CRUEL KEV'S SCUTTELBUTT

Terrorist Sentenced In Mpls. Court

2009-07-10T00:03:00.000-05:00

A man who spent 5½ years in solitary confinement before pleading guilty to conspiring to help al-Qaida will spend almost another year in federal custody and then be deported to Canada. Mohammed Abdullah Warsame, 35, was sentenced Thursday to seven years and eight months in prison. U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim gave him credit for time served and for good behavior, so he will likely be released and deported in about 10 months. Authorities say Warsame, a Canadian citizen, traveled to Afghanistan to attend al-Qaida training camps and dined with Osama bin Laden. They also say he went to the Taliban's front line. Warsame's attorneys, who argued that he should be sentenced to time served, depicted him as a bumbling idealist whom other fighters in the camps in Afghanistan viewed as ineffective and awkward. Prosecutors seeking a sentence of 12½ years painted Warsame as a jihadist who called his time in one training camp "one of the greatest experiences" of his life. They say even after the Sept. 11 attacks, he passed along information to al-Qaida operatives about border entries and whereabouts of jihadists - and only stopped when he was arrested in December 2003. In one December 2000 e-mail, prosecutors said, Warsame tells a jihadist to keep him informed "because I don't want to be late for the action, you know what I mean. We hear there might be an attack soon." Warsame pleaded guilty in May to one count of conspiracy to provide material support and resources to al-Qaida, admitting to conspiring with others to help the group beginning in 2000, when he left Canada and entered Afghanistan. His uncle, Abdullah Warsame, said Thursday that Warsame's wife left the courtroom in tears after he was sentenced. "I was not expecting this," Abdullah Warsame said. "We expected the time served ... considering his hardship." He said his nephew went to Afghanistan before the Sept. 11 attacks, at a time when the U.S. was negotiating with the Taliban, not fighting them. He said Warsame has not had physical contact with another person for nearly six years, and when his wife visited she could see him only over a video screen."I suffered, and suffered, and suffered a mountain-load of suffering," Warsame said in a letter read by his attorney, David Thomas, describing his time in solitary confinement at the prison in Oak Park Heights. Tunheim said that even after 5½ years and hundreds of documents, Warsame remained a bit of a mystery to him. In deciding on a sentence, he studied other cases and noted that those with lighter sentences cooperated with authorities early. Warsame, he said, hasn't revealed all he knows. "Certainly you had access to, and relationships with, the most dangerous individuals on earth," Tunheim said. On the other hand, the judge said, there was no evidence that Warsame was involved in direct acts of terrorism. In the end, Tunheim said the sentence reflected the seriousness of the crime. Once deported, Warsame - who is of Somali descent - would be allowed to return to the United States only with permission from federal authorities. Defense attorneys say the deportation was negotiated as part of his plea deal and Canadian officials helped work it out. A representative for the Canadian consulate was not immediately available to comment Thursday. U.S. Attorney Frank Magill issued a statement saying the sentence shows "those who knowingly provide support to terrorists will be held accountable for their actions." Defense attorney Andrea George told the court to remember who was being sentenced. "You are not here today to sentence al-Qaida. You are not here today to sentence Osama bin Laden," she said. "The government seeks to drape the blood of al-Qaida on the shoulders of Mohammed Warsame." Federal prosecutor Joseph Kaster argued that even after Sept. 11, Warsame stayed in contact with associates in Afghanistan. Once he even sent money to a former Taliban trainer. "He may not have been a born soldier ... but what he had, he offered," Kaster said. "He offered himself." Authorities say Warsame tried to bring his family to Afghanistan, but was told by bin Laden lieutenant Mohammed Atef to return to Canada and renew his passport so could easily travel in Western countries. Warsame eventually relocated to Minneapolis.

"Prairie Home Companion" Celebrates 35th Anniversary

2009-07-06T00:03:00.000-05:00

"A Prairie Home Companion" celebrated its 35th anniversary with a Saturday Independence Day broadcast from Avon - part of the central Minnesota region that inspired the fictional town of Lake Wobegon. Garrison Keillor says he plans a grass-roots show, with longtime special effects man Tom Keith, the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band, the Lake Wobegon Brass Band, the St. John's Boys' Choir and singer Andra Suchy.Keillor's public radio variety show debuted on July 6, 1974. That show, broadcast live at Macalester College in St. Paul, was watched by about a dozen people. Now, "A Prairie Home Companion" is heard on nearly 600 public radio stations nationwide, attracting more than 4.3 million listeners a week.

Turkish TV Gameshow Looks To Convert Atheists

2009-07-04T00:03:00.000-05:00

What happens when you put a Muslim imam, a Christian priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk in a room with 10 atheists? Turkish television station Kanal T hopes the answer is a ratings success as it prepares to launch a gameshow where spiritual guides from the four faiths will seek to convert a group of non-believers. The prize for converts will be a pilgrimage to a holy site of their chosen religion -- Mecca for Muslims, the Vatican for Christians, Jerusalem for Jews and Tibet for Buddhists. But religious authorities in Muslim but secular Turkey are not amused by the twist on the popular reality game show format and the Religious Affairs Directorate is refusing to provide an imam for the show. "Doing something like this for the sake of ratings is disrespectful to all religions. Religion should not be a subject for entertainment programs," High Board of Religious Affairs Chairman Hamza Aktan told state news agency Anatolian after news of the planned program emerged.The makers of "Penitents Compete" are unrepentant and reject claims that the show, scheduled to begin broadcasting in September, will cheapen religion. "We are giving the biggest prize in the world, the gift of belief in God," Kanal T chief executive Seyhan Soylu told reporters. "We don't approve of anyone being an atheist. God is great and it doesn't matter which religion you believe in. The important thing is to believe," Soylu said. The project focuses attention on the issue of religious identity in European Union-candidate Turkey, where rights groups have raised concerns over freedom of religion for non-Muslim minorities. Detractors of the ruling AK Party government, which is rooted in political Islam but officially secular, accuse it of having a hidden Islamist agenda, a charge it denies. Some 200 people have so far applied to take part in the show and the 10 contestants will be chosen next month. A team of theologians will ensure that the atheists are truly non-believers and are not just seeking fame or a free holiday.

Run Hadji Run Fireworks Found In Wisconsin

2009-07-03T18:07:00.004-05:00

You may be used to seeing fireworks with names like 'Seaside Garden,' 'Burst and Bloom,' or 'Red, White, and Boom.' But the product names of fireworks at one Wisconsin fireworks stand are sparking controversy in the Arab and Muslim communities. On one side of the packaging for 'Run Hadji Run' fireworks, men of Middle Eastern decent are riding on camels with a bomber plane flying above them. On the other side is an angry-looking Uncle Same yanking the beard of what looks like a Muslim man. "This is just outrageous," said Kenya McKnight. What comes in my mind, is that people will get idea to pop fireworks at Muslims." The fireworks were being sold for $30. While the owner didn't want to comment on camera, customers had a lot to say."To me it sends a clear message that Muslims are terrorists. ‘Run Hadji Run’—I’m going to throw some fireworks and I want to see you run," McKnight said. The Council of American-Islamic Relations of Minnesota issued issued a statement about the fireworks, explaining Hadji has been often used as a derogatory term by U.S. Soldiers during the Iraq War. After reporters visited the store and brought attention to the fireworks Friday, they were pulled off the shelves. The manufacturer, Missouri-based Red Rhino Fireworks, says they haven’t sold the product in several years.

Health Care Thoughts

2009-07-02T00:03:00.001-05:00

Chavez Threatens Military Action Over Honduras Coup

2009-06-29T00:03:00.000-05:00

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday put troops on alert after a coup in Honduras and said he would respond militarily if his envoy to the Central American country was kidnapped or killed. Chavez said Honduran soldiers took away the Cuban ambassador and left the Venezuelan ambassador on the side of a road after beating him during the army's coup against his leftist ally, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya. The Honduran army ousted Zelaya and exiled him in Central America's first military coup since the Cold War, after he upset the army by trying to win re-election. Chavez said on state television if his ambassador to Venezuela was killed, or if troops entered the Venezuelan Embassy, "that military junta would be entering a de facto state of war. We would have to act militarily ... I have put the armed forces of Venezuela on alert." Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, part of a coalition of leftist governments headed by Chavez that includes Honduras, said he would support military action if Ecuador's diplomats or those of its allies were threatened. The socialist Chavez has in the past threatened to use his armed forces in the region but never followed through. He said that if a new government is sworn in after the coup it would be defeated. "We will bring them down, we will bring them down, I tell you," he said, while hundreds of red-shirted supporters gathered outside Venezuela's presidential palace in solidarity with Zelaya.The United States has long accused the Venezuelan former soldier of being a destabilizing force in Latin America. Chavez himself tried to take power in a coup in 1992 and was briefly ousted in a 2002 putsch but was reinstated after protests. Chavez, who accused the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush of backing his removal, said there should be an investigation into whether Washington had a hand in Zelaya's ouster. "They will have to get to the bottom of how much of a hand the CIA and other imperial bodies had in this," he said. The White House denied any U.S. participation in the coup. "There was no U.S. involvement in this action against President Zelaya," a White House official told reporters. President Barack Obama said he was deeply concerned by the events in Honduras and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton condemned the action taken against Zelaya. A senior U.S. official said Washington recognizes only Zelaya as president. The United States supported a number of military coups in Central America during the Cold War and used Honduras as a base for its counter-insurgency operations in the region in the 1980s. Washington still has several hundred troops stationed at Soto Cano Air Base, a Honduran military installation that is also the headquarters for a regional U.S. joint task force that conducts humanitarian, drug and disaster relief operations. Chavez and other Latin American leaders from his ALBA coalition, including Ecuador's President Rafael Correa and Bolivia's President Evo Morales, were headed to Nicaragua on Sunday to discuss what action to take over Honduras. ALBA's nine members also include Cuba, Honduras and Nicaragua. Ecuador said Sunday it will not recognize any new government in Honduras.

Obama Issues First Veto Threat: "Defense Bill"

2009-06-26T00:03:00.000-05:00

The U.S. House of Representatives was poised to approve on Thursday a $550.4 billion defense authorization bill for fiscal 2010 that has drawn a veto threat from Barack Obama because it contains money for fighter jets he does not want. The bill also authorizes $130 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the fiscal year that begins October 1. The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said it supported the overall bill but the president's senior advisers would recommend a veto unless some provisions were dropped. One congressional aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the White House veto threat as "a bargaining tool." The Senate Armed Services Committee was to unveil its defense authorization bill for 2010 later on Thursday, but the legislation was unlikely to be approved by the full Senate until September. House and Senate negotiators must then hammer out a compromise version before final passage.The OMB said it strongly objected to the House decision to include $369 million in advanced procurement funds to buy 12 more F-22 fighter jets built by Lockheed Martin Corp despite a Pentagon decision to halt production at 187. Some lawmakers are pushing to continue production of the F-22 until a current ban on exports can be lifted to allow Japan to buy a modified version of the premiere U.S. fighter jet. The Lockheed program employs workers in over 40 states. The administration also objected to House lawmakers adding $603 million to the bill to continue work on an alternate F-35 fighter engine being built by General Electric Co and Rolls-Royce Group Plc. The OMB said the changes would delay the fielding of the F-35 and have an adverse effect on the Pentagon's overall strike fighter inventory. It said the risks of a fleet-wide grounding with a single engine, an issue raised by the Marine Corps general who runs the program, were "exaggerated."

Hearing Set On Default In Obama Eligibility Case

2009-06-24T00:03:00.000-05:00

A judge in California has scheduled a July 13 hearing in a case challenging Barack Obama's eligibility to be president in which the plaintiffs' attorney, Orly Taitz, says the commander-in-chief is in default. Taitz told reporters if her motion is granted she will immediately request access to Obama's birth records and other documentation that could determine his eligibility to occupy the Oval Office. The announcement came from U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who said: "Before the court is a motion by plaintiffs for reconsideration of order to show cause or in the alternative to certify question for appeal. Court sets this matter for hearing on July 13, 2009 at 8:30a.m. in Courtroom 9D. Plaintiffs are directed to make every effort possible to ensure that all remaining defendants are aware of the hearing and provide documentation that the individual receiving service is authorized to accept on defendants' behalf." Taitz said she previously had served notice of the action but would pursue a further notification and confirmation. "I have a very clear case," Taitz said. "I think they dropped the ball. They didn't figure out this case filed on Jan. 20th, on the day of inauguration. The case was filed on behalf of former U.S. Ambassador Alan Keyes, also a contestant in the 2008 presidential race in California, and others. Taitz said the case might have been confused with another Keyes vs. Obama case filed in that state's court system, which was thrown out and now is on appeal. "I will be asking for the release of his vital records," she said. "The latest argument by the judge says that I was supposed to serve Obama by a certain Rule-4I. My argument is that it wasn't applicable, as I served him as an individual, on inauguration day, for his action before he became the president. He does not qualify to get governmental representation, meaning he has to pick (up) the tab," she explained. "He defaulted, and in default I can demand production of the documents to show his fitness for the position," she wrote. "The documents that I am requesting are the original (birth certificate), school records, passport records and immigration records." The case, which also includes Wiley S. Drake and Markham Robinson as plaintiffs, names as defendant "Barack H Obama also known as Barack Hussein Obama II also known as Barack H Obama II also known as Barry Obama also known as Barry Soetoro." The service was verified, Taitz wrote in her latest motion to the court, by an affidavit that already is on file with the court. "Plaintiffs have satisfied both the requirements of Rule 4(e)(2)(d) (and) 4(i)(3)," she wrote.Taitz explained the dispute as being over the way she served notice of the lawsuit. There are different requirements for someone acting as a government official or someone who acted as a government official, but has left office. Neither of those apply, she said. She sued Obama individually for his acts before he took office, specifically his refusal to provide the documentation that would show his eligibility. She said her process server went to the White House to serve the president, and the Secret Service refused her admittance and refused to take the documents. She retreated to her car and called the White House office of legal counsel on her cell phone, and was instructed the proper service would be to deliver the documents to the Justice Department, which she did. "Plaintiffs respectfully submit that this Court's order finding or at least strongly suggesting that 4(e) service is insufficient, and requiring 4(i) service, regarding the subject matter of this lawsuit as against the sole served Defendant Barack H. Obama, is manifestly erroneous and plaintiffs accordingly request that the court reconsider its motion," she argued. "In the alternative, plaintiffs move and request that this court exercise its sound discretion to certify a question for interlocutory appeal." She suggested the case already is in default on the part of the president, and it should so be concluded. "Why have a rule of default, at all, why make a distinction between private and U.S. governmental parties as between 4(e) and 4(i) at all within the federal rules, if the face of a complaint, and the status of the parties at the time of filing, cannot be used to judge compliance with such a rule which might apply in this case to guarantee victory to the plaintiff? "It seems to the plaintiffs unfair and unjust that a judge could merely set aside a party’s default on a whim, for no good legal or equitable reason, based on a change in a party's status, but not the cause of action against him, between filing and service of a suit?" she continued. "Plaintiffs Keyes et al. request this court to amend its order to show cause, especially but not limited to the Friday, June 12, 2009, order extending show cause, and denying as moot plaintiffs' motions for clarification, to permit plaintiffs to pursue an appeal pursuant to section 1292(b)." Taitz was born in the Republic of Moldova which used to be part of the Soviet Union. Recalling her life under a communist regime, she told WND she is determined to do her part to stop America from following in the all-too-familiar footsteps of her former homeland. She confirms she is not willing to let the issue rest on a single case and has filed multiple complaints in an effort to reach her goal. She previously took her complaint directly to the U.S. Supreme Court, and when the justices met privately with the defendant – Obama – but didn't explain their rejection of her dispute, she approached two different justices in public settings, asking them to consider the case. She has likened not only the U.S. judiciary to the old Soviet Union establishment because of its unwillingness to resolve the dispute, but she's accused members of the media of becoming like the Soviet press, because they push for Obama's agenda.

Ahmed & Salim Episode 7

2009-06-22T00:03:00.001-05:00

Gates Orders Measures To Protect Hawaii From North Korea Missile

2009-06-19T00:02:00.000-05:00

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he has ordered the U.S. military to take defensive measures should North Korea attempt to fire a ballistic missile toward Hawaii.“I think we are in a good position, should it become necessary, to protect American territory,” Gates told reporters at the Pentagon today.

Obama Signs Memorandum For Gay Benefits

2009-06-18T00:03:00.000-05:00

Barack Obama signaled to gay rights activists Wednesday that he's listening to their priorities by extending some benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. But he didn't give them even close to everything they want, bringing growing anger against the president to the surface. "We all have to acknowledge this is only one step," Obama said in the Oval Office, where he signed a memorandum that made incremental changes to benefits offered to the same-sex partners of gay federal employees. But the president's critics - and there were many - saw Wednesday's meager move to expand gay rights as little more than pandering to a reliably Democratic voting bloc, with the primary aim not of making policy more fair but of cutting short a fundraising boycott."When a president tells you he's going to be different, you believe him," said John Aravosis, a Washington-based gay activist. "It's not that he didn't follow through on his promises, he stabbed us in the back." Obama has refused to take any concrete steps toward a repeal of a policy that bans gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, even though as a candidate he pledged to scrap the Clinton-era rules. He similarly has refused to step in and block the dismissal of gays and lesbians who face courts martial for disclosing their sexual orientation. Obama said he wants to see the Defense of Marriage Act repealed and in its place a law that would give the partners of gay and lesbian federal employees health insurance and survivor benefits, among other things.

Big Man Japan (A Little Weekend Fun)

2009-06-06T00:03:00.000-05:00

St. Paul Rabbi Pulls No Punches

2009-06-04T00:03:00.000-05:00

The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic is asking political and religious leaders in that state to repudiate a St. Paul rabbi. CAIR says the statement made by Rabbi Manis Friedman is a call to kill Arab men, women and children and to destroy their religious sites. In an article in the latest issue of ‘Moment Magazine,’ headlined ‘How Should Jews Treat Their Arab Neighbors?’ Friedman of the Bais Chana Institute of Jewish Studies in St. Paul, wrote in part:"I don’t believe in western morality, i.e. don’t kill civilians or children, don’t destroy holy sites, don’t fight during holiday seasons, don’t bomb cemeteries, don’t shoot until they shoot first because it is immoral. The only way to fight a moral war is the Jewish way: Destroy their holy sites. Kill men, women and children (and cattle)…with their holy sites destroyed, they will stop believing that God is on their side." The magazine published a statement stating Friedman's views were his own and ‘do not represent the official policy of any Jewish movement or organization.

Website Admits Obama Was Kenyan Citizen Until His 21st Birthday!

2009-05-31T00:04:00.000-05:00

Following the controversy over the authenticity of Barack Obama's birth certificate can be a bit confusing with all its detailed analysis. Your humble correspondent will leave that up to the experts. However, in response to the charge that Barack Obama is not an American citizen, Obama's Fight the Smears website, quoting FactCheck.Org, has made a bombshell admission...Barack Obama was once a citizen of Kenya. You read that right, Obama had Kenyan citizenship until 1982. Here is the startling admission published in Fight the Smears:

“When Barack Obama Jr. was born on Aug. 4,1961, Kenya was a British colony, still part of the United Kingdom’s dwindling empire. As a Kenyan native, Barack Obama Sr. was a British subject whose citizenship status was governed by The British Nationality Act of 1948. That same act governed the status of Obama Sr.‘s children. Since Sen. Obama has neither renounced his U.S. citizenship nor sworn an oath of allegiance to Kenya, his Kenyan citizenship automatically expired on Aug. 4, 1982.”

So according to Fight the Smears itself, Obama's Kenyan citizenship expired on Aug. 4, 1982 meaning he held Kenyan citizenship until that point. This is astounding and so far no mainstream media outlet has reported on it. Will some reporter out there be so bold as to ask Obama if he was a Kenyan citizen until his 21st birthday as his own website concedes? Until reading of this Kenyan citizenship admission, I thought the lawsuit claimng that Obama was born in Kenya filed by Clinton supporter, Phil Berg, in Philadelphia was of minor import. However, by responding to it in the way it did, the Fight the Smears website has just opened up a big can of worms for Obama in its admission that he was a citizen of Kenya until 1982. Meanwhile, instead of simply producing the original birth certificate in court and put the matter to rest, the Obama campaign seeks to evade that action by attempting to dismiss the lawsuit entirely. Here is the latest report on this lawsuit from the Phoenixville News:PHILADELPHIA — Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee filed a joint motion in federal court Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the Illinois senator to prove he's a citizen of the United States. On Aug. 21, four days before the Democratic National Convention, Lafayette Hill attorney Philip Berg filed suit in Philadelphia seeking to remove the Democratic candidate from the November ballot claiming he was born in Kenya and not in America. Berg asked the court for a temporary restraining order "prohibiting Obama from being formally confirmed as the Democratic Party nominee for president," according to court papers. The Federal Election Commission was also named as a defendant in the legal action. A day after the suit was filed, a federal judge denied the motion for a temporary restraining order. When rumors emerged last summer questioning whether Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, his campaign posted a certificate of live birth on its Web site. In a press statement circulated Wednesday by Berg's law office, the attorney insisted the Democratic candidate was born in Africa and thus ineligible to run for president. "It is obvious that Obama was born in Kenya and does not meet the 'qualifications' to be president of the United States pursuant to our United States Constitution. Obama cannot produce a certified copy of his 'Vault' (version) Birth Certificate from Hawaii because it does not exist," the press release reads. The suit seeks to compel the senator to produce the long version of his original birth certificate. The motion to dismiss filed Wednesday called the suit's allegations "ridiculous and patently false," and argues the court lacks legal standing to challenge a presidential candidate's qualifications. While Berg argued the case against Obama on constitutional grounds, Obama's attorney claims Berg must show a "specific and individualized injury" to prove standing in the case rather than a hypothetical one. Earlier this year, a similar suit brought against Republican presidential candidate John McCain's and the Republican National Committee claimed that McCain wasn't "a natural born" citizen, having been born in the Panama Canal Zone while his father was serving in the military. That suit was dismissed in July on grounds the plaintiff lacked standing in the case. A minor lawsuit that seemed to be just a small irritant has now caused the Obama website to respond by admitting that he was once a Kenyan citizen. Where is the MSM on this? Which brave reporter will quote Obama's own website to him? Until now, there has been absolutely no mention in the mainstream media that we have a presidential candidate that once held citizenship with another country. Since Sen. Obama has neither renounced his U.S. citizenship nor sworn an oath of allegiance to Kenya, his Kenyan citizenship automatically expired on Aug. 4, 1982.”

American Decent Into Marxism Happening With Breathtaking Speed

2009-05-31T00:03:00.000-05:00

It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people. True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists. Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters. First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their "right" to choke down a McDonalds burger or a BurgerKing burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our "democracy". Pride blind the foolish. Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different "branches and denominations" were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the "winning" side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the "winning" side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America.The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe. These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them? These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more then a whimper to their masters. Then came Barack Obama's command that GM's (General Motor) president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader, in the land of "pure" free markets, the American president now has the power, the self given power, to fire CEOs and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions. So it should be no surprise, that the American president has followed this up with a "bold" move of declaring that he and another group of unelected, chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automobile policies. I am sure that if given the chance, they would happily try and redesign it for the whole of the world, too. Prime Minister Putin, less then two months ago, warned Obama and UK's Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our "wise" Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride.
Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper...but a "freeman" whimper. So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democratically controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulation that would give the American Treasury department the power to set "fair" maximum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses? Senator Barney Franks, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort. He stresses that this only affects companies that receive government monies, but it is retroactive and taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive. The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left. The proud American will go down into his slavery with out a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.

Pink Dots - This Is Wild

2009-05-30T00:04:00.000-05:00

If your brain works normally this is neat. This is another example of an amazing illusion!!! The last sentence is so true.. If your eyes follow the movement of the rotating pink dot, the dots will remain only one color, pink.

However if you stare at the black '+' in the centre, the moving dot turns to green.. Now, concentrate on the black ' + ' in the centre of the picture. After a short period, all the pink dots will slowly disappear, and you will only see only a single green dot rotating. It's amazing how our brain works. There really is no green dot, and the pink ones really don't disappear. This should be proof enough, we don't always see what we think we see .

Army Chief: US Able To Fight North Korea If Necessary

2009-05-30T00:03:00.000-05:00

The United States could fight an old-fashioned war against North Korea if necessary, even while newer forms of conflict against terrorists and extremists continue, the Army's top officer said. Asked whether the United States would be prepared to fight if war broke out between South Korea and North Korea, Gen. George Casey replied, "The short answer is yes," then added that "it would probably take us a little bit longer to shift gears" away from the type of counterinsurgency fighting that now occupies the Army. Casey said his usual rubric for how long it would take the Army to gear up for a new "conventional" war is about 90 days. That doesn't mean it would take 90 days for the U.S. to effectively fight the North's million-man army, he said. "We'd move forces as rapidly as we could get them prepared," Casey said during an appearance at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. North Korea has threatened war following condemnation of its underground nuclear test this week, and the United States has a long-term commitment to South Korea's defense. "This is a combat-seasoned force" that can pivot quickly, Casey said. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, speaking to reporters as he traveled to the Far East for a conference with defense ministers, said North Korea's actions have not reached a crisis level that would warrant additional U.S. troops in the region.Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey"What we do have, though, are two new developments that are very provocative, that are aggressive, accompanied by very aggressive rhetoric," Gates said. "And I think it brings home the reality of the challenge that North Korea poses to the region and to the international community. Casey, the Army's chief of staff, suggested that war with the nuclear-armed North might not be the old-style land war that U.S. forces stationed in South Korea were envisioned to fight. He did not elaborate, but he was presumably referring to the possibility that the North might use or threaten to use its proven nuclear capability. Casey focused on his plans to rearrange the Army around the "reality scenario" of sustained counterterrorism conflict. The reality of permanent war means the United States should have 10 Army brigades and Marine Corps regiments available for overseas conflict worldwide, he said. "It's not just Iraq and Afghanistan," Casey said. Including Iraq in his contingency planning is not to say that the United States won't honor its agreement with Iraq to pull forces from the country by 2012, he said. "We will execute the draw down plan that has been executed between our governments," he said. "I don't know that anyone knows what the security relationship and force level will be, if there are any, in Iraq," after the scheduled withdrawal of combat forces," he added. "That's very much to be determined."

Writer Forcibly Removed From Near Air Force One

2009-05-29T00:03:00.000-05:00

A writer for a small newspaper attempted to hand US President Barack Obama a letter, but was forcibly removed from a press area near Air Force One today, shortly before Mr Obama arrived at Los Angeles airport. In bizarre scenes, airport security officers carried the woman away by the feet and arms. She was later allowed to leave without charge. Brenda Lee, a writer for the Georgia Informer in Macon, is a "Roman Catholic priestess" and was carrying a letter she had written opposing gay marriage. She had White House press credentials.Lee said later in a phone interview that she asked a Secret Service agent to give the President her letter, but he refused and referred her to a White House staffer. Lee said she refused to give the staffer the letter and protested when she was asked to leave. "I said, 'I'm not leaving,'" she said. "They tried to drag me out." Two officers then picked her up and carried her out. "I was afraid you could see under my clothes," she said.

North Korea May Attack U.S., S. Korean Ships

2009-05-28T00:03:00.000-05:00

North Korea threatened military action Wednesday against U.S. and South Korean warships plying the waters near the Koreas' disputed maritime border, raising the specter of a naval clash just days after the regime's underground nuclear test. Pyongyang, reacting angrily to Seoul's decision to join an international program to intercept ships suspected of aiding nuclear proliferation, called the move tantamount to a declaration of war. "Now that the South Korean puppets were so ridiculous as to join in the said racket and dare declare a war against compatriots," North Korea is "compelled to take a decisive measure," the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said in a statement carried by state media. Seoul's decision comes at a time when "the state of military confrontation is growing acute and there is constant danger of military conflict," the statement warned. South Korea's military said Wednesday it was prepared to "respond sternly" to any North Korean provocation. North Korea's latest belligerence comes as the U.N. Security Council debates how to punish the regime for testing a nuclear bomb Monday in what President Barack Obama called a "blatant violation" of international law. Ambassadors from the five permanent veto-wielding council members - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France - as well as Japan and South Korea were working out the details of a new resolution. South Korea, divided from the North by a heavily fortified border, had responded to the nuclear test by joining the Proliferation Security Initiative, a U.S.-led network of nations seeking to stop ships from transporting the materials used in nuclear bombs. Seoul previously resisted joining the PSI in favor of seeking reconciliation with Pyongyang, but pushed those efforts aside Monday after the nuclear test in the northeast. North Korea warned Wednesday that any attempt to stop, board or inspect its ships would constitute a "grave violation." The regime also said it could no longer promise the safety of U.S. and South Korean warships and civilian vessels in the waters near the Korea's western maritime border."They should bear in mind that the (North) has tremendous military muscle and its own method of strike able to conquer any targets in its vicinity at one stroke or hit the U.S. on the raw, if necessary," it said. The maritime border has long been a flashpoint between the two Koreas. North Korea disputes the line unilaterally drawn by the United Nations at the end of the Koreas' three-year war in 1953, and has demanded it be redrawn further south. The truce signed in 1953 and subsequent military agreements call for both sides to refrain from warfare, but doesn't cover the waters off the west coast. North Korea has used the maritime border dispute to provoke two deadly naval skirmishes _ in 1999 and 2002. On Wednesday, the regime promised "unimaginable and merciless punishment" for anyone daring to challenge its ships. Pyongyang also reportedly restarted its weapons-grade nuclear plant, South Korean media said. The Chosun Ilbo newspaper said U.S. spy satellites detected signs of steam at the North's Yongbyon nuclear complex, an indication it may have started reprocessing nuclear fuel. The report, which could not be confirmed, quoted an unidentified government official. South Korea's Yonhap news agency also carried a similar report. The move would be a major setback for efforts aimed at getting North Korea to disarm. North Korea had stopped reprocessing fuel rods as part of an international deal. In 2007, it agreed to disable the Yongbyon reactor in exchange for aid and demolished a cooling tower at the complex. The North has about 8,000 spent fuel rods which, if reprocessed, could allow it to harvest 13 to 18 pounds (six to eight kilograms) of plutonium _ enough to make at least one nuclear bomb, experts said. North Korea is believed to have enough plutonium for at least a half dozen atomic bombs. Further ratcheting up tensions, North Korea test-fired five short-range missiles over the past two days, South Korean officials confirmed. A North Korean newspaper, Minju Joson, said in commentary Wednesday that Pyongyang does not fear repercussions for its actions. "It is a laughable delusion for the United States to think that it can get us to kneel with sanctions," it said. "We've been living under U.S. sanctions for decades, but have firmly safeguarded our ideology and system while moving our achievements forward. The U.S. sanctions policy toward North Korea is like striking a rock with a rotten egg."

St. Paul Saints Lampoon Senate Race

2009-05-24T09:09:00.003-05:00

The St. Paul Saints will do their part this weekend to declare a winner in the drawn-out Minnesota Senate race. The independent minor league team said third-party candidate Dean Barkley would throw out the first pitch at Saturday night's game against the Sioux Falls Canaries. Barkley ran against Republican incumbent Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken in an election that's now before the state Supreme Court.The first 2,500 fans would receive a doll with the faces of both Coleman and Franken on one body. The doll is dressed like Count von Count from "Sesame Street" and is called the "Re-Count." The team joked that fans can turn the doll's head to show one face or the other, and lawyers would be on hand to help determine their intent. Challenges can be submitted to the Saints Fan Services Booth, the team said. The team promised to make the game results official by mid-June - which would hopefully be after the courts are finished with the Senate race.

Pawlenty Vetoes Last-Minute Tax Bill

2009-05-22T00:03:00.000-05:00

Gov. Tim Pawlenty has vetoed a tax bill approved by Minnesota Democrats in the final minutes of the legislative session. The bill would have raised $1 billion by raising taxes on couples making more than $250,000, alcohol drinkers and credit card companies charging high interest rates.It would also have delayed $1.7 billion in payments to schools, erasing a two-year deficit. Democrats are claiming that they balanced the budget, although a veto was predictable. Pawlenty says his opposition to tax increases is longstanding and well-known.

Autopsy: Porn Star Died Of Heart Disease

2009-05-20T00:03:00.000-05:00

An autopsy has revealed that adult film star Marilyn Chambers died of the effects of a cerebral hemorrhage and aneurysm related to heart disease. The Los Angeles County coroner's office released the results of toxicology tests Monday. The tests also indicated the presence of two prescription drugs in Chambers' system, but not in excess amounts.An autopsy was performed on Chambers April 14, two days after she was found dead at her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Canyon Country. She was 56. Chambers helped bring hard-core adult films into the mainstream when she starred in 1972's "Behind the Green Door." Her appearance in the film cost the then-aspiring model and actress her job as Procter & Gamble's Ivory Snow girl.

Egypt Pig Cull Video Shocks Everybody Who Eats Bacon

2009-05-18T09:10:00.002-05:00

A video, released by independent Arab newspaper Al-Masri Al-Yom over the weekend, reveals the barbaric way in which the government of Egypt is carrying out the ordered mass pig slaughter in that country because of fears of swine flu. It’s sparked public outcry from people around the world who probably have no idea how their bacon got to their plate, but still. It’s no excuse for the senseless premature & cruel slaughter of these animals.The video shows pigs being hit with a tire iron, scooped up, still alive, into a bulldozer and buried in quicklime after being sprayed with factory wastes and chemicals while they are still alive. By the way, does this remind anyone else of the old testament Bible story of the Pharaoh ordering every male hebrew baby be thrown into the Nile because he feared them as a fifth column in his midst? That’s how Moses ended up in a basket, floating down the river.

If Only...

2009-05-15T15:31:00.001-05:00

2009-05-12T15:05:00.002-05:00