have worked so hard to get here, to make it this far, only to have the officials shatter their hopes over miscommunication, error, and old fashioned stupidity.
The Swiss advance but I’m not a happy about how this game turned out. Both sides played hard and deserved better than to have this effort be marred by the underhanded kind of victory this game offered. These ref’s stink.

Togo v France

Things did not look good for France. Their Group standing was as mysterious as a fanatical adoration for Jerry Lewis and a love of stinky cheese. What was clear was that, unless there was a clear winner in the Switzerland v South Korea game they had to beat Togo by at least 2 goals in order to advance into the Round of 16. A tie in that game would leave France sitting pretty with any kind of win, but anything less than a win and they would be accepting the consolation call from Charles DeGaul on their way back home.
Togo’s trip to the World Cup has, sadly, been overshadowed by the off pitch action of their coach and their players. First, coach Otto Pfister quit his position before the start of the games but returned just in time for Togo’s first game against South Korea. Then, before their game with South Korea, the players threatened to walk out over a pay dispute. They lost both those games, scoring only one goal the whole time. They, in other words, were going home either way, honor be damned.
The worry and questioning about the outcome of this Groups match-ups was, in the end, for nothing. France came out in this game with their defense put together and held Togo at bay through the first half, testing the Sparrowhawks blockers and goalie, in order to mount a better offense.
Togo seemed to have finally realized they were on the world stage, and played, now, to go home with some smidgen of honor, holding off the increasingly more determined French to a scoreless first half.
In the second half, however, Togo looked bewildered and ungainly, flubbing passes, missing crosses, and all around stinking up the scenery.
Birthday boy Patrick Vieira played with style and determination, breaking through the Africans defense to score in the 55th minute of play, and then, six minutes later, he gave a snap cross to set up Thierry Henry for the match.
The rest of the game was a series of missed opportunities for the Africans, who seemed to sense that the end was near. Desperation made them sloppy, but they fought long and hard to push through, and tried to score to the bitter end. There would be no dancing for Togo, however, and the game ended 2-0, the win that France was looking for to send them into the Round of 16.

Group H

Tunisia v Ukraine

Both of these teams needed a win, but neither sides fans seemed willing to hope for one, helping to create one of the quietest crowds in this round. Except for occasional jeers and whistles at the refs for some bad calls, the fans looked more intent on focusing their energies to the player, by sheer will, to keep their side alive. Tunisia needed the win, for the Ukraine a win or a draw.
The Ukrainians suffered a 4-0 loss at the hands of Spain in their opener, and were the subject of strong and harsh criticism from their fans back home. Honor was restored with their crushing victory over Saudi Arabia in their second game, ending in a 0-4 win over the Arabs.
The Tunisians came out strong, pushing hard against the Ukrainian defense, but the Ukrainians refused to give away any easy shots. When Zied Jaziri was ejected at the tail end of the first half, the wind seemed to go out of their sails.
The Ukrainians, for their part, played about as well as the Tunisians, but without as much passion for the game, merely functional and utilitarian soccer. But, with Tunisia growing ever more desperate to score as the clock ticked down, Andriy Shevchenko took advantage to push it to their net, with several blocks by phenominal goalkeeper Ali Boumnijel, who was a whirlwind of a defense and motivator for his team.
In the end, it came down to a penalty kick earned when Karim Haggui clipped Shevchenko in the box. Shevchenko took the shot and, as Boumnijel dived one direction the ball slammed into the net. Score 1-0 in the 77th minute.
Both teams struggled to score again against the ticking clock, but in the end, the 1 point would suffice to send Tunisia home and let the Ukraine eek into the next round.

Spain v Saudi Arabia

For the most part, there was never any question about the outcome of this game. While the Saudi’s are a strong team within their league, on the international stage, they seem to be lacking a certain level of competitive push to be taken seriously.
Not that this team didn’t have heart. The Saudi’s brought more than enough of that to each of their games in Germany, but in the end, it took goals, not heart to advance into the Round of 16. Spain had plenty of those in this round and just enough in this game to move them onto the Round of 16.
Saudi Arabia had no illusions that they could move on, they just wanted to play well, and make a good show of it, but in the end they went home having scored only 2 goals in a 2-2 tie in their match with Tunisia.
For most of the match both teams seemed well balanced, with excellent blocks, superb defense, and skillful ball handling, but at the 35:34 mark, forward Jose Antonio Reyes put in a corner kick and found defender Gutierrez Juanito in the middle, who broke through and launched it into the corner of the Saudi net.
After that the Saudi’s tried to mount repeated counter attacks to try for a tie but a reinvigorated Spain held them off through to the half.
The next half was full of desperation from both sides, Spain to hold onto their lead and Saudi Arabia to try and tie it up, but there was slipshod playing full of missed opportunities and missed shots, and in the end, Spain was able to proceed into the Round of 16, and the Sons of the Desert went back home.

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So, that’s the end of the Group Round. The match ups for the Round of 16 are

Germany v Sweden
Argentina v Mexico
England v Ecuador
Portugal v Netherlands
Italy v Australia
Switzerland v Ukraine
Brazil v Ghana
Spain v France

World Cup - Week Two

2006-06-19T10:58:00.000-06:00

Ten days of World Cup Soccer action has taken it's toll on me. I have not missed a game; in fact, I have seen most of them twice. Once in English and again in the evening in Spanish, just because those colorful commentators on the Spanish stations get so excited. I was forced to miss the last half of the Mexico-Angola game on Friday because of an unavoidable appointment, and went the rest of the day avoiding the results until I could get to a bar and watch the end on replay. My friend calls it "World Cup Fever" and I'm inclined to agree. It's addictive. There's no question about it, each of these games brings something thrilling, new, and exciting...It's more than just a game, I tell people. It's the World getting together, putting aside their pettiness and politics, and playing with honor before the eyes of fans all over the globe. That, to me, is something special.
Without further delay, here's the round up of the games:

GROUP A

Germany vs Poland

This one was a tight match. These teams have been traditional rivals ever since the tanks crossed the border in the fall of 1939. The Poles have never forgotten the legendary 1974 "Rain Match", played in Frankfort, between these two teams. The story goes that, because of the torrential rain, the Poles asked that the game be delayed but the West Germans refused, leading to a Polish loss.
This game was a battle of defenders, with Poland looking better than their 2-0 loss in the opener with Ecuador. They held the Germans to a 0-0 game until the last minute of regular play,when a thrilling blitz by the Germans pounded the goal frame twice in four seconds, before Forward Oliver Neuville finally found the mark, ending this one at 1-0. With this win and a loss by Costa Rica, Germany will play Ecuador for the top rank in the next round.

Ecuador vs Costa Rica

Breathtaking. This match saw the astounding demolition of the Costa Rican defense. 8 minutes into the game a blazing strike by Carlos Tenorio gave Ecuador their first goal, leaving Costa Rica to play a defensive match for the rest of the first half. In the second half, at almost the same amount of time into it as the first, Agustin Delgado drove the ball in for the second. With Costa Rica looking confused and desperate, Ivan Kaviedes hit Ecuador's 3rd at the last minute in regulation time, leaving Costa Rica to play Poland with no hope for either team to advance. Well, what do you expect from a country that abolished their military?

GROUP B

England vs Trinidad & Tobago

For a moment there it looked like the Soca Warriors were going to have a repeat of their 0-0 opener against Sweden, but one of the Worlds Great Soccer Super Powers wasn't going to let that happen. Amid soccer chants and beating drums Peter Crouch scored in the 58th minute, drawing cheers and jeers from the mixed crowd in Nuremerg. Shaka Hislop shined again after blocking England's aggressive strikes over and over, but England fought past a strong Trinidad-Tabago defense to allow midfielder Steven Gerrard to score again in the 90th minute. With this win England stays alive in their group and should be assured a spot in the next round and the Soca Warriors will play a do or die against Paraguay, and hope Sweden loses to England.

Sweden vs Paraguay

In what looked to be a repeat of Sweden's 0-0 game with Trinidad & Tobago the game went back and forth, scoreless until the 89th minute when Freddie Ljungberg managed a devastating strike to shatter Paraguays chance of an easy in to the Final 16. This means that Sweden needs to pull a tie against England and hope that Paraguay beats Trinidad & Tobago. It's not over yet, and it's close games like these that keep the thrills coming.

GROUP C

Argentina vs Serbia & Montenegro

An unbelievable game by Argentina. Six minutes into the game Maxi Rodriguez slipped in the first goal of the game and it was a thing of beauty of behold. 26 minutes later, midfielder Esteban Cambiasso finished a classic play, landing another with ease. 10 minutes later Maxi Rodriguez makes another and Serbia & Montenegro look thoroughly disheartened. The beating, however, did not stop there.
27 minutes after their last goal, forward Hernan Crespo plays smooth and fast to make it 4-0.
Amid the deafening cries of exuberant Argentinian's in the crowd, Serbia & Montenegro watched their defense fall apart like the walls of Jericho. Los Albicelestes kept serving up the goals with a side dish of humiliation courtesy of Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi to clinch their teams berth in the next round, 6-0.

Netherlands vs Ivory Coast

The longshots from Africa, the Ivory Coast Elephants, faced a tough match against the Netherlands in this game. The action took place in the first half, with Robin Van Persie and Rutgerus Van Nistelrooy scoring 3 minutes apart early in the first part of the half, leaving Les Eléphants searching for an opening in the Dutch iron defense. Finally, Bakari Kone brought the joy home to Africa to bring the sentimental favorites within 1 point of a much needed draw.
Sadly, the Dutch gave no ground and Les Elephants could never get their momentum going enough to strike in for a tie. Didier Drogba led the team, rallying a powerful defense in the second half to keep the win from being an embarrassing one, but in the end, the Netherlands came out ahead, leaving the first time World Cup rookies from Africa to build on their experience and, hopefully, return stronger, leaner, and wiser in 2010.

GROUP D

Mexico vs Angola

Here's a good example of how African Soccer can undermine the fast pace and sharp ball handling of American Soccer. After coming off of their 3-1 win against Iran, Mexico appeared confidant and strong but faced a hungry Angolan team, eager to prove themselves after a 1-0 loss to Paraguay. With several goal strikes both teams came up empty, leaving the game at a 0-0 draw. This leaves Mexico waiting to see how Portugal fares against Iran, and quite likely, facing elimination.
The combination of missed goal chances and a tough defense from the Black Antelopes could have devastating results on the Mexicans chances of advancing to the Round of 16.

Portugal vs Iran

This one went back and forth for the first half with crowd support present for both sides but it was midfielder Anderson Deco who scored for Portugal 23 minutes into the second half. Iran tried repeated unsuccessful replies but without Ali Daei on the pitch, were left scoreless. Portugal broke through Iran's defense more than once but was denied by goal keeper Ebrahaim Mirzapour. In the end it was a penalty kick by Cristiano Ronaldo five minutes from the end that doubled the Seleçao das Quinas lead and shut out Iran. Next, we wait to see how Team Melli will perform against Angola.

GROUP E

Czech Republic vs Ghana

The team that flogged Team USA got their own bell rung by Ghana. The Second Ranked Czech's looked stunned to be taken down so hard by this team from the tiny African Nation. 2 minutes into it forward Asamoah Gyan scored the first goal of the game for Ghana, and let the Czech's know that they were in it to win it.
The Lokomotiva looked stunned as goal attempt after goal attempt was denied, and the Black Stars were determined to defend the honor of their continent, after their 2-0 loss to Italy in their opener.
But the Czech's didn't earn their #2 world ranking by giving up. They marshaled all their efforts to scoring, taking wild shots, while keeping up a strong defense until the clock ran out. In the end, however, midfielder Sulley Muntari locked in the win for Ghana in the 82nd minute, sending the fans from Ghana into fits of ecstasy and leaving Czech fans to shake their heads in disbelief.
Ghana remains safe from elimination, at least for now.

Italy vs United States

After a dismal loss to the Czech's in their opening match, followed by a vicious tounge lashing from Bruce Arena, Team USA came out with good ol' American grit to hold the Italians off. Things looked grim when Alberto Gilardino scored in the 22nd minute for the Azzurri but US Goalie Kelsey Keller stood his ground against an unrelenting Italian assault, blocking every other ball that came his way. It was by sheer luck and the grace of God that Team USA received a score when Italian defender Cristian Zaccardo bumped Clint Dempsey's cross into the net for an own-goal to tie the game at 1-1.
When Italian midfielder Daniele De Rossi threw an elbow into Brian McBrides face that split his cheek and sent the American off the field covered in blood things got ugly. De Rossi was red-carded out of the game, but Referee Jorge Larrionda seemed to get a taste for the red card, because Pablo Mastroeni and Eddie Pope were thrown off the pitch on each side of the half.
This game brought up concerns by World Cup Chairman, and Soccer Legend, Franz Beckenbauer, over the amount of yellow- and red- cards being thrown around by the ref's in these games. Jorge Larrionda, for his part, ref-ed a terrible game, stopping the momentum at every chance, and tossing players when either a yellow-card or a warning would have sufficed. Consequently, Team USA goes into their deal-breaking game with Ghana without two of their best players. In light of this I'd like to pass along a Sam's Army Soccer Chant:

Rope-Tree-Blind-Deaf
I want a rope, a tree
To hang the referee
I said I'm blind, I'm deaf
I want to be a ref
(Repeat)

Group F

Japan vs Croatia

In scoreless games like this one it's always the Goal Keepers who shine. In this game it was Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi keeping the Champs from Asia a little farther away from elimination with dazzling saves and pin point blocks, and Stipe Pletikosa for Croatia who remained on the mark to deny Japan a score. Both teams held fast to their chances, but need to win their last game to keep any hope of moving into the next round going.

Brazil vs Australia

This was the game of the week for me. Not only did the Spanish stations feature shapely women in skimpy outfits with tight little green BRAZIL tee shirts, but the outpour of fan support for both teams was a delight to watch. Early on there was some confusion about uniforms because both teams sport yellow and green as their colors but this was soon solved when the Socceroos came out in their dark blue uniforms, leaving La Verde Amarella to their own.
Australia didn't really need to win this game, a loss or a draw would have placed them pretty much the same. As long as Croatia doesn't beat them on Thursday the Socceroos will waltz into the next round.
With the artistic style that has become their trademark, Brazil kept Australia from scoring through the first half, and early into the second forward Adriano knocked home a goal to put Brazil up, and at the close Fred tapped one in right over the line to close it 2-0. Thrown in through the game there were moments of bliss watching Ronaldinho.
For those of you who don't know who this man is I urge you to find out. Get some tapes, find some footage on the 'net, or better yet, catch their next game on Thursday. Chances are you have already seen his swarthy, buck-toothed face in a commercial somewhere and thought that what you saw him do with a soccerball had to be trick photography. I assure you. it's not. This 26 year old has several more years left in him but, as the World Cup comes along only every 4 years, he will be 30 for the next one, and undoubtedly slower and less agile. He is at his prime, and a thing of beauty to behold.

GROUP G

France vs South Korea

Les Bleus had not scored a goal in the World Cup since their Emmanuel Petit sank one back in 1998 with their win over Brazil. The World Cup was held in France that year and the streets of Paris were filled with joy. France went into this game in an already desperate situation, needing a win to assure a place in the next round but the fans would have to be satisfied with what they got, which was an end to their dry spell. That came to an end in this game when a Sylvain Wiltord bounce fed one to Thierry Henry, who put it in to the net 9 minutes into the first half.
Korean fans were out in force, too, though. In Los Angeles they opened up the Staples center and filled it with 20,000 fans of the Reds, cheering from thousands of miles away from both home and the game. The Koreans kept France down to a 1-0 score for the rest of the game until, toward the end of regulation, they attacked with a furious volley of attacks on the French net that kept Fabien Barthez busy until midfielder Park Ji-Sung finally hit one home to tie the game 1-1.
Now France is dependent on the outcome of the remaining games in the group, and what's worse, they will face Togo without play maker Zinedine Zidane who drew a red card 85 minutes into the game and was tossed.

Togo vs Switzerland

After Togo's 2-1 loss to South Korea this was a must win situation for the African team. In this game they showed little of the ball handling and all of the determination they showed in that game. This time, the Swiss scored on them first when forward Alexander Frei scored on them in the 17th minute of the game.
For the Swiss it was their first World Cup goal since Adrian Knup scored one in Detroit during the 1994 games to beat Romania 4-1.
The Sparrow Hawks went into full defensive mode and held Die Eidgenossen off through the rest of the first half. They came out strong in the second but dissolved into a desperate team, deflecting, blocking and tackling until, in the 88th minute, midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta scored one on them, sending Swiss fans into song and silencing the fans from Togo.
The Chief Shaman from Togo said that the spirits had predicted the tiny African nation would advance to the next round, would, in fact, win 2 games. So much for other worldly aid at the World Cup.

GROUP H

Saudi Arabia vs Ukraine

After holding their own against Tunisia, Saudi Arabia was expected to make a stronger showing against the Ukrainians, who were beaten by Spain 4-0. Defender Andriy Rusol crashed through the Saudi defense 4 minutes into the game to set the tone for the rest of the match. Al-Akhdar goalkeeper Mabrouk Zaid stayed busy, guarding his net through several attacks from the Ukraine and finally gave over another to forward Sergei Rebrov in the 36th minute. In the second half a refreshed Saudi defense kept things clear and looked to be making a rally but a minute into it Andriy Shevchenko shot one into the net and robbed the Saudi's of their vigour faster than a Texas wildcatter with their oil. It was all down hill from there, and when midfielder Maxim Kalinichenko scored to make it 4-0 at the 84th minute, the death knell was sounded for the Saudi's. Now, it's all but over for them, as the Ukraine need to win their next match to advance into the next round.

Spain vs Tunisia

A very painful game to watch. midfielder Jaouhar Mnari scored 8 minutes into the game and Tunisia held on to that lead by the strength of goalkeeper Ali Boumnijel, who was always in command of the team. With a snarl and a wave, he seemed to challenge Spain to attack his net and, for the first half, he defended it with the passion and frenzy worthy of Hannibal. Through the first, Spain looked frenetic and disoriented but remained intact enough to launch several vicious attacks on Tunisia, each sustained and denied by an energetic Boumnijel. But he's 40 years old, and perhaps, not the man he once was. In the second half Les Aigles de Carthage held strong until a lean Raul Gonzalez finally netted one in the 72nd minute for La Furia Roja, energizing the fans and, perhaps, his team.
Suddenly, The Tunesian Carthage Eagles were forced to go in the offensive again, sparing their defense on the needy Spanish Red Fury. Four minutes later young-blood Fernando Torres scored again, slipping Spain into the lead. Energized, Spain showed renewed ball handling skill, moving in on the second lead Tunisia has lost in these games, to force the showdown penalty. Torres lined up in the rain soaked pitch and stared down the old vet, Boumnijel for the penalty kick. Long story short, Spain wins it 3-1.
There's several reasons why he missed that block but none of them really matter since having held it would have done Tunisia no good. A thrilling game and a fantastic end to this round of play. Now, Tunisia has little hope of advancing and Spain is almost assured of a spot in the next round.

World Cup Round Up

2006-06-14T16:20:00.002-06:00

GROUP A

Germany vs Costa Rica

Got up early to watch Germany trounce Costa Rica. This years Host Nation trounced Costa Rica 4-2, coming out slow but finishing with a flair befitting of one of the most orginized and aggressive teams. The amazing part is that they did it withoug any yellow card penalties. If this was any indication of the rest of the games, then we're in for an excellent World Cup.

Poland vs Ecuador

Poor Poland. As hard as they tried they stank it up against Ecuador. This match vindicates the validity of American Futbol. As hard as the Polish team struggled they could not hold off Ecuadors coordinated offense and flawless defense. My notes of the game are fuzzy but I think it's because I spilled beer on them.

GROUP B

England vs Paraguay

The highlight of this match, of course, was the fans. England has a long and loud tradition of enjoying soccer and their fans are as much a part of it as is the state of David Beckhams hair. Although, their only goal was an accidental one tossed in my a Paraguayan player, no one seemed to care as the crowd chanted and danced around in the streets afterward.

Trinidad & Tobago vs Sweden

The highlight of day one. Although Trin=Bago could hardly have hoped for a strong showing against higher ranked Sweden, their excellent defense kept Sweden back for a 0-0 final. The fans, however, celebrated as though it was a win, because, at this round, a tie is better than a loss.

GROUP C

Argentina vs Ivory Coast

As much as I wanted the Ivory Coast to win this one, it was a far fetched and outlandish dream from the start. I was moved by that commercial that told how their 3 year civil war was called off, that the rebels and the president called a cease fire, and the whole war torn nation was cheering their team because they'd qualified for the World Cup. Unfortunately, they were paired against one of the strongest teams in the world. Still, there were no tears. All that really mattered was that they'd made it to the World Cup...and they scored against Argentina.

Serbia & Montenegro vs Netherlands

This was one of those no-brainers. Netherlands are a better team, with excellent tactics and even better coaches. Serbia Montenegro tried their hardest but could never manage a score on the Netherlands.

GROUP D

Mexico vs Iran

My most awaited game. With the death of Mexican goalie Oswaldo Sanchez's father, and the strong leadership of Iran’s Ali Daei t his was a passionate game from start to finish. Iran showed dignity and grace with the presentation of condolences and flowers to Sanchez before the game, and in defeat showed dignity and class. For Mexico the celebration was well deserved. I don't know if they come much more intense than this game. With Mexico’s final scores as regulation time ran out, all one had to know was that Esto arroz ya se cucio....This rice is cooked.

Angola vs Portugal

This was another one of those clashes which dragged on from side to side as each teams unique characteristics seemed to counteract the others. In the end, the Angolan teams eagerness to score left themselves wide open for a Portugese strike that won the game.

GROUP E

Italy vs Ghana

I have heard it said that Italy is the best team in the world. I'm not sure about that but I am certain that they are one of the best teams in Europe. With this game, however, they showed that they are probably the best team outside of the Americans. While Ghana was just happy to be there, they held Italy to 2 points, and walked away with the right to say they played them in the World Cup.

United States vs Czech Republic

As much as I feel I should be loyal to my countries team this was a truly painful match to watch. The Czech Republic scored on us 3 times without an answer. Even the Coach was embarrassed by the teams performance out there. The team looked like a bunch of dogs trying to open a doorknob with their teeth. The fans looked depressed but with any hope there will be a loophole in the rest of the matches and and leave the team a way into Round 2. One cannot blame the fans, though, because Sam's Army (as they're called) made a tremendous showing, no matter that the rest of the Nation doesn't pay any attention to the game.

GROUP F

Brazil vs Croatia

For being the defending World Cup Champions, Brazil looked like they never got it out of first gear. Croatia held them down to only 1 point but that was all it took for the party to start up in Rio.

Australia vs Japan

This was another one of those early morning games that I had a hard time paying much attention to. I never really pay much attention to those until the first goal is scored. In this case, Japan pulled off an early one and the rest of the game looked grim for the Socceroos. Then, when the Koala fat was in the fire, they crushed Japan by pulling off 3 beautiful shots to finish the game.

GROUP G

France vs Switzerland

Here was one of those games that was like watching paint dry. With France a strong team and Switzerland evenly matched the game flowed back and forth like soft, metled cheese. In the next round of games both of these teams are the ones to keep an eye on because they're going to want to prove themselves.

South Korea vs Togo

This match moved at a swift and wickid pace, with both teams looking to put on a show. In the end South Korea had better timing and coordination, leaving the tiny African nation to figure out how to tighten their game. Again, one of the African examples of keen soccer skill, but not enough to match the expirience of South Korea. Expect them to come out strong in their next game with better ball handling, with luck, more a more aggressive game.

GROUP H

Spain vs Ukraine

Spain has always had a good showing with Soccer. They are a leaner team this time, with good defense and even better offense. There was little chance that Ukraine could deliver against such a sharp team. While the Ukraine showed excellent defense of their own, they seemed to always be on the brink of collapse. In the end, Spain game out on top 4-0 and looks to be a strong contender for the Second Round.

Tunisia vs Saudi Arabia

Here was an excellent game today. 1-0 tunisia for most of the way then Saudia made 2 putting their north african brothers down and everything looked good until the last minute of stoppage time when tunisia scored another Praise Allah goal to tie it up without much time for the Saudi team to do much more than kiss it massalaama.
=======================================

So, the front runners now seem to be Spain, The Czech Republic, and Italy. Angola, Mexico, Brazil are also some teams to keep an eye on, but don't rule anyone out yet because there's more action yet to come this week. With Poland’s loss to Germany today in the first of the second round robin games, the United States only has to score on Italy to stay in it. That would but them in an excellent position to score on Ghana and make it into the next round.
I've been keeping strange hours while watching these games and, since they go on until July 9th, there's no telling how weird this is going to get. Well, at least there's always beer.
Until next time, my Freaky Darlings, I'll keep watching. It's only once every 4 years, anyway, and it's well worth it.

Judge tells Saddam's defense to wrap up case...

2006-06-13T07:53:00.000-06:00

Well my freaky darlings...

I think it is about time the judge got a sense for how long this is dragging out. Keep in mind that this will probably be the first of many cases Saddam will be tried for. Although I suspect that this case will be the longest trial.

If someone or the whole group of seven has been found guilty then the rest of the cases will go much faster I suspect.

WORLD CUP 2006

2006-06-09T03:40:00.000-06:00

Well, the World Cup starts today and the action for the worlds soccer fans is going to be intense. To follow the games, I've added a couple links at the right. One takes you to the FIFA site and the other to ESPN Soccernet s World Cup section.
Also, for those in the States who have no idea what this is all about and, like me, are done with the NBA Finals, here is a link to an excellent article by CBS Sports writer Larry Dobrow. Here's *snip*:

Will I get the chance to chant "U-S-A! U-S-A!" and generally give patriotism a bad name? Sure! Antisocial behavior is as much a part of international soccer as is snooty disdain for anything red, white and blue. While one of the aforementioned funny-accent people told me that the English soccer hooligan is but a "mythical evil creature," you can expect to see more than a few dentally challenged wackjobs cavorting in post-game riot footage. Others who get high marks for low behavior include the Dutch ("mean and clever") and the Italians ("they add an almost neo-fascist element").

There, now I have provided you with everything you need to enjoy World Cup 2006 except the beer.

Fiat justitia et ruat caelum

2006-06-08T08:14:00.000-06:00

And Fall The Heavens did on the head of Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi. The most wanted terrorist in Iraq, was killed yesterday, by two 500-pound bombs, in United States air strikes 30 miles from Baghdad, near Baqouba. After months of careful tracking, planning and failure, Two F-16 fighter/bombers finally put an end to the terrorist leaders reign of terror in Iraq.
It is suspected that Al-Zarqawi was the hooded man who beheaded Nick Berg and Eugene Armstrong, and claimed responsibility for the triple attacks in Jordanian hotels last November.

Update

2006-06-05T15:20:00.000-06:00

All, it seems, is not right with the world, today. The Spurs are out, and so are the Suns. Dallas knocked them both out in 7 and now faces Miami in the NBA Finals on Thursday night. On the up-side, the World Cup starts this Friday and I will try and catch as many of those games as I can, because, for me, at least, the Finals over with.
Speaking of the World Cup, this year to be held in Germany, there has been great controversy over the Iranian presidents proposed visit the games if his team makes it into the second round. A good part of this up-roar stems from comments he made denying the Holocaust and threatening to wipe Israel off of the map. Now, the words of madmen and lunatics frequently make for good news sound bites, but when this one tried to defend his insane statements to a leading German language magazine, he sounded even crazier than usual. Here's one example:

Ahmadinejad: Look here, my views are quite clear. We are saying that if the Holocaust occurred, then Europe must draw the consequences and that it is not Palestine that should pay the price for it. If it did not occur, then the Jews have to go back to where they came from. I believe that the German people today are also prisoners of the Holocaust.

What's more, it seems that Iran has started blocking access to several websites and blogs on the ‘Net, further fueling rumors that the government there is preparing for military actions against them. Iran has repeatedly stated that they will continue to push their nuclear agenda despite protests from several nations concerned with Iran’s nuclear ambitions
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is threatening fuel shipments to the West over this and I don’t understand how they think this makes them look any better. Besides that, once they threaten our oil then they are really going to get grabbed by the nose and kicked in the ass.
This comes in response to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s statements that Iran must respond within weeks.
No, all is not right.
But someone is trying to do something about it, it seems, because tomorrow is June 6, 2006, 666, and crazy Dutch Christians are holding round the clock prayer vigils to ward off evil. But no, we’re not looking at the start of the Apocalypse. Chances are we’re right smack in the thick of it, already. Just for fun though, here’s a 666 website maintained by Rev. Felix Just, S.J., a professor of theology at the University of San Francisco

SPURS WIN 91-86, FORCE GAME 7

2006-05-20T23:57:00.000-06:00

In an amazing comeback the San Antonio Spurs have won back to back games to tie their series against the Dallas Mavericks 3-3. Game 6 saw the Silver and Black coming up from an uneventful first 3 quarters to dominate the 4th, silencing an exuberant American Airlines Center crowd, and closing out with a 91-86 win.
They bring it back to San Antonio on Monday night to end the series.
In San Antonio, today, there is a pallid sense of optimism about Monday night’s game. No one seems quite willing to commit to a win, and yet, all seem to expect one.
“Of course, they’re going to win,” said one. “They’re the Spurs. They always bring us to the edge but they always pull it off.”
Others were not so expectant. “It’s going to be a hard win. Dallas hates us,” said another. “It’s that Avery Johnson and Mark Cuban. They want to beat us, big time.”
Indeed, there has blown up around this series an ill wind, a quiet curtain of animosity, a thing not unlike the bad blood that drew gunslingers out onto the dusty streets to gun each other down.
Everything started out so friendly, too. Well, except for Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. He’s hardly ever friendly when it comes to San Antonio. Before game 6 he was quoted as saying that they would kick the Spurs back to that "muddy-watered thing they call a Riverwalk." He wants a rivalry and he doesn’t care what he has to do to get it.
Add to this head coach Avery Johnson’s history with the Spurs. He was on the 1999 Championship team. Back then the Spurs were still led by “The Admiral” David Robinson, and winning that title was all about him. When Robinson retired the following year, A.J. (“The Little General”, we called him, since he was “co-captain” of the team) continued in his capacity as on the court coach.
This didn’t sit well with many of the new faces on the bench, particularly Malik Rose and Tim Duncan. It was reported that Avery Johnson got his bell rung by Malik Rose in a post game locker room brawl, and that the team sided against A.J. This led to sour grapes on his part, and ultimately led the club to cut him. A.J. made reference to having been “cut on Christmas eve” in his Q&A after game 6 when asked if he was afraid of playing game 7 in San Antonio. He also revealed that he traveled with a bodyguard, leading one to believe that he is, indeed, afraid of playing in San Antonio, and it’s starting to show.
He’s lost his cool. After being awarded the NBA’s Coach of the Year Award A.J has been riding high on a wave of his own ego. With a heavy dose of “Short Mans Complex” he’s ridden his team straight into a Waterloo in San Antonio. Now, he’s got to face his mentor, Gregg Popovich, on the Masters terms, and he’s going to crack.
Dallas has been playing dirty since the start of the series and Jason Terry’s suspension for punching Michael Finley in game 5 is just one of the many signs that Dallas is cracking up, from the Coach on down. That punch was an act of desperation, the act of a team lacking in sportsmanship, leadership, and Grit.
There’s an I-35 Shootout coming Monday night. The Mavericks boo-ed Michael Finley for having been traded to San Antonio and for having been part of the Terry suspension scandal but Terry better watch out when he walks into the AT&T center. We’re a mighty rowdy crowd and, woe-betide the Dallas Fans down here. For their information, we here in San Antonio think that they are all hat and no cattle, and Mark “the Mouth” Cuban and Avery “the little traitor” Johnson, and pugilistic Jason Terry can all take the walk of shame all the way back to Dallas, knowing that they were beaten by the better Team.

Spurs Squeak into Game 6

2006-05-19T04:40:00.000-06:00

After a depressing loss in game 4 the San Antonio Spurs finally pull off a 98-97 win over Dallas. This has bolstered the spirit of Spurs fans, and extended the season just a little bit more, but now, the trick is to try and win the next two games in a row. Tonights game is in Dallas and, because of a post game suspension for Jason Terry for punching Michael Finley, the Spurs have a definite edge on them. With some effort to exploit that edge, the Spurs could push a game 7 back at home, increasing their chances to keep the season alive into the next round.
Go Spurs Go!

2006-05-15T02:29:00.000-06:00

Spurs Tear Jerker in Dallas - One Damn Point

After the game 2 stinker in Dallas (109-91) we all had such high hopes for game 3. The Spurs worked hard in the second half but in the end they lost it 103 to 104, sending up a huge groan of disappointment from Spurs fans that could be heard all the way up I 35.
It’s easy to try and explain why a team loses a game, to excuse the missed shots and bemoan the unfair foul calls by cruel and unjust Refs. None-the-less, there is a word for almost winning. They call it “Losing”, and that, my Freaky Darlings, is never an easy word to choke out.
So, the Spurs go into game 4 down 2-1 in the series, and the best they can hope to do now is tie it up in Dallas. It’s clutch time for them and without a win on Monday night then there’s no reason to expect anything else out of their post season stint than a delay of the inevitable.

Are You Going to Nuke Me? (Check Yes or No)

I posted that full text of the President Mahmood Ahmadi-Najads letter because I think it’s important that people see for themselves the level of madness with which we’re dealing in this man. This is not your garden variety of crazy here. This is the work of a lifetime of training and practice at being crazy. This, my Freaky Darlings, is a Professional Looney.
I don’t care how rational and sane he may have sounded in some parts of that letter, you can’t really hide Crazy. He sent a letter through an intermediary half way around the world to proselytize to the Leader of the Free World? Was he going to ask him to the Prom as well?

Ever since the Dems lost the 2000 Elections we’ve been hearing all sorts of wild and crazy allegations about our own President and his relationship with the Divine. If we thought that he was weird for saying saying things like:

"I feel like God wants me to run for President. I can't explain it, but I sense my country is going to need me. Something is going to happen... I know it won't be easy on me or my family, but God wants me to do it."
--George W. Bush commenting to Texas evangelist James Robinson in the run-up to his presidential campaign

and:

"God told me to strike at al Qaeda and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam [Hussein], which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East. If you help me I will act, and if not, the elections will come and I will have to focus on them."
--Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Abu Mazen quoting Bush when they met in Aqaba; reported in The Haaretz Reporter by Arnon Regular

(Both quotes found here)

Then we should have no trouble at all seeing the kind of danger that this Iranian fanatic poses to the world.

“According to divine verses,” he writes, “we have all been called upon to worship one God and follow the teachings of divine prophets.”

He goes on to add that:
“Liberalism and Western style democracy have not been able to help realize the ideals of humanity. Today these two concepts have failed. Those with insight can already hear the sounds of the shattering and fall of the ideology and thoughts of the liberal democratic systems.”

The man is a menace and he's going to get people hurt...’Nuff Said.

The Tortilla Curtain Goes Up

Later today it is expected that the President will go on national television to discuss the Immigration Reform Bill on the table, and to anounce that he will be sending National Guard troops to the Mexican Border to help overwhelmed Border Patrol agents. As much as this has to do with illegals crossing over, I can’t helo but wonder how much of this has to do with the growing Border Cartel Wars and the use of Mexican police and military in protecting shipments of narcotics over the US-Mexican Border in recent months.
In recent weeks I’ve been asked several times where I stand on the issue of undocumented forigners in this country. It’s a complex issue that goes deeper than jobs and taxes. It’s a direct result of American Manifest Destiny, The War for Texas Indipendance, and the Mexican-American War. When the gunsmoke cleared we’d acquired the northern part of Mexico, land that later became the states of New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, and Utah.
Down here in this part of Texas we’ve been dealing with all kinds of problems with that border for hundreds of years. Ever since the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo fixed a border a mix of Good Ol’ Boy Racism and Tejano Pride have screwed the pooch for everyone down here.
You see, down here, it’s not just the devil white man that doesn’t want too many of them here, it’s the Hispanics who have been here since the land was tamed by their ancestors, hearty adventerers, settlers and conquerors.
For the most part, the undocumented immigrants lower the bar for everyone, regardless of ethnicity. It’s not about being Mexican, it’s about being American. Because one lives here does not make one an American. just like living in Texas does not make one a Texan.
So when it comes to issues of the Border, it’s always seemed more like a security issue to me than one that should have people marching and shouting and taking spontanious days off of work and school. With things in the world being what they are and having so many people out to get us, it’s important that we make sure out backdoor is locked.

Full Text : The President of Iran's Letter To President Bush

2006-05-12T06:02:00.000-06:00

Signs of the Times
Translated by Le Monde

05/09/06

Mr George Bush,

President of the United States of America

For sometime now I have been thinking, how one can justify the undeniable contradictions that exist in the international arena - which are being constantly debated, especially in political forums and amongst university students. Many questions remain unanswered. These have prompted me to discuss some of the contradictions and questions, in the hopes that it might bring about an opportunity to redress them.

Can one be a follower of Jesus Christ, the great Messenger of God,

Feel obliged to respect human rights,

Present liberalism as a civilization model,

Announce one's opposition to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and WMDs,

Make "War and Terror" his slogan,

And finally, work towards the establishment of a unified international community - a community which Christ and the virtuous of the Earth will one day govern,

While at the same time:

Have countries attacked,

The lives, reputations and possessions of people destroyed and on the slight chance of there being criminals in a village or city, or convoy for example, have the entire village, city or convey set ablaze.

Or because of the possibility of the existence of WMDs in one country, it is occupied, around one hundred thousand people killed, its water sources, agriculture and industry destroyed, close to 180,000 foreign troops put on the ground, the sanctity of private homes of citizens broken, and the country pushed back perhaps fifty years.

At what price? Hundreds of billions of dollars spent from the treasury of one country and certain other countries and tens of thousands of young men and women - as occupation troops - put in harms way, taken away from family and love ones, their hands stained with the blood of others, subjected to so much psychological pressure that everyday some commit suicide and those returning home suffer depression, become sickly and grapple with all sorts of aliments

On the pretext of the existence of WMDs, this great tragedy came to engulf both the peoples of the occupied and the occupying country. Later it was revealed that no WMDs existed to begin with.

Of course Saddam was a murderous dictator. But the war was not waged to topple him, the announced goal of the war was to find and destroy weapons of mass destruction. He was toppled along the way towards another goal, nevertheless the people of the region are happy about it. I point out that throughout the many years of the war on Iran, Saddam was supported by the West.

Mr President,

You might know that I am a teacher. My students ask me how can theses actions be reconciled with the values outlined at the beginning of this letter and duty to the tradition of Jesus Christ, the Messenger of peace and forgiveness.

Page 2

There are prisoners in Guantanamo Bay that have not been tried, have no legal representation, their families cannot see them and are obviously kept in a strange land outside their own country. There is no international monitoring of their conditions and fate. No one knows whether they are prisoners, POWs, accused or criminals.

European investigators have confirmed the existence of secret prisons in Europe too. I could not correlate the abduction of a person, and him or her being kept in secret prisons, with the provisions of any judicial system. For that matter, I fail to understand how such actions correspond to the values outlined in the beginning of this letter, i.e. the teachings of Jesus Christ, human rights and liberal values.

Young people, university students and ordinary people have many questions about the phenomenon of Israel. I am sure you are familiar with some of them.

Throughout history many countries have been occupied, but I think the establishment of a new country with a new people, is a new phenomenon that is exclusive to our times.

Students are saying that sixty years ago such a country did no exist. The show old documents and globes and say try as we have, we have not been able to find a country named Israel.

I tell them to study the history of WWI and II. One of my students told me that during WWII, which more than tens of millions of people perished in, news about the war, was quickly disseminated by the warring parties. Each touted their victories and the most recent battlefront defeat of the other party. After the war, they claimed that six million Jews had been killed. Six million people that were surely related to at least two million families.

Again let us assume that these events are true. Does that logically translate into the establishment of the state of Israel in the Middle East or support for such a state? How can this phenomenon be rationalised or explained?

Mr President, I am sure you know how - and at what cost - Israel was established:

- Many thousands were killed in the process.

- Millions of indigenous people were made refugees.

- Hundred of thousands of hectares of farmland, olive plantations, towns and villages were destroyed.

This tragedy is not exclusive to the time of establishment of Israel; unfortunately it has been ongoing for sixty years now.

A regime has been established which does not show mercy even to kids, destroys houses while the occupants are still in them, announces beforehand its list and plans to assassinate Palestinian figures and keeps thousands of Palestinians in prison. Such a phenomenon is unique - or at the very least extremely rare - in recent memory.

Another big question asked by people is why is this regime being supported? Is support for this regime in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ or Moses or liberal values?

Or are we to understand that allowing the original inhabitants of these lands - inside and outside Palestine - whether they are Christian, Muslim or Jew, to determine their fate, runs

Page 3

Contrary to principles of democracy, human rights and the teachings of prophets? If not, why is there so much opposition to a referendum?

The newly elected Palestinian administration recently took office. All independent observes have confirmed that this government represents the electorate. Unbelievingly, they have put the elected government under pressure and have advised it to recognise the Israeli regime, abandon the struggle and follow the programs of the previous government.

If the current Palestinian government had run on the above platform, would the Palestinian people have voted for it? Again, can such position taken in opposition to the Palestinian government be reconciled with the values outlined earlier? The people are also saying "why are all UNSC resolutions in condemnation of Israel vetoed?"

Mr President,

As you are well aware, I live amongst the people and am in constant contact with them -- many people from around the Middle East manage to contact me as well. They do not have faith in these dubious policies either. There is evidence that the people of the region are becoming increasingly angry with such policies.

It is not my intention to pose too many questions, but I need to refer to other points as well. Why is it that any technological and scientific achievement reached in the Middle East regions is translated into and portrayed as a threat to the Zionist regime? Is not scientific R&D one of the basic rights of nations.

You are familiar with history. Aside from the Middle Ages, in what other point in history has scientific and technical progress been a crime? Can the possibility of scientific achievements being utilised for military purposes be reason enough to oppose science and technology altogether? If such a supposition is true, then all scientific disciplines, including physics, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, engineering, etc. must be opposed.

Lies were told in the Iraqi matter. What was the result? I have no doubt that telling lies is reprehensible in any culture, and you do not like to be lied to.

Mr President, don't Latin Americans have the right to ask, why their elected governments are being opposed and coup leaders supported? Or, why must they constantly be threatened and live in fear?

The people of Africa are hardworking, creative and talented. They can play an important and valuable role in providing for the needs of humanity and contribute to its material and spiritual progress. Poverty and hardship in large parts of Africa are preventing this from happening. Don't they have the right to ask why their enormous wealth - including minerals - is being looted, despite the fact that they need it more than others?

Again, do such actions correspond to the teachings of Christ and the tenets of human rights?

Page 4

The brave and faithful people of Iran too have many questions and grievances, including: the coup d'etat of 1953 and the subsequent toppling of the legal government of the day, opposition to the Islamic revolution, transformation of an Embassy into a headquarters supporting, the activities of those opposing the Islamic Republic (many thousands of pages of documents corroborates this claim), support for Saddam in the war waged against Iran, the shooting down of the Iranian passenger plane, freezing the assets of the Iranian nation, increasing threats, anger and displeasure vis-à-vis the scientific and nuclear progress of the Iranian nation (just when all Iranians are jubilant and collaborating their country's progress), and many other grievances that I will not refer to in this letter.

Mr President,

September Eleven was a horrendous incident. The killing of innocents is deplorable and appalling in any part of the world. Our government immediately declared its disgust with the perpetrators and offered its condolences to the bereaved and expressed its sympathies.

All governments have a duty to protect the lives, property and good standing of their citizens. Reportedly your government employs extensive security, protection and intelligence systems - and even hunts its opponents abroad. September eleven was not a simple operation. Could it be planned and executed without coordination with intelligence and security services - or their extensive infiltration? Of course this is just an educated guess. Why have the various aspects of the attacks been kept secret? Why are we not told who botched their responsibilities? And, why aren't those responsible and the guilty parties identified and put on trial?

All governments have a duty to provide security and peace of mind for their citizens. For some years now, the people of your country and neighbours of world trouble spots do not have peace of mind. After 9/11, instead of healing and tending to the emotional wounds of the survivors and the American people - who had been immensely traumatised by the attacks - some Western media only intensified the climates of fear and insecurity - some constantly talked about the possibility of new terror attacks and kept the people in fear. Is that service to the American people? Is it possible to calculate the damages incurred from fear and panic?

American citizens lived in constant fear of fresh attacks that could come at any moment and in any place. They felt insecure in the streets, in their place of work and at home. Who would be happy with this situation? Why was the media, instead of conveying a feeling of security and providing peace of mind, giving rise to a feeling of insecurity?

Some believe that the hype paved the way - and was the justification - for an attack on Afghanistan. Again I need to refer to the role of media.

In media charters, correct dissemination of information and honest reporting of a story are established tenets. I express my deep regret about the disregard shown by certain Western media for these principles. The main pretext for an attack on Iraq was the existence of WMDs. This was repeated incessantly - for the public to, finally, believe - and the ground set for an attack on Iraq.

Will the truth not be lost in a contrived and deceptive climate?

Again, if the truth is allowed to be lost, how can that be reconciled with the earlier mentioned values?

Is the truth known to the Almighty lost as well?

Page 5

Mr President,

In countries around the world, citizens provide for the expenses of governments so that their governments in turn are able to serve them.

The question here is "what has the hundreds of billions of dollars, spent every year to pay for the Iraqi campaign, produced for the citizens?"

As your Excellency is aware, in some states of your country, people are living in poverty. Many thousands are homeless and unemployment is a huge problem. Of course these problems exist - to a larger or lesser extent - in other countries as well. With these conditions in mind, can the gargantuan expenses of the campaign - paid from the public treasury - be explained and be consistent with the aforementioned principles?

What has been said, are some of the grievances of the people around the world, in our region and in your country. But my main contention - which I am hoping you will agree to some of - is:

Those in power have specific time in office, and do not rule indefinitely, but their names will be recorded in history and will be constantly judged in the immediate and distant futures. The people will scrutinize our presidencies.

Did we manage to bring peace, security and prosperity for the people or insecurity and unemployment?

Did we intend to establish justice, or just supported especial interest groups, and by forcing many people to live in poverty and hardship, made a few people rich and powerful - thus trading the approval of the people and the Almighty with theirs'?

Did we defend the rights of the underprivileged or ignore them?

Did we defend the rights of all people around the world or imposed wars on them, interfered illegally in their affairs, established hellish prisons and incarcerated some of them?

Did we bring the world peace and security or raised the specter of intimidation and threats?

Did we tell the truth to our nation and others around the world or presented an inverted version of it?

Were we on the side of people or the occupiers and oppressors?

Did our administration set out to promote rational behaviour, logic, ethics, peace, fulfilling obligations, justice, service to the people, prosperity, progress and respect for human dignity or the force of guns.

Intimidation, insecurity, disregard for the people, delaying the progress and excellence of other nations, and trample on people's rights?

And finally, they will judge us on whether we remained true to our oath of office - to serve the people, which is our main task, and the traditions of the prophets - or not?

Mr President,

How much longer can the world tolerate this situation? Where will this trend lead the world to? How long must the people of the world pay for the incorrect decisions of some rulers? How much longer will the specter of insecurity - raised from the stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction - hunt the people of the world?

Page 6

How much longer will the blood of the innocent men, women and children be spilled on the streets, and people's houses destroyed over their heads?

Are you pleased with the current condition of the world?

Do you think present policies can continue?

If billions of dollars spent on security, military campaigns and troop movement were instead spent on investment and assistance for poor countries, promotion of health, combating different diseases, education and improvement of mental and physical fitness, assistance to the victims of natural disasters, creation of employment opportunities and production, development projects and poverty alleviation, establishment of peace, mediation between disputing states and distinguishing the flames of racial, ethnic and other conflicts were would the world be today? Would not your government, and people be justifiably proud? Would not your administration's political and economic standing have been stronger? And I am most sorry to say, would there have been an ever increasing global hatred of the American governments?

Mr President, it is not my intention to distress anyone.

If prophet Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ishmael, Joseph or Jesus Christ were with us today, how would they have judged such behaviour? Will we be given a role to play in the promised world, where justice will become universal and Jesus Christ will be present? Will they even accept us?

My basic question is this: Is there no better way to interact with the rest of the world? Today there are hundreds of millions of Christians, hundreds of millions of Moslems and millions of people who follow the teachings of Moses. All divine religions share and respect one word and that is "monotheism" or belief in a single God and no other in the world.

The holy Koran stresses this common word and calls on an followers of divine religions and says: [3.64] Say: O followers of the Book! Come to an equitable proposition between us and you that we shall not serve any but Allah and (that) we shall not associate aught. With Him and (that) some of us shall not take others for lords besides Allah, but if they turn back, then say: Bear witness that we are Muslims. (The Family of Imran).

Mr President,

According to divine verses, we have all been called upon to worship one God and follow the teachings of divine prophets.

"To worship a God which is above all powers in the world and can do all He pleases." "The Lord which knows that which is hidden and visible, the past and the future, knows what goes on in the Hearts of His servants and records their deeds."

"The Lord who is the possessor of the heavens and the earth and all universe is His court" "planning for the universe is done by His hands, and gives His servants the glad tidings of mercy and forgiveness of sins". "He is the companion of the oppressed and the enemy of oppressors". "He is the Compassionate, the Merciful". "He is the recourse of the faithful and guides them towards the light from darkness". "He is witness to the actions of His servants", "He calls on servants to be faithful and do good deeds, and asks them to stay on the path of righteousness and remain steadfast". "Calls on servants to heed His prophets and He is a witness to their deeds." "A bad ending belongs only to those who have chosen the life of this world and disobey Him and oppress His servants". And "A good and eternal paradise belong to those servants who fear His majesty and do not follow their lascivious selves."

Page 7

We believe a return to the teachings of the divine prophets is the only road leading to salvations. I have been told that Your Excellency follows the teachings of Jesus, and believes in the divine promise of the rule of the righteous on Earth.

We also believe that Jesus Christ was one of the great prophets of the Almighty. He has been repeatedly praised in the Koran. Jesus has been quoted in Koran as well; [19,36] And surely Allah is my Lord and your Lord, therefore serves Him; this is the right path, Marium.

Service to and obedience of the Almighty is the credo of all divine messengers. The God of all people in Europe, Asia, Africa, America, the Pacific and the rest of the world is one. He is the Almighty who wants to guide and give dignity to all His servants. He has given greatness to Humans.

We again read in the Holy Book: "The Almighty God sent His prophets with miracles and clear signs to guide the people and show them divine signs and purity them from sins and pollutions. And He sent the Book and the balance so that the people display justice and avoid the rebellious."

All of the above verses can be seen, one way or the other, in the Good Book as well. Divine prophets have promised:

The day will come when all humans will congregate before the court of the Almighty, so that their deeds are examined. The good will be directed towards Haven and evildoers will meet divine retribution. I trust both of us believe in such a day, but it will not be easy to calculate the actions of rulers, because we must be answerable to our nations and all others whose lives have been directly or indirectly effected by our actions.

All prophets, speak of peace and tranquillity for man - based on monotheism, justice and respect for human dignity.

Do you not think that if all of us come to believe in and abide by these principles, that is, monotheism, worship of God, justice, respect for the dignity of man, belief in the Last Day, we can overcome the present problems of the world - that are the result of disobedience to the Almighty and the teachings of prophets - and improve our performance?

Do you not think that belief in these principles promotes and guarantees peace, friendship and justice?

Do you not think that the aforementioned written or unwritten principles are universally respected?

Will you not accept this invitation? That is, a genuine return to the teachings of prophets, to monotheism and justice, to preserve human dignity and obedience to the Almighty and His prophets?

Page 8

Mr President,

History tells us that repressive and cruel governments do not survive. God has entrusted The fate of man to them. The Almighty has not left the universe and humanity to their own devices. Many things have happened contrary to the wishes and plans of governments. These tell us that there is a higher power at work and all events are determined by Him.

Can one deny the signs of change in the world today?

Is this situation of the world today comparable to that of ten years ago? Changes happen fast and come at a furious pace.

The people of the world are not happy with the status quo and pay little heed to the promises and comments made by a number of influential world leaders. Many people around the wolrd feel insecure and oppose the spreading of insecurity and war and do not approve of and accept dubious policies.

The people are protesting the increasing gap between the haves and the have-nots and the rich and poor countries.

The people are disgusted with increasing corruption.

The people of many countries are angry about the attacks on their cultural foundations and the disintegration of families. They are equally dismayed with the fading of care and compassion. The people of the world have no faith in international organisations, because their rights are not advocated by these organisations.

Liberalism and Western style democracy have not been able to help realize the ideals of humanity. Today these two concepts have failed. Those with insight can already hear the sounds of the shattering and fall of the ideology and thoughts of the liberal democratic systems.

We increasingly see that people around the world are flocking towards a main focal point - that is the Almighty God. Undoubtedly through faith in God and the teachings of the prophets, the people will conquer their problems. My question for you is: "Do you not want to join them?"

Mr President,

Whether we like it or not, the world is gravitating towards faith in the Almighty and justice and the will of God will prevail over all things.

Vasalam Ala Man Ataba'al hoda

Mahmood Ahmadi-Najad

President of the Islamic Republic of Iran

FIESTA PICS '06

2006-05-08T02:51:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been a week, but that's about as much time as one who really expirenced Fiesta Week in San Antonio should take to recover. Last years Fiesta Photo's were mainly of parades. This year, however, I skipped those and spent my time in Market Square and at Night In Old San Antonio. Everywhere, Fiesta was in total swing, from the glittering lights of the Carnival to the foods and music from NIOSA, these pics represent my best Fiesta moments.

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The Happiest Drunk In Market Square

I saw this old guy dancing all by himself and he was laughing and smiling, with out a care in the world.

Soon, the Tejano band got rowdy and everyone started to dance as well.

The Crowd at Market Square

San Antonians Fiesta at Mi Tierra

Beer Prices Sky Rocket But What the hell...It's only once a Year.

A saloon at El Mercado

Un Viejito

It's always fun for the whole Damn Family!!

Adrastas in Full Fiesta Gear in Market Square

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The Carnival sets up along several streets in the center of Downtown. During the day a small crowd filters through, usually on their way from one side of town to the other, but at night, the rides light up the night sky and the wind smells like cotton candy, popcorn and beer.

I don't chance rides at Carnival. Too much beer...

The Carnys know how to hook em in....

To Serve and Protect the Ice Cream

My Kind of place...

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NIOSA

Night in Old San Antonio, the wild 4 day event held in Historic La Villita, is the total Fiesta Experience. The food, the music, the people…Ah, now that’s what Fiesta Week is all about.

These kabobs of roasted Sirloin, called Antecuchos are a NIOSA staple. Now, there are several of these stalls there but the only one that has the good ones is the one behind the German party in the Mexican section.

This is how they are prepared....Slow roasted 4 to a stick...huge, juicey tender chucks...They are seasoned with a special, secret spice, which is drizzeld and rubbed on with brushes made from corn husks.

In the foreground one of the empty spice pans can be seen, as well as one of those brushes. Not even the employees know what goes in it. This guy, however, does, and he brings it to them by the tub.

BEER!!!!!!!!

The Lone Star over the Antecuchos

These paper flower things with ribbons streaming down the back are a common sight on the ladies for Fiesta.

A kid has his third....

The Band at the indoor German party. It's easier to go around the building to get to the good Antecuchos than to go through this circular building. One can go around and around and not realize they've done so.

Rock n Roll, Baby!!!

Another band. This trio was doing a fantastic cover of Led Zepplins "Kashmir"

Sherriff Deputy who was guarding the door to the Cantina in La Villita, where they sold 16 oz beer instead of those horrible little 8oz cups.

The outside of the cantina.

Dancing is something everyone gets into during Fiesta Week...

This Classic Rock cover band got everyone in the mood to party!!!

Take these two for example. The guy was playing Air Guitar and dancing all by himself to the Geezers rousing cover of the Stones' "Honkey Tonk Women", when suddenly, this Rocker Chick who was watching, couldn't stand it any longer and had to get out there and move...

They get the Cutest Couple at NIOSA award from me...

This fellow was dancing all by himself too but, alas...not hot rocker chick....

These two really got into it...Ahh, Fiesta brings everyone together.

There was just no stopping these two! (NOTE: the smooth air guitar moves on that guy!)

A Folks-Roots cover band playing "I'l Fly Away" and Everyone sang along.

The Crowd was enormous!

The Ladies of NIOSA

The Girl Whol kept selling me beer.

More German Party. It's the only place to sit down in the whole place.

The Gates of NIOSA with the Tower of the Americas in the background.

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Until Next year...Que VIVA FIESTA!!!

An Update

2006-05-07T08:38:00.000-06:00

It's official. Classes, for me at least, are over for the summer. This worked out well because last week was Fiesta Week, and classes ended just in time for be to Fiesta most heartily.
In the weeks leading up to Fiesta I went around to several neighborhood watering holes to discuss the halting of the TABC sting operations and found that, of course, a majority of the patrons and bartenders were against the whole idea to begin with.
“It violates our rights,” said one, at the Blanco Tavern. She also went on to add that they’d had no stings there, nor had their business suffered any because of them.
At Whiskey Smiths Tavern, one patron said, “As long as someone isn’t causing trouble then… [TABC]… should have no reason to come in to bars and spy on people.” Another, said, “I’m not surprised that they stopped [the stings] right before Fiesta Week.”
So with a calm at last falling over drinking establishments in San Antonio, and the mad rush to close out the semester done, I set my sights to the two best things about this time of year: Fiesta Week and Spurs Playoff basketball.
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Spurs Advance to Round Two in 6

In two of the most thrilling match-ups in recent NBA history, the San Antonio Spurs met the Sacramento Kings in round one of the playoffs. Game one saw the Spurs blow-out the Kings 122-88, and, though game two was a little sticky at times, the Spurs were able to pull out a magnificent 128-119 victory in an edge of the seat overtime finale.
Then things got grim. Game three was a too-close-to-call see saw of a game, with the contenders going back and forth like a pick up game. As clock ticked down the last few seconds the 4th period, the Spurs drew a one point lead and regained possession to leave the Kings in desperate trouble. They received their game winning miracle with the aid of a bobbled Ginobli lay up. Kevin Martin recovered for the Kings and sank a deuce at the buzzer giving them the game at 94-93.
In game four the Spurs suffered a humiliating defeat at 102-84. It looked grim but most of us didn’t notice as it was the tail end of Fiesta week, by that point, and most of us had been partying for over a week.
For game five, however, the whole city took notice. Ginobili redeemed himself by scoring 27 points to help shut down the Kings 109-98. “They’ll loose the next one,” some said. “They want to win it here.”
This was not the case, however, as the Spurs shot down the Kings 105-83 in a slow to start game six. After a 4 day break, it seemed as though the two teams could not find their stride, amid a flurry of turnovers, missed shots and downright slapstick fall-downs and slip ups. For the first half it seemed like a repeat of game three, with each side going point for point. After the half, however, the Spurs cut loose, scoring a tremendous 23 point lead. With a couple of minutes left in regulation play, the disheartened denizens of Sacramento began the long walk of shame toward the doors and out to the parking lot, knowing that this was not their year.
During our own games we paid special attention to the Suns-Lakers match up. After winning game one Phoenix went on to do a spectacular thing. They lost the next three in a row, placing the seventh ranked Lakers up 3 games to 1 over the second ranked Suns.
“There’s no way they can come back from that kind of a deficit,’ someone told me. “The Lakers must really want it bad.”
I must admit to being taken completely by surprise by the sudden burst of energy from the Lakers. In a previous post I had predicted that they would go down to the Suns in game 5. For a few days there, it looked like Phoenix, who had worked hard to retain their top ranking, was going to get knocked out by the Lakers.
But then, just as things looked their darkest for them, the Suns did an equally spectacular thing. They went on to win the next three in a row to force a game seven. They tied it up and put the Lakers on the wire.

Suns Set the Lakers in 7, Golden Boy faces off “El Matador”

The night of game seven, we watched as L.A. Native, Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya, punished Nicaraguan loud mouth Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga in glorious hi-def big screen (“You can actually see the spit fly out of their mouths when they get hit!”). Upstairs, we had on the Suns-Lakers game. Every few moments someone would yell up “Score?” and we’d get an update. After the Suns had picked up a 25 point lead we stopped asking. We knew the Lakers had missed their last chance to come from behind this season.
Meanwhile, De La Hoya came out looking heavier and meaner than he ever has in any of his previous title fights. Mayorga had spent the last several months bad mouthing the Golden Boys career, wife, family, and Mexican-American Heritage.
The fighters came right at each other without the delicate finesse one sees in many title-fights. This was personal. In round 1 an unexpected left hook took a bewildered Mayorga right off his feet and down to the mat. After shaking it off, he continued his brawlers approach to the finely tuned De La Hoya. This technique was ineffective, as, toward the end of the round a pair of swift Golden Boy lefts staggered him again.
In rounds two and three De La Hoya continued to punish pummel Mayorga, gaining points with dazzling combinations that left Mayorga looking like a heavy bag with swinging arms. The real action came late in the sixth round when, after a solid punch by Mayorga, De La Hoya stepped in and delivered another blinding flash of jabs for another knockdown. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
He should have stayed down. After staggering to his feet, Oscar De La Hoya pressed the attack and hit an already confused Mayorga with at least 12 solid head shots, staying on the attack with a wild eyed delight, as the ref physically had to throw him to the mat to get him to stop. “El Matador” was finished and Oscar De La Hoya became the new WBC Champion.
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The Horrors of Spring

2006-04-17T00:21:00.000-06:00

Drink Free or Die

Well, we’ve made it out of winter and are well into Spring. Down here in the Wild and Free Dukedom of Bejar, it’s almost Fiesta time, and, just as I’d hoped, Texas tourism officials have finally stepped up to the plate and helped put a stop to the growing infringements of Drinkers Rights.
As of last week the TABC operation that sent undercover agents, who said that “they could spot drunk people in bars and restaurants just by looking at them”,into bars has been suspended. Victory, for now at least, is ours.
Not surprisingly, the national president of MADD, Glynn Birch, said in a statement: "MADD supports the enforcement efforts of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to prevent underage drinking and stop the over-service of intoxicated adults,”.
The efforts of two Texas Democrats, Senator John Whitmire and Representative Kino Flores, along with several leading Texas tourism officials, have, for the time being, put a halt to the TABC’s tacit abuse of power. What’s more, because if their efforts, later today, the Texas House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee will hold a public hearing to re-examine the program, and, hopefully, put it exactly where it belongs, in the garbage with the empties.
(Link)

Just as I was settling into the idea that, perhaps, this Spring would be a time of renewal and rebirth, full of some measure of hope in the world, I stumbled across *this*piece of fried gold:

“Israel is preparing, as well. The government recently leaked a contingency plan for attacking [Iran] on its own if the United States does not, a plan involving airstrikes, commando teams, possibly missiles and even explosive-carrying dogs.”

Explosive-Carrying Dogs

Now, a few days after the Washington Post ran that story the White House denied any and all plans for a strike on Iran. What no one bothered to dispel, deny or refute, was that Israel has, indeed, trained squadrons of dogs to carry out, what would seem to be, suicide missions into Iran, with explosives strapped to their backs.
Strange as this might sound, however, according to a post on the Harpers Magazine website, dated January 5, 2006, the “Minimum number of insurgent attacks in Iraq since November 2003 using explosive-carrying dogs or donkeys: 6”
So, it looks like some of those “Improvised Explosive Devices” we’re always hearing about in the news, are in fact, in some cases, exploding dogs or donkeys. How’s that for a bad day on the job?
Now, as much as I am appalled and shocked at the sick, sadistic idea of exploding livestock and pets at people, a small part of me has to admire the pure inventiveness and creativity of it. I mean, how does one come up with that kind of thing? Does Ahmed Irhabi suddenly think to himself, “Hmmm…I could strap myself into this exploding vest….or….Here Fido, come here, boy…”
Nature has turned against us. It’s as if Planet Earth has decided to shake us off like so many fleas on a dogs back. As if the world wasn’t strange enough already, we now have to worry about roving packs of well trained, heavily armed, dogs blowing us up.
A very happy Easter, indeed. At least I can drown out my grief and worries in one of my local saloons without fear of being spied on, or rounded up, by The Buzzkill Contingent and their NeoProhibitionists Thugs. Fiesta Week can’t get here fast enough for me. Nor, for that matter, can the NBA play-offs.

“Overly Jumping For Joy”

Just when it seemed that the only way the L.A. Lakers would get into to the play-offs was if they bought tickets, Kobe shifted and shimmied his team to a 109-89 win over the top ranked Western Division Phoenix Suns, earning them an ill-deserved place in the NBA play-offs.

"It doesn't really seem like we're overly jumping for joy, but it is a great accomplishment for us," he [Kobe Bryant] said. "We came from last season when we didn't make it. This season nobody expected us to make it and here we are." (Link)

I used to have an emotionally bloated, but very old, friend who was Lakers Fan. The year that we stopped being friends the Lakers knocked out the San Antonio Spurs by a cheap shot made in game 5. With a quarter of a second left in the 4th quarter, the ball was inbounded to Derek Fisher, who then, in a totally quantum feat of space-time bending, received the pass, pivoted toward the basket, lined up, and shot the ball...And sank a for a deuce, giving them a 74-73 win.
It was that shot that ended the Spurs dreams for back to back Championships. Going into game six, which would turn out to be 4 in a row for L.A., most of us here knew that the Fat Lady was warming up her voice. In some ways, I believe, it was that very shot that Fisher made that also ended my alleged friendship with that fellow. In other ways, of course, it was over a woman.
In the end the Lakers won only one game in the Finals and lost the Championship to the Detroit Pistons and, more importantly, to the East. After that the Lakers kind of disintigrated. Disgusted with Kobe, and aging Shaq went to Miami, An equally aging and ring hungry Karl Malone is now with San Antonio. Even The Guru Coach Phil Jackson was handed the sack.
In 2005 the once mighty Los Angeles Lakers didn’t even make it into the play-offs. I was, needless to say, over-joyed. The thought of his beloved Lakers milling about in their mansions and watching the games on their televisions filled me with a wonderfully rightious Schaedenfreude. I was tempted to call him from a bar the night the Spurs beat the Detroit Pistons to reclaim the NBA Championship title but, I thought, he might mistake my gloating as a signal that I had intentions of renewing our association.
This year while the San Antonio Spurs (61-19) are in a playful spar with the Phoenix Suns for first place in the West the Lakers (44-37) have snuck in on the skin of their teeth. Plenty of us were surprised by that but no one was really concerned. No one, however, was "overly jumping for joy", here, either.
The Lakers are no longer The Lakers they once were. They are a dull shell of their former briliance. Yhey are no longer defending Champtions, they’ve got only one player, who has made a career out of being a ball hog, and their coach was happy fading out into the sunset, before, in typical L.A. fashion, being coaxed back by the money that they threw at him.
When they are knocked out by the Suns in round 1, (most likely in game 5), I am going to gloat. I will order a fresh beer, raise it in the air, then tap the base of the bottle lightly to the bar, and I will drink with the greatest of glee.

In Memoriam

2006-04-02T00:32:00.000-07:00

One Year ago today, His Holiness, Pope John Paul II passed away. This was the first Pope that I really recall in my life. For many, including myself, he was a source of inspiration and hope.
That day, for the first time in nearly 27 years, the World had no Pope. Crowds wept openly and 5 million people descended on Rome, to pray, to console each other, and to celebrate the life and works of he who had given so much of himself to the world.
So, today, let us remember that it has been one year that one of the most outspoken voices for peace, for love, and for humanity was silenced by God. Let us never forget his messages and his mission.

Slow Ride Straight to Hell

2006-03-25T02:31:00.000-07:00

Back in 1996, John T. Steen, Jr. gave $6000 to the Bush-Perry Gubernatorial Campaign and, two years later, was awarded the post of Chairman of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Not a bad investment, if you ask me. The top of the Commission consists of a chairman, (Mr. Steen, Jr.) and two other commission members (Corporate fundraiser maven Gail Madden of Dallas, and "The Jumburrito King", Jose Cuevas, Jr. of Midland. Both of whom are great supporters of the President.) These three, in turn, appoint an Administrator who is responsible for the day to day workings of the Commission. After several years of fly-by night Administrators, they finally found someone to take the job. Lo! And behold…Who did they appoint? …None other than a Mr. Alan Steen.
Now, I’m not sure what familial relation, if any, exists between these two Steen men, but I do know that, here in Texas, most people turn a blind eye to a little bit of high ranking nepotism. After all, they reckon, why not share the good fortune, right? We’re used to that kind of thing down here. It’s all part of that Good Ol’ Boy mentality that has kept Our Great Republic locked firmly in the grip of the descendants of White, Christian, Land Grabbing, Prairie Pirates and Death Merchants, who, in the hoary old days, once wrested the land from both Mexican and Indian alike.
Now, those are the three at the top of the TABC ladder but what about the origination itself? What is this organization that has the power to regulate not only the sale and distribution of booze and beer but, it would seem, the consumption of it as well. According to their website the TABC "shall inspect, supervise and regulate every phase of the business of manufacturing, importing, exporting, transporting, storing, selling, advertising, labeling and distributing alcoholic beverages, and the possession of alcoholic beverages for the purpose of sale or otherwise."
It seems to be that “or otherwise” part at the end, there, that gives them the right to tell Texans how much, and where we can drink. In fact, on page 7 of the September 2005 issue of of TABC Today Mr. John T. Steen, Jr. himself outlines the plan that would become Operation Last Call, including such gems as:

“The action plans involve a strong and visible presence by dramatically increasing the number of stings that detect sales of alcohol to minors and intoxicated persons. The results have been impressive.”

And,

“[W]e’re on target to conduct 6,000 minor stings this fiscal year—more than double that of last year. With additional agents, the number of stings will increase even more next year. “

And, my favorite,

“Rather than working to increase arrests of drunk drivers, it is our intent to decrease the number of drunk drivers by stopping them before they leave the bars.”

So, these “sting” operations are said to be aimed at curtailing alcohol sales to drunks and minors, but the motivating factor behind it all, we’re told, is to put a dent in the high instances of drunk driving.
So, these “sting” operations are said to be aimed at curtailing alcohol sales to drunks and minors, but the motivating factor behind it all, we’re told, is to put a dent in the high instances of drunk driving.
In fact, in October of 2004, the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission filed a report that made several suggestions aimed and helping the TABC move away from it’s Prohibitionist roots and towards a more fiscally responsible and socially aware organization. What they seem to point to repeatedly is the “changing social attitude” towards drinking and alcoholic beverages in general.
And this is where things really start to get dicey because, if you check, several of these recent TABC initiatives are not only widely supported by but, in many cases, were first suggested by the nefarious Texas born hate group, MADD.
Now, I know what some of you are thinking. “How can you call an innocent support group of grieving mothers a hate group?”
Simple. Wikipedia defines a hate group as: “An organized group or movement that advocates hate, hostility or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, religion, or other sector[s] of society.” (Emphases my own).

David J. Hanson, Ph.D. has published a very well researched, and meticulously documented paper that gives us a good idea of what those cracked pots over at MADD are really all about. There is also a fantastic list of quotes by several scholars, reporters, academicians, lawyers, and people in the know who have sounded the warning bell on this Neo-Prohibitionist movement. Here are just a few of my personal favorites:

MADD has an "anti-alcohol campaign."- Prof. Jenny Edbaure, University of Texas

"The Women's Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League spearheaded the constitutional prohibition effort. Groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) assume that mantle today."- Hans G. Nichols

"Mothers Against Drunk Driving may soon have to change its name to Mothers Against Any Drinking Whatsoever -- that is, if it wants to avoid false advertising." -Washington Times

"Mothers Against Drunk Driving (has) decided to wage war on social drinkers." -Radley Balko, Fox News columnist

MADD has become "overzealous." -Candy Lightner, founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving

"MADD generally attempts to mask its radical, neo-prohibitionist agenda in the veneer of sound science and sober statistics." -Charles V. Pena, former MADD official

"MADD is a hate group, without question." -Darlene J. Dowling, AFA

Mothers Against Drunk Driving "displayed its contempt for civil liberties, as well as the judicial system, by calling for (a) judge to resign because she criticized a MADD-backed program she felt violated the constitutional rights of young adults."- Center for Consumer Freedom.

Let’s face it, my Freaky Darlings- these gibbering killjoys are out to ruin the fun for all the rest of us. Their agenda has shifted from lowering drunk driving fatalities to making drinking, even socially, so appalling and stigmatizing, that soon, they hope, people won’t want to drink at all. They have targeted people who drink, whether they drive or not, and are waging a deliberate and malicious campaign to wipe them out.
So, suddenly, the fog clears up some and we are left with a solid connection. Recall that our sitting President was once arrested for a DUI back in 1976.

“It appears from all reports, that candidate Bush did abuse alcohol for a long period of his life, but in 1986 decided to quit, because it began to "compete for his energy."

Well, there’s nothing I hate more than a reformed Drunk. They get all preachy and holier-than-thou and they 12-Step me to death. They piss me right the hell off. Besides that, I never could stand a quitter.
But better still:

“In September 2002, Bush invited five religious leaders-three Christian, one Jewish, one Muslim-to meet with him in the Oval Office. "You know," he said, "I had a drinking problem. Right now I should be in a bar in Texas, not the Oval Office. There is only one reason that I am in the Oval Office and not in a bar. I found faith. I found God. I am here because of the power of prayer.” ( Link )

In other words, it seems, Jesus = Good and Drinking = Bad.
Now, I’m not suggesting that our President is at the top of some huge, sinister movement that is out to destroy our Right to drink but I am starting to think that there is something more behind these TABC “Sting” operations that have swept across Texas like a Kiowa raiding party. Is it really that difficult a leap to think that it could all be part of some wider agenda fostered by powerful, neo-prohibition lobbyists, teetotteling Super-Christians, and spiteful, money grubbing hate mongers?
As I’ve said before, my Freaky Darlings, Paranoia is a survival trait. There are any number of people around today who would be quick to point an accusatory finger at the Bush Administration for such things as the never ending War in Iraq, or the Vice-Presidents connection to Halliburton, or, more recently, the Domestic Spying Scandal. It seems evident to many people that this President has no trouble at all wiping his ass with the Constitution and calling it Necessary for National Security.
Now, they want to strip us of our comfort zones by keeping us from talking about it in public while drunk. It’s in their best interests to prevent us from doing so. The Right to peaceably gather in a public place of comfort, to socialize with different people, and to share a multitude of ideas in an open forum with the spirit of mutual friendship and good humor is also how Rebellions get started.
The Sons of Liberty met in taverns, Hitler and his Brown Shirts gathered in a beer hall, Francisco Madero plotted the Mexican Revolution from a cantina on the West-Side of San Antonio. Whenever paranoia ran high and tension grew too thick, people would gather and drink liberal amounts of alcohol, and commiserate about their deplorable state of affairs.
Is it any coincidence that the Volstead Act was passed in the same year (1919) as both Abrams V United States and Schenk V. United States? Back then people were living under the Original Patriot Act, called The Espionage Act of 1917.
To that fine piece of war time drama Congress added, in 1918, The Sedition Act which stated in very clear terms that:
“Whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully… incite insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty,… shall willfully utter, print, write, or publish any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government of the United States, or the Constitution of the United States, or the military or naval forces of the United States . . . or shall willfully . . . urge, incite, or advocate any curtailment of production . . . or advocate, teach, defend, or suggest the doing of any of the acts or things in this section enumerated and whoever shall by word or act support or favor the cause of any country with which the United States is at war or by word or act oppose the cause of the United States therein, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both.... “

Savage scary stuff for 1919; but, to make matters worse, booze was, suddenly, outlawed. You couldn’t make it, couldn’t own it, and couldn’t drink it. After decades of loud-mouthed United Temperance Movement dingbats running around the country, singing hymns outside of bars and holding pointless marches, for some strange and cruel reason, the U.S. Government chose that time, that exact place in history, to start listening to them, and they started slapping down the drunks.
The Great War was over and a generation of youth, traumatized by the horror of it all, was trying to reintegrate into a society that just didn’t want to hear about it any more. The Nation was sick of it, and everyone just wanted to move on with things. People were angry and dissatisfied with the lack of jobs, and unfair work practices were stealing the Soul of the Country; social indifference or outright discrimination was common place. Political dissent was the meat that people couldn’t afford for dinner.
Suddenly, booze was in the same category as sedition, and there needed to be Constitutional Amendments put in place to specifically prohibit the Citizens of the Nation from doing either.
The whole thing seems to start to fall apart when you consider that, not only was Prohibition repealed about 15 years later, but that it completely failed. People actually started to drink more. Suddenly, the bootleg hooch was flowing day and night, and people partied hard. Bathtubs full of gin, or sparkling wine, garnished with a pretty girl, were all the rage at parties. People who had, before then, never been hard drinkers were suddenly dying of acute booze poisoning, and, of course, we cannot forget one of the biggest effects of the Volstead Act-The Rise of the American Gangster Empire.
Organized crime families were falling over each other to provide illegal liquor to the thousands of underground bars, where the people were instructed to “speak easy”, and danced to fantastic Jazz. These crime syndicates made boat loads of dough smuggling hundreds of crates of outlawed liquor in from Mexico and Canada, and they killed anyone that got in their way, and built vast Gomorrah’s of sin, and greed, and violence. When the law shut down one port of entry, they found another. When they couldn’t get it in anymore the clever bastards found people here that could make the booze for them. Ah, the American Dream in action – You have got to love it.
But it was only possible because of Prohibition. So, it’s fair to say, that the whole thing was a spectacular but magnificent flop. Congress repealed it in 1933 with the 21st Amendment. In 1935 Texas ratified the Act which repealed it and, suddenly, we could once again drink our cold beer and sip Tequila in relative peace and comfort, and all was well with the world.
Enter the TABC. In a Special Session of the 44th Texas Legislature, in 1935, the Liquor Control Act was enacted which created the Texas Liquor Control Board. Basically, this was a watchdog organization created to monitor the complex taxation and regulation involved in the distribution of alcohol. They didn’t really concern themselves much over who could drink what, or when, and how much. That came much later. Back then all that seemed to matter to them was getting the taxes paid on every barrel of beer or gallon of booze that moved through the state.
In 1970, the name was changed to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, and in 1977 they drafted the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, which is, pretty much, the foundation for what we have today.
Texas drinking laws are notoriously confusing. They are a jumble of regional preferences, state regulations, personal choice, and antiquated Old West traditions. According to one website cited the Star-Telegram,:

“Move from Fort Worth to Arlington and you’ll be surprised that you can buy beer but not wine at the grocery store. Move to Grand Prairie and you can’t even find beer there, but you can buy alcoholic drinks at restaurants in both towns. Then move to Burelson, which has alcohol sales in the Tarrant County portion of the city but not in the Johnson County side of town.”

I remember that, when I first came back to Texas, in the mid 1990’s, several things about drinking had changed in only a handful of years. Suddenly, the open container was only allowed in the passenger area, and you needed a TEXAS ID to purchase beer in most places. Passports didn’t count. Also, you couldn’t buy beer or wine at the store after midnight. Still, I could drink in the passenger seat of a car and, as I never cared to learn how to drive, that arraignment suited me just fine.
There is a big difference, I think, between drinking and driving, and drinking and riding, but, not, it seems, to them. The Death Knell for the Good Times sounded on September 1st, 2001, when House Bill 5, passed by the 77th Texas Legislative session the previous May, and signed by Governor Rick Perry in June, went into effect. Just 10 days before the horrifying acts of terror that would strike and shock the Nation, Texans were, quite suddenly, no longer allowed to ride around with an open container in the passenger area of a vehicle.(except for busses, limo’s, taxi’s and Winnebago’s)
It’s been a down hill ride here, ever since, with our rights as Drinkers slowly being eroded and chiseled down to the stump, until, at last, it’s come down to this. They are sending undercover operatives into the bars to eavesdrop on our drunken ramblings, great thick-necked geeks who leer menacingly at you from the other side of the bar, shrewdly judging your level of danger to others and yourself. They are forcing innocent bar patrons, who are neither in the process of operating a motor vehicle nor wandering aimlessly on the streets, to undergo field sobriety tests and breathalyzer tests, right off the bar stool.
What ever happened to the Fifth Article of the Bill of Rights that says: “No person…shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself…”
And, My Freaky Darlings, that’s what those drunkenness tests are all about. They are using your own behavior against you. When the time comes, and they drag your ass into court, it all comes down to the arresting officers report on how badly you walked the line, or recited the alphabet backwards, or stood on one leg and touched your nose. In the end, one way or another, they’re going to make you screw yourself and, for now, at least, there's not a damn thing we can do about it.

I Shouldn't Have Dared Them To Do It...

2006-03-25T00:08:00.000-07:00

It seems, according to some of my roaming eyes and ears around the county, that several people have been arrested *right here* in my own town as recently as yesterday.
From what I hear, as well as read in some recently published accounts, TABC is using *undercover agents* to snag some of my fellow inebriates in several local watering holes in what they are ominously calling “Operation LAST CALL”.
In an update by Reuters News today, as many as 2,200 people, state wide, have been arrested and/or cited for being drunk in a bar.
According to a spokeswoman for the TABC, Carolyn Beck,
“There are a lot of dangerous and stupid things people do when they’re intoxicated, other than get behind the wheel of a car. People walk out into traffic and get run over, people jump off of balconies trying to reach a swimming pool and miss.”
In another report she said, “"These people who are being arrested are really drunk. We're not going up to random people. "
The man who staggered into traffic was on an El Paso Street, and it was not the first time that has happened there, or anywhere. It happens all the time, actually, with or without booze. And the boy who leapt from a balcony toward a hotel pool and missed was a Spring Breaker down on South Padre Island.
Now, I’m not trying to say that a little intervention might not have helped in those cases but, seriously, they bought the ticket and they took the ride. .
The last thing I need is the “State” protecting me from myself. No, my Freaky Darlings, the truth is that those people didn’t die of drinking, they died of terminal stupidity. Sure, a few drinks tends to bring out the obnoxiousness and stupidity in most people, but those are attributes that existed already.
Besides that if a person decides that they want to get drunk and take a nose dive off a balcony, and then die, it’s not the booze it’s a sad but still somewhat comical accident. What’s next? Is the State going to start cracking down on gravity? Perhaps they should have arrested the swimming pool for having suddenly moved a few feet away?
What I’m saying is that, sure, people do some mighty stupid stuff while drunk but I feel that it’s their Right to do so.
Who is the TABC to tell me when I’ve had enough to drink? I’ll be the judge of that and I don’t need them telling me I’m being loud or rude or staggering a little bit. I *know* that. I do so because, up until these savage creeps started rounding us up, I felt secure enough to do so in the privacy and comfort of a favorite bar. Now, that sanctity has been violated by skulking rats and undercover finks, and, because the victims are drunks, most people don’t seem to care. But I ask you…Who’ll be left to raise the alarm if they decide to come after YOU next?

FROM MY COLD DRUNK HAND

2006-03-23T21:41:00.000-07:00

Bar Sweep Sparks Controversy

***SNIP***
TABC agents and Irving police swept through 36 Irving bars and arrested about 30 people on charges of public intoxication. Agency representatives say the move came as a proactive measure to curtail drunken driving.

At one location, for example, agents and police arrested patrons of a hotel bar. Some of the suspects said they were registered at the hotel and had no intention of driving. Arresting authorities said the patrons were a danger to themselves and others

"Freedom of drinking should always be allowed, and it is only American to let a guy get drunk where he wants to get drunk," -Steve Harvey

***SNIP***

Now, my initial outrage was tempered by the thought that, it’s quite possible, that Irving, Texas, which is a suburb of Dallas, used to be dry, i.e. no drinking allowed. I’m not sure that it ever was, though. Also, that there may have been pressure on their local government to do something about either the drinking or the drinking and driving. All good reasons to arrest people, OUTSIDE of a bar.
But what concerns me about this, as a Citizen of the Occupied Republic of Texas, is that the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) has violated the Sanctity of the Bar Room, not to mention our God Given Right to drink and get drunk.
Now, I know what some of you Freaky Darlings, are saying: “But Adrastas, we’ve been telling you for years that the present Administration in the United States has slowly been stripping away your civil rights.”
. For years, though, I have tolerated all the lies, hypocrisy and outright moral turpitude. When the government lied about WMD’s and decided to wage war for profit, I said “Sure, why the hell not”. When they clamped down our Civil Liberties and started rounding up the trouble makers I laughed, because, after all, better them than me. When they started spying on us I figured: Go ahead and let them- I’ve nothing to hide.
But the day that jackbooted thugs can enter a sacred establishment, such as a bar, and round up whomever they’d like for arbitrary reasons, and incarcerate them at will…Well, then I know that it could very well be me next.
Of course, I’m over reacting. I mean, I dare them to try that crap down here in the Wild and Free Dukedom of Bejar. Next month, we celebrate Fiesta Week, which, with the demise of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras, should officially make us the biggest Party in the Nation. You can drink on the downtown streets of San Antonio as long as it’s out of a plastic container. I once had a SAPD Officer hand me a cute blue plastic 12 oz glass with their logo emblazoned on the side.
But what about our Fellow Drunkards in Irving? Should they be made to live in fear? Or worse…Drink at home? Nay! My Freaky Darlings, the time has come to make a Stand, to let the Powers that Be know, through no uncertain terms, that We are Not going to allow them to take away the one, pure, freedom we have left. Let us raise our voices as one and tell them :” You can have my drink when you pry it from my cold drunk hand!”

Kill Them All

2006-03-17T07:01:00.000-07:00

I like to think of my mother as the kind of Lady that had three ‘50’s and moved right on into the 80’s but I can’t always do that. I mean this is a person that handwrote a letter every week to the US President to remove our Troops from ‘Nam. I hear that she even once accidentally took part in a sit-in at a café for civil rights.
We were talking about the impending Avian Flu pandemic the other day and she had an interesting solution to preventing an outbreak that could kill millions of people, worldwide.
“These days,” she said, “we have the ability to do to animals what we did with pesticides. I mean, surely, we can find a way to eliminate birds on such a scale and in such a way that won’t hurt anything else.”
“Probably,” I said.
“Well, then, I think we should just kill them all.”
“What?”
“Yes,” she said. “You heard me. We should find a way to kill off all the birds in the world before they kill us. That’s what everyone is predicting is going to happen, right? A Pandemic that can kill off about a third of the population of the planet?. We should just find something that will kill off all the birds.”
I gapped at her. “But, but the sparrows, and the parakeets, and…” I stammered. “And the Flamingos…What about the Flamingos?”
She nodded sadly. “Yes,” she said. “I’m afraid they’d have to go, too.” She brightened up. “All of them”, she smiled.
“And peacocks and what about American Bald Eagles?”
“Well, I’d say we could keep a few in preserves but, why risk it?” She thought a moment. “No, kill them all. It’s them or us.”
I mulled her idea over for several days, wondering over the horror of it all. Surely, it was madness, a be-feathered clucking, version of Dante’s Inferno, Bosch after too much KFC, an avian holocaust the likes of which has not been seen since the extinction of the Dinosaurs.
The Word is that we’ll be hit by this sometime very soon. Then I heard This-

IT’S THEM OR US

So, how do we go about killing off all the birds around? Well, surely, there must be some way to collect millions of eggs and incubate them. They could be checked for disease before being hatched. Hell, we could breed clean birds, making sure that they’re disease free.
“If there is enough time to do that, then, sure,” she said, when I told her. “”Otherwise, we can just kill them all and call it Collateral Damage.” My Mother said. “What was it they said about that village in Viet Nam? “We had to destroy the village to save it”? It’s the same thing.”
The more I read about how bad this pandemic could get, due to migratory habits and patterns of these things, as well as the potential mutations and the effects on humans, and I think I’m starting to agree. As she said…”It’s them or us”.
Ideas?

Get a load of this crazy psycho

2006-03-08T20:05:00.000-07:00

It seems this woman is sueing Walgreens because they wrote stuff like "She's really a psycho!!! Do not say her name too loud, never mention her meds by names ..." on the tag on her medicne bag. Now, I mean, from what it sounds like in that story, she's got some major issues with her craziness and is just offended because it must be so very obvious to others that she is, in effect, totally nuts.
Not that there's anything wrong with that. Some of my very best friends are stark raving mad. She should spend less time worrying about what others thing about her and work on getting better. I mean, if the employees needed to put notes for the rookie, or whatever, then it's obvious that she had caused them some grief before. They just seemed to know here so well.
And it's not mean or rude for them to write this, if she had given them reason for caution. I mean owners of large dogs are required to place "Beware of Dog" signs in their yards, Cigarettes need to have that Cancer and Birth Defect warning, why shouldn't one warn employees of potential hostile, combatative or just plain crazy customers?
Oh, I know..."Labels are bad" and all that but i mean how bad does it have to get for them to write a warning on the bag?
Truth is, most of my psycho buddes who are on a whole rainbow of pills are either proud of the fact or are deeply concerned with getting better. It's the ones that self medicate or don't medicate at all that really retain their individuality. Those are the scary ones, the fun ones. They take pride in their neuroses and wear them as badges of honor.
More Later on More interesting things....For now, I wish this lady well in her lawsuit but I think she needs to wake up and smell the Lithium because she's got issues and it's her problem. It isn't up to others to manage the way they see her it's up to her to manage how they see her. I mean, when one goes to pick up their meds...At least pretend to be normal.

Que Viva Tejas!

2006-03-06T05:02:00.000-07:00

I was talking to some people today who had no idea that today was the fall of the Alamo. These were Native Texans, mind you, and that freaked me out. It made me realize that, as much as we go on about it, we dun really remember the Alamo. Do you know how most of these assholes know to commemorate the Fall of the Alamo? Because the local news tells them so. But then again, to hell with them. Most of them are probably not even really from here. They came over after all that ugliness.
Either way, today the Alamo Fell. After Thirteen Days the 186 defenders were overwhelmed by superior Mexican Forces. Some say for Glory, others for Gold. Hell, the Nickelodeon Channel actuallu had a little black girl telling people it was all over Slavery.
I don't care. It doesn't matter why they did what they did. What matters is that they did it.

Oscar Picks

2006-03-04T23:36:00.000-07:00

Well, we’ve made it out of February and into March and with any luck we can make a pleasant run through Spring and coast on into Summer. It’s Oscar night tonight and here are my picks: (The ones in Parentheses are the ones I think should win but know won’t)

Make up- Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith
Visual Effects- King Kong
Original Song- “Hustle and Flow”
Live Action Short- Our Time is Up
Original Score- Memoirs of a Geisha
Costumes- Pride and Prejudice
Animated Short Film- 9
Art Direction-Memoirs of a Geisha
Sound Mixing – War of the Worlds
Documentary Short Subject-God Sleeps in Rwanda
Sound Editing – King Kong
Film Editing- Crash
Cinematography- Brokeback Mountain (Batman Begins)
Animated Feature Film- The Corpse Bride (Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit)
Documentary Feature- Enron: The Smart Guys
(Darwin’s Nightmare)
Foreign Film – Paradise Now (Tsotsi)
Original Screenplay-Crash (Syriana)
Adapted Screenplay- Brokeback Mountain (Capote)
Best Director – Ang Lee (Paul Haggis)
Actress (supporting)- Michelle Williams (Katherine Keener)
Actor (supporting)- Jake Gyllenhaa (Paul Giamatti)
Actress- Felicity Huffman (Reese Witherspoon)
Actor –Heath Ledger (Phillip Seymour Hoffman)
Picture – Brokeback Mountain (Crash)

Forum Response on ThothWeb

2006-03-02T03:31:00.000-07:00

I’m not really sure what it is either. I’ve never seen anything like it. Sand storms are not small events in Cairo, so that’s not it and I would imagine a dust devil of that size would have had to have formed out in open territory and not down in the City. I used the Google Earth measuring tool to get a (very) rough estimate of the length of that dark horizontal area and it’s almost a tenth of a mile long.
It could be the remains of Ramadan cooking fires from the various parts of the City. The North and North East sides of that Pyramid face a massive urban sprawl that make up the various crowded districts of Cairo.
. I checked theWeather and wind patterns for October 24, 2005 in that area and found that, apart from 6:00 to 7:00 AM, when the wind died down, there was a steady light breeze out of the North-North East for most of the day. In fact, between 9:00 and 10:00 AM, the wind briefly shifted back to the North and picked up speed from a mellow and steady 2.3 mph to 13.8 mph by 10:00 AM.
Now, I’m no expert, but I would think it more likely that, unless that thing is actually emanating from the structure itself, it’s probably something carried out from the City. It having been Ramadan, at the time, the first thing that came to my mind was that Cairo receives a huge influx of rural folk for the Holiday seaspm. Whether it’s to visit and celebrate with family members or to worship at a specific holy shrine or masgid, the rural Fellaheen flood into certain parts of Cairo. Mainly, in to the older districts that surround the Citadel, which are to the North and North East of the Giza plateau.
I remember how sunsets in Cairo always look more thrilling and picturesque than sunrises. It was the mixture of exhaust from the prodigious traffic, and the various, um, native cooking methods, not to mention thousands of coffee houses all over the place, where everyone smokes a water pipe. This builds up during the day and causes those fantastic sunsets. During Ramadan, however, the opposite was true. Sunrise looked like a Renaissance painting. Someone once told me that it was because people, sort of, reverse their days during Ramadan because of the Fast, and that, because they take the supper meal before sunrise and the breakfast meal at sunset, ll that built up haze doesn’t have time to dissipate the way it does the rest of the year.
So, that’s what made me think smog; In fact, one can see along the base of the pyramids that there is a light layer of rolling smog already but I’ll tell y’all, it’s that horizontal line that that cloud is casting that bugs me. I mean whatever it is it covers a fairly large area. and, with the sun being on the opposite side at the time, I not sure what phenomenon could cause something so exact and precise. I mean, I would imagine that either a dust devil or a smog cloud couldn’t cast such an exact silhouette, so…?
Thoughts?

It's Texas, Bitches!

2006-02-25T02:49:00.000-07:00

I think it's important to note that, according to the Hunting Incident Clearinghouse report for 2004, , there were 445 hunting accidents reported that year alone in the United States, and the Committee to Abolish Sports Hunting website reports hundreds of fatalities that happen all the time. Of course, that organization is against hunting and hunters, in general, and they hope to bring about "... A realization that they [hunters] are destroyers of wildlife and ecosystems in the narrow and broad sense. " This, I assure you, is just plain nutty.

These are accidents that happen to people who are mutually engaged in a legal and lawful activity. To try and ban hunting is like trying to ban driving because of the numerous traffic fatalities and accidents that occur every year...Or because the pollution it causes destroys wildlife and ecosystems.

Whoa, I know...Except for our friends over at the C.A.S.H, no one was talking about banning anything over this. V.P. Cheney, who may or may not have been drinking, accidentally shot a lawyer friend about the head and face with a shotgun while out hunting quail.

Not a fun day but that sort of thing happens all the time, right? What usually doesn't happen, in cases like these, is that the victims are not routinely subjected to public mockery or ridiculed on national television.

"Oh, but how could we resist?" you might say. "It was too good to pass up."

Well, maybe, but the issue is not really one of hunting. Rather, it seems to me that the whole issue exploded because the White House Press Corps got scooped on the story by a South Texas stringer and they couldn't stand that. While Cheney and his friends were out on the Armstrong Ranch, having, by all accounts, a merry old time, where were the people that were supposed to be keeping us informed? Why were they not in Texas?

There's a level of animosity between this Administration and the Press. It may have started right after Gore's failed bid for President or with the disinformation that surrounded the invasion of Iraq. There're several good reasons, I'm sure, why the bad blood exists there and to think that those blow-hard talking heads with a White House Clearance have that much power over what we see, hear and think is also pretty laughable.
So, it’s okay...Laugh it up…Chortle and guffaw…Oh, and one more thing...

All Y'all can go Fuck Yo'Selves...

Any of y'all remember Charles Whitman? How about George Hennard? What about the very paridigm of the "Crazed, Lone Gunman"? Yes, indeed, My Freaky Darlings, it's like a whole different country of craziness, down here. This is Karla Fay Tucker and David Koresh Territory.

It's Texas, Bitches!

We Shot JFK!

The Great Grey Beast

2006-02-22T06:08:00.000-07:00

I hate February.
The British horror novelist, Clive Barker, called it “The Great Grey Beast, February” in his chillingly illustrated work “The Thief of Always". In that tale the little boy main character feels “swallowed whole” by the month itself and I have always been able to relate. It’s a short little month but it’s a real bastard of one too.
I have a friend who also can’t stand February and every year we commiserate about the misfortune and gloom this month seems to bring about. A kind of Grand Etheric Slump falls upon us, making the usual Doom that runs amok across the world seem somehow more desperate, fraught with hopelessness and tinged with the reek of unavoidable disaster.
With that in mind let’s see if we can figure out why every time I check world news lately it just seems like a live traffic feed of the fast track straight to hell. We’ll try to take these one at a time since, as I’ve been away for some time, there’s a lot to cover.

“SWEET FANCY MOHAMMED, IT’S JUST A CARTOON, YOU RUBE”

When I lived in Cairo, back in the early ‘90’s I recall an uproar which concerned a major Arabic film called “The Immigrant” which was about, if I’m remembering it correctly, Joseph, of the Many-Colored-Coat, and his time in Egypt. This film, also, violated the same rough basis for the whole cartoon uproar.
The Cairene Literati came out in force to support the director, Youssef Chahine and there were riots and demonstrations all over the place, there. During all the fracas, which lasted some time, Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz got himself knifed in the throat for a novel he’d written sometime in 1959, which was also believed to be not in accordance with the same basic belief, and is, in fact, banned in Egypt for being “blasphemous” .
The idea stems from a basic a prohibition on depictions of the human form in Islam. Now, I’ve been told, by People in the Know, that it’s because to try and mimic the human form would be an insult to God, Who Alone, Creates in Perfection. To depict forms of holy people, the Prophets, and Patriarchs, and people of their ilk, is considered particularly forbidden and taboo.
This is why, in mosques all over the World, one does not find any kind of human form represented. Islamic art and architecture is filled with ornate linear and leaf-and-vine designs simply because artists of the time had to express themselves without exploring the human form. Intricately paneled coffered ceilings and finely detailed rosettes took the place of the statues and tapestries of the west in sacred art.
In Persia, sometime after the Islamic Conquest (637-651 CE), there are depictions of the human form which are, themselves, considered blasphemous by some, but even in these tapestries and texts images of holy or revered personages are depicted with a white cloth or linen that covers the features of the face. This is done out of deferment to the Almighty.
When I first heard about the unrest in the Mid-East over these cartoons I had two I.V. ports, one in each hand, and both were fiercely at work rehydrating and filling me with all maner of fluids and nutrients and stuff that does all the things to the body that Gatoraid and vodka doesn’t. From that perspective it didn’t seem all that bad. The unrest, not the bed rest.
I thought: “So what? If one looks for kindling one can start a fire, right?” But this was before there was a death-count involved. It was not yet February, then, and I thought, “Surely, something that happened back in September of last year won’t come back to bite the world on the ass.”
Ah, but let us not underestimate the Great Grey Beast, oh Freaky Ones, nor let us forget the general malice and distrust with which we are viewed, here in the West, by our Mid-East and Muslim neighbors.
Within days it was open season on Danes. It seems someone had indeed sought kindling and the fire had grown out of control like a Colorado wildfire. Then, after some carefully considered rage, the hatred turned to the West in general. That old Thousand Years of Mutual Culteral Indifference is what came back and bit us all on the ass.
Suddenly, the question became one of Freedom of Speech, or Freedom of Religion, or Freedom of some such shit or the other. Then, to complete the comedy, those Pinheads in the Iranian government made the Danes look good with their call for a Holocaust cartoon. They did this, they claim, because they wanted to make a point about the limits of Freedom of Speech and secret political agendas.
The mainstream media finally stopped covering a lot of crap about it, then. It had run it’s course, it seemed, and beside that, they didn’t want to touch that Holocaust cartoon story too much. After all, it’s not a Muslim Day of Remeberance…Nor are there Islamic Rememberance Sites and museums all over the place.
Hell, people are still dying over those stupid drawings but it’s no longer newsworthy. Truth is, it’s not about freedom of speech. I mean, if it were about that then it would not have reached this point. Look, People, Freedom of Speech doesn’t mean we always have to like what’s being said. Fact is, as a general rule, I like to dislike mostl things people say until I've had the time to have a good think on them. However, it does mean defending the right of the babbling bastard to have their say so.
Freedom of Religion is another thing entirely and does not belong in this conversation. That one means the freedom to worship as you like. The USA has some crazy cults around. A lot of those cults are actually taken seriously here. But again, nowhere does it say we must like it. Nor does it say we must be nice. It says we cannot break laws while disliking it.
That novel that Mahfouz got knifed over was a retelling of a biblical tale. It was an allegory that has been handed down through Time as much as the story of King Arthur or the Star Wars Saga. Some people didn't like it and so one of them stabbed the Old Man in the neck for it.
I’d like to say that I’m unbiased about all this but I can’t. I don’t see where stabbing a senior citizen in the throat during his afternoon tea makes any sense. I don’t know how God, or Joseph, or Mohammed, would see violence over their image, in any way, as something good.
I think the real misconeption here is that we, Americans, are not really Free. The truth, my Freaky Ones, is that, no matter what one does or says, someone else should always have the right to bitch about it. Freedom is a great power and, as Stan Lee taught us,with great power comes great responsiblilty. Let’s not fuck it up.

Well, that about covers that…Next time:

My take on the Cheney shooting
…Remember…I’m a Texan so that should be fun…Until then, My Freaky Darlings, remember…It’s all fun and games until someone brings a lawyer or a bomb.

Wilson Pickett

2006-01-19T17:04:00.000-07:00

The Wicked Pickett sang about what would go down in the Midnight Hour, and what was up on Funky Broadway. He warned us about Mustang Sally and reminded us that we live in a Land of a Thousand Dances.

Wilson Pickett 1941-2006

Tax me Fairly or don't tax me at all

2006-01-10T19:45:00.000-07:00

With W-2's due to be mailed out by the 30th of January. It is time to review why people get so excited about their refund. People get excited about this refund because they have allowed the government to tax them before they even receive the full amount of their paycheck. I suppose many people look at it as a zero interest earned savings account. One in which they never really know how much they will get back until they pay someone to decipher the 40,000+ pages of code written by the IRS.

Oh yes.. and let's not forget that the U.S. government can tax you up to 100%. Most times this never happens, but it is within their power.

Think happy thoughts my freaky darlings. It gets better. The U.S. has the biggest deficit in its history. With more and more money and jobs going overseas because, the taxation here is just too much on corporations to keep the business here. We had a tax reform committee that came up with almost nothing as a suggestion.

I think H.R. 25 would straighten this mess out when they make it a law. We still have Representatives and Senators that will do nothing to upset the status quo.

The Fairtax plan would not eliminate taxes, but it would make them fair for all.
Learn more here ( http://www.fairtaxvolunteer.org/smart/index.html ) about how it works, or buy the Fairtax book by Neal Boortz and John Linder. There is even an article written by Alexander Hamilton there as well ( http://www.fairtaxvolunteer.org/smart/origins.html )

Next payday take a real good look at your paycheck and tell me if you would rather have ALL of your paycheck, or keep letting the IRS hack it to pieces.

Until next time our freaky darlings. ;)

New Year Same Crap

2006-01-05T15:32:00.000-07:00

"The Reverend Pat Robertson says Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's massive stroke could be God's punishment for giving up Israeli territory."
*snip*

How much longer are we supposed to tolerate this moron spreading his message of ignorance and hate? It’s as if Pat Robertson has devoted his entire life to spreading stupidity. What I think needs to be remembered is that people like him speak their minds because they have nothing to lose. This nut job whacko thinks he’s got a direct line to God and that is never a good sign. Instead of being born again this fool should just grow up
Besides that if anything other than age, stress and weight had anything to do with Mr. Sharon’s unfortunate situation I'm convinced that it would be Mossad. I know what you’re thinking: The notorious Israeli Intel outfit is headed by a friend of Mr. Sharon, why would they turn on him now? Well, not everyone has been pleased with the peace process and Mossad has perfected the art of covert assassination-killing and making it look like natural causes. If that’s the case, then what we are seeing here is a coup underway in Israel, and that can only lead to more bloodshed, misery and death.

And then there's this botched boob job in Iran who says:
"Hopefully, the news that the criminal of Sabra and Chatilla has joined his ancestors is final" President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the semiofficial Iranian Students News Agency."
*snip*
Full article here

Any bets on how many angels could dance on this fools head? For weeks this titmouse has been wagging his tongue about Israel and stirring up the tempest with his talk about restarting the Iranian nuke program. This guy has a shady background as it is, with rumors that he was among the students who took over the American Embassy on November 4th, 1979 and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. Well, it’s good to know he did’t let his education get in the way of his ignorance.
I mean besides banning American and western Music in Iran, this fool continues to thumb his nose at the international community. He’s trying to force Israel into a unilateral attack on Iranian nuclear assets, or worse, the United States into attacking and occupying, which would just add to the already bloody situation in Iraq. Iranians seemed split on the issue but none seem to realize the danger that this fool is putting them in. Well, in the land of the wit-less, the half-wit is king.

The Girls of Riyadh

2005-12-21T22:04:00.000-07:00

Well, My freaky darlings.. the table looks a little rusty but it looks like it will start turning soon. Freedom of all sorts will ring true in the heads of many cultures on this dirtball we fondly call Earth. I mean we are Earthlings. Let's face it.. above all the media hype about this nation and that nation we are ALL basically human. It's good to see that the girls of Riyadh are recognizing that listening to your libido is more important than what a bunch of old farts think about your life. Parents be damned.. the society you live in be DAMNED. We are all on the same DAMNED planet. Can't we all just agree to disagree? If we could do that then the girls of Riyadh would make their way out of fiction and into the real world that billions of other humans live in. Someone let me know when this book gets translated into English. Till next time my freaky darlings.

The Rise of the Orange Menace!

2005-12-15T01:17:00.000-07:00

*Snip*
"We wanted to know: If China’s global development will necessitate massive deaths in enemy countries, will our people endorse that scenario? Will they be for or against it?"
-------------------
See, these guys are getting braver and rowdier. Let's hope they're all hat and no cattle. They're doing focus groups on whether or not to try and take over the world! If that's not a good indication that they're going to be trouble in the times to come I'm not sure what is. Look out!

Fiat Justitia Ruat Coelum

2005-12-13T00:11:00.000-07:00

EXECUTED
Well, he was convicted of murdering 4 people...As I heard one person say "Just because he wrote some books doesn't mean he's redeemed. That's not redemption." So, like it or not...Justice has been served.

Australians Drop Their Smug Façade-True Colors Come Out

2005-12-11T15:56:00.000-07:00

Brown People Beaten Sensless at Beach

According to various reports, somewhere near 5000 racist Australian drunks “defended” their beach from Australians of Middle Eastern heritage, background, or even appearance. From Cronulla beach to Maroubra beach, sunburned, inebriated Aussies chased down anyone that looked vaguely like an Arab, hurled racial epithets, then proceeded to pound them about the head, face, and neck area.
By Sunday the mob took out their anger on cars. It was not immediately known whether the cars were of Arab origin, brown, or simply, not white.

“No More Lebs!” the crowd chanted, as t hey waved their flag, which is still emblazoned with the Union Jack, an emblem of their subservience to the English Crown. Authorities were quick to defend these actions, explaining that they were not at all racially motivated.

Well, My Freaky Darlings, it’s happened at last and I could not be happier. For years every Australian I’ve met has denounced the American led War on Terror and they have taken every opportunity to disparage the Violence in the United States. Well, no more…These Australian Race Riots remove any Moral High Ground those shrimp sucking beer swilling bastards ever had.

Nigerian jet crashes with 110 aboard; 7 survive

2005-12-10T14:46:00.000-07:00

Yeah, riiight. Suuuure it did. Those crafty Nigerians don't fool me. What'll they cook up next? I bet they're going to start sending emails to let me know that someone on that plane left me 5 million dollars, right? Nu-uh, those fuckers are making it all up, don't believe a word of it. It's a trick! Better safe than sorry.

Adrastas

A Short Examination and History of The Second Amendment

Dark Days

The Trouble with 9/11 “Truthers”

Weekly World News Silenced

Sweet Sweep!

Call me when the Star Rush in on…

Email from a friend

Ain’t Gonna Rest-a Until After Fiesta

The Start of a Potentially Savage Spring

Winter is almost gone… save me a snow doughnut though

Academy Award Ceremony

Oscar Time

It’s a Science, Stupid!

Oops…

Spurs vs Mavs: Showdown in San Antonio

A Quick Hello to NBA Bloggers

Don't pass me that ketchup bottle.

Announcement

Saddam Gets Death!

Vulnerant omnes, ultima necat

Pope, Dope, Get a Rope

We Will Never Forget

It's a Girl?

Steve Irwin Killed By Stingray

“Six, after the war”

Casualties...

Oh, It's War, Baby...

It's War?

Oh, Zindane!!

WORLD CUP -Round of 16: WIn or Go Home

WORLD CUP - Group Round Finish

World Cup - Week Two

World Cup Round Up

Judge tells Saddam's defense to wrap up case...

WORLD CUP 2006

Fiat justitia et ruat caelum

Update

SPURS WIN 91-86, FORCE GAME 7

Spurs Squeak into Game 6

Full Text : The President of Iran's Letter To President Bush

FIESTA PICS '06

An Update

The Horrors of Spring

In Memoriam

Slow Ride Straight to Hell

I Shouldn't Have Dared Them To Do It...

FROM MY COLD DRUNK HAND

Kill Them All

Get a load of *this* crazy psycho

Que Viva Tejas!

Oscar Picks

Forum Response on ThothWeb

It's Texas, Bitches!

The Great Grey Beast

Wilson Pickett

Tax me Fairly or don't tax me at all

New Year Same Crap

The Girls of Riyadh

The Rise of the Orange Menace!

Fiat Justitia Ruat Coelum

Australians Drop Their Smug Façade-True Colors Come Out

Nigerian jet crashes with 110 aboard; 7 survive

Get a load of this crazy psycho