The Neighborhood King

Tattoo parlor makes mark in resort town

2006-12-26T12:07:00.000-08:00

They pay a lot more rent for a lot less space, but Jack Eldredge and Alyssa Tippetts couldn't be happier with their tattoo shop's new home. They ski in the mornings, take breaks in a hotel hot tub and gaze out at a "more friendly" environment. Not that their journey from a 1,800-square-foot setup in an Orem strip mall to a 300-square-foot nook in Park City's Treasure Mountain Inn didn't have some bumps. But now that they have arrived and business at Park City Ink is promising, they see the wisdom in the move. "One of those blessings in disguise type of things, I guess," Tippetts says. Six months ago, neither Tippetts nor Eldredge would have guessed they would be closing up their bustling shop on Orem's State Street for a cozy spot at the top of Park City's historic Main Street. Then Noah Webster Academy - a K-6 school chartered for 525 students and developed by legislators Jim Ferrin, R-Orem, and Mike Morley, R-Spanish Fork - announced plans to rebuild the old Storehouse Market behind their Orem shop. Eldredge and Tippetts grew unsettled. Not only did they think having a school next to a tattoo and piercing parlor was inappropriate, but they also knew county regulations prohibited such shops within 600 feet of a school. And these two buildings were even closer. They shared a fence.

(m o r e)

2006-12-21T15:21:00.000-08:00

Bong Hits 4 Jesus

2006-09-09T05:28:00.000-07:00

Former Whitewater special counsel Kenneth Starr petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to take up Alaska's "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case, a dispute involving a high school student, a banner and a tough school policy.

Yes - the Monica Lewinsky Ken Starr.

Joseph Frederick, then a senior, was off school property when he hoisted the banner but was suspended for violating the school's policy of promoting illegal substances at a school-sanctioned event.

Fredrick sued the school but lost in federal district court. However, a three-member panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the lower court order and said school officials violated Fredrick's free speech rights.

***

"The principal's actions were so outrageous, basically leaving school grounds and punishing a student for a message that is not damaging to the school," said his attorney, Doug Mertz.

Now Starr is trying to take the case to the Supreme Court. Unbelievable.

First they ignore you . . .

2006-09-03T06:23:00.001-07:00

First they ignore you,
.then they ridicule you,
..then they fight you,
...then you win.

-- Mahatma Gandhi

MyDeathSpace.com

2006-08-30T16:25:00.000-07:00

MyDeathSpace.com is an archival site, containing news articles, online obituaries, and other publicly available information.

We have given you the opportunity to pay your respects and tributes to the recently deceased MySpace.com members via our comment system.
Please be respectful.

Bush says: ?Iraq Had ?Nothing? To Do With 9/11?

2006-08-26T05:24:00.000-07:00

Karl Rove and Dick Cheney are not happy campers today that?s for sure. He admits he was wrong about WMD?s in Iraq and now this.

QUESTION: A lot of the consequences you mentioned for pulling out seem like maybe they never would have been there if we hadn?t gone in. How do you square all of that?

BUSH: I square it because imagine a world in which you had Saddam Hussein, who had the capacity to make a weapon of mass destruction, who was paying suiciders to kill innocent life, who had relations with Zarqawi.

You know, I?ve heard this theory about, you know, everything was just fine until we arrived [in Iraq] and ? you know, the stir-up-the-hornet?s- nest theory. It just doesn?t hold water, as far as I?m concerned.

The terrorists attacked us and killed 3,000 of our citizens before we started the freedom agenda in the Middle East. They were ?

QUESTION: What did Iraqi have to do with that?
BUSH: What did Iraq have to do with what?

QUESTION: The attacks upon the World Trade Center.

BUSH: Nothing. . . . .Except for it?s part of ? and nobody?s ever suggested in this administration that Saddam Hussein ordered the attack. Iraq was a ? Iraq ? the lesson of September the 11th is: Take threats before they fully materialize,

I seem to remember Dick Cheny, Condi and Bush trying link Iraq to 9/11 way back when:

Russert: Do you still believe there is no evidence that Iraq was involved in September 11?

CHENEY: Well, what we now have that?s developed since you and I last talked, Tim, of course, was that report that?s been pretty well confirmed, that he did go to Prague and he did meet with a senior official of the Iraqi intelligence service in Czechoslovakia last April, several months before the attack

Martini Republic: So, to sum up, we had to invade Iraq because Saddam didn?t have any WMDs and didn?t have any connection to 9/11. And his handlers reportedly cannot understand why his approval ratings remain in the toilet.

Wanna be an illegal alien?

2006-08-19T04:56:00.000-07:00

The Honorable Paul S. Sarbanes
309 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC, 20510

Dear Senator Sarbanes,

As a native Marylander and excellent customer of the Internal Revenue Service, I am writing to ask for your assistance. I have contacted the Immigration and Naturalization Service in an effort to determine the process for becoming an illegal alien and they referred me to you.

My reasons for wishing to change my status from U.S. Citizen to illegal alien stem from the bill which was recently passed by the Senate and for which you voted. If my understanding of this bill?s provisions is accurate, as an illegal alien who has been in the United States for five years, what I need to do to become a citizen is to pay a $2,000 fine and income taxes for three of the last five years.

I know a good deal when I see one and I am anxious to get the process started before everyone figures it out. Simply put, those of us who have been here legally have had to pay taxes every year so I?m excited about the prospect of avoiding two years of taxes in return for paying a $2,000 fine.

Is there any way that I can apply to be illegal retroactively? This would yield an excellent result for me and my family because we paid heavy taxes in 2004 and 2005.

Another benefit in gaining illegal status would be that my daughter would receive preferential treatment relative to her law school applications.

If you would provide me with an outline of the process to become illegal (retroactively if possible) and copies of the necessary forms, I would be most appreciative. Thank you for your assistance.

Your Loyal Constituent,
Pete McGlaughlin

Eleven Reasons Why Syd Barrett Was Cool

2006-08-12T18:35:00.000-07:00

Syd Barrett, an original member of Pink Floyd and one of the true icons of the psychedelic late '60s, has passed away at age 60. Rather than dwell on the tragic passing of this amazing musical figure, we here at ChartAttack want to celebrate the great moments of this man's career. Without further ado, here are 11 reasons why Syd Barrett was cool:
# 1. He founded Pink Floyd. 'Nuff said.
# 2. He gave the band their unique name, which always sounded incredibly psychedelic, by simply taking the names of two obscure bluesmen (Floyd Council and Pink Anderson) and putting them together.
# 3. The first Pink Floyd record, The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, is a psychedelic classic and was the complete brainchild of Barrett. The album featured several unique techniques, such as Barrett using his Zippo lighter on his guitar for feedback and distortion and all kinds of bizarre vocal parts throughout.
# 4. He wrote songs that were filled with wonder and amazement. His imagination produced songs about bedtime stories ("Matilda Mother"), magic cats ("Lucifer Sam"), tricked-out bikes ("Bike"), scarecrows ("The Scarecrow"), gnomes ("The Gnome") and even one about a bloke who got sent to jail for stealing ladies' panties off the washing line ("Arnold Layne," the first Floyd single).
# 5. There's no doubt that he had an influence on The Beatles and the recording of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band. Floyd were working on The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn at Abbey Road at the same time as The Beatles were doing their record, and both groups would wander down the hall to see what crazy noises were coming out of the respective studios.
# 6. He had a song for Floyd called "Let's Roll Another One," but the record company wouldn't go for that in 1967. That didn't stop Barrett, though. He just wrote new lyrics and the song came out as the trippy "Candy And A Current Bun."
# 7. His sense of song structure was truly magical, as evidenced on tracks like the crazy "Apples And Oranges." It flopped as a single, but it holds the award for being a psychedelic song that was actually too psychedelic for even the late '60s.
# 8. Despite his problems with drugs that eventually caused him to leave Floyd, Barrett also made two incredible solo albums, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett. Again, Barrett's sense of whimsy came to the forefront in songs like "Baby Lemonade" and his working of a James Joyce poem as "Golden Hair." The band Gigolo Aunts took their name from a track on Barrett. Even though Floyd couldn't contain him as a member, both Roger Waters and Dave Gilmour took turns producing him solo, and Richard Wright played on Barrett.
# 9. One of the best loved Floyd albums is basically a tribute to Barrett. Wish You Were Here featured "Have A Cigar," which detailed the band's first meeting with EMI back in '67, and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," a heartfelt tribute to Barrett.
# 10. Here's a list of just a few different bands and musicians he had an affect on: This Mortal Coil, Marc Bolan, David Bowie, The Jesus And Mary Chain, The Cure's Robert Smith, Johnny Marr (formerly of The Smiths), My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields, Primal Scream, Voivod, The Libertines, The Beta Band, Julian Cope, Robyn Hitchcock, The Flaming Lips, R.E.M., Mercury Rev, The Dead Kennedys' East Bay Ray, Camper Van Beethoven, Pearl Jam, Love And Rockets, Elevator To Hell, The Melvins, Transatlantic, Phish, Dream Theater, Graham Coxon (formerly of Blur) and former Red Hot Chili Pepper John Frusciante.
# 11. When tribute records became the big thing in the late '80s and '90s, one of the first was one for Barrett called Beyond The Wildwood. There was another one, entitled On A Distant Shore, released in 2004.

?Dan "The Mouth" Lovranski

Convicted border agent tells his story

2006-08-12T05:12:00.000-07:00

EL PASO, Texas - Border Patrol Agent Ignacio Ramos could hear his heart racing. He could feel the dry, hot dust burning against his skin as he chased a drug trafficker trying to flee back into Mexico. Ramos' fellow agent, Jose Alonso Compean, was lying on the ground behind him, banged up and bloody from a scuffle with the much-bigger smuggler moments earlier.

A Texas jury convicted the pair of assault with serious bodily injury; assault with a deadly weapon; discharge of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence; and a civil rights violation. Compean and Ramos also were convicted of four counts and two counts, respectively, of obstruction of justice for not reporting that their weapons had been fired. The jury acquitted both men of assault with intent to commit murder.

Suddenly the smuggler turned toward the pursuing Ramos, gun in hand. Ramos, his own weapon already drawn, shot at him, though the man was able to flee into the brush and escape the agents. Now, nearly 18 months after that violent encounter, Ramos and Compean are facing 20 years in federal prison for their actions.

... Keep Reading

The Boat Ranch

2006-07-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

The kids are too young. Too young to be toting machine guns and randomly stopping cars in the middle of a vacant, dusty highway that heads south into the desert. Their weapons glisten in the heat as they stare at the jumble of surfboards, cases of Pacifico beer and jugs of bottled water in the back of the truck. One looks at us and smiles. He surfs, too, he says in broken English. The others wave us on and we pass, heading down the Trans-American highway, looking for surf.

The road disappears into a haze of pollution and dust, sucking us deeper into Baja. The checkpoint, Tijuana, Ensenada and Santo Tomas left behind as we vanish into the heat waves on the horizon. The first Pacifico is opened as the sun sets, burnishing the last waves of the day, the sets pulsing in from the Pacific as night comes with a sudden hardness. From the top of the cliffs we can hear the surf surging across the rocks that line the beach. The waves glow with a faint hint of phosphorus as we settle in for the night. The trip has been a long one and the road has worn exhaustion into our bones.

The Boat Ranch sits at the end of a forgotten point. Created by a guy named Layton, a itinerant surfer from Southern California, the ranch is host to 12 boats in different states of metamorphosis. The first boat, hauled down from the states by Layton over the axle busting ruts that lead to the end of the point, has transmorgified into a rustic bungalow. The others are in various states of repair or disrepair, none seaworthy but all providing refuge those who travel to the vacant sliver of land that pushes out into the ocean. They?re fine accommodations, giving us all the luxury we need: shelter from the sun and rain, a place to cook simple meals that fill the belly, and from the deck of a boat called ?The Duke?, a clear view of the swell which batters the point.

Danse macabre iconography

2006-07-22T05:37:00.000-07:00

Although the origins of the danse macabre, or Dance of Death, are still obscure, probably the most famous version was the (now lost) mural of 1424-25 with accompanying verses in the churchyard of the Franciscan convent Aux SS. Innocents in Paris. The scheme showed Death engaged in a dialogue with people from all ranks of society as he invites each to his dance. Around 1430, the poet John Lydgate produced a Middle-English 'translation', which came to be included in a lost scheme at Old St Paul's Cathedral, London. The theme became extremely popular across Europe, especially when printed editions appeared; best known is probably the series of prints by Hans Holbein the Younger (published in 1538), but Thomas Rowlandson produced a series of Dance of Death prints as late as the mid-1810s. There are regional variations: Death is usually armed with a scythe, spade, spear or dart in French and English versions, whereas German schemes tend to emphasize the musical aspect of the Dance.

The popularity of the danse macabre can also be observed in tomb iconography from the later fifteenth century on. The skeletal figure of Death with his dart is sometimes just a symbol of mortality (memento mori) in the overall composition, as at Doulting and Wellington, but one also finds Death threatening or attacking the commemorated person, exemplified by the monuments at Nieuwkapelle, Lowestoft, Hunsdon and Shepton Mallet. Unusual and early is the brass of John Rudyng at Biggleswade, which features a dialogue in Latin between Death and the spectator with a reminder that king, duke, prince and priest all must suffer this doom - a clear reference to the danse macabre. The skeleton on the incised slab at Wijk may represent the deceased, yet it could equally be Death himself with his dart, wearing a biretta in mockery of the dead clergyman.

The Seven Levels of Surfers

2006-07-22T04:45:00.000-07:00

Soul Surfer - Level 7

This is the highest level, the pinnacle of surfing spirituality equivalent to Nirvana, Satori, Total Enlightenment, etc. and is rarely attained. The Soul Surfer expresses himself through his unity with the breaking wave. He borrows the wave's spirit for a short while and uses his body and equipment to translate the essence of the wave's spirit into Art. Other Surfers respond to this and immediately recognize the Soul Surfer whether they admit it or not.

The Soul Surfer is a complete master of his tools, body and board. The Soul Surfer may train his body and practice with his board when not creating his Art, however, when he becomes one with the wave, his body and board are extensions of his mind. No conscious thought is expended upon the surfing techniques he uses to express the spirit of the wave with casual virtuosity. To make a musical analogy, a guitarist may woodshed his scales, but when he's jamming he's not even thinking about fingerings. He's lost in the passion of the moment. Just like a Photographic Artist who may have several cameras and many lenses, the Soul Surfer could have a quiver of a dozen boards each with a different purpose. Likewise, other Soul Surfers may have only one board, or none at all.

Soul Surfers sometimes dress strangely and say things that make seem to make sense but you have no idea what they mean. Soul Surfers often rise from sleep very early to create their Art in private. Few people witness the Art of a true Soul Surfer since they do not think to promote themselves. Many do not even realize they have attained the highest level of surfing spirituality or appreciate their tremendous skill as they are beyond the need for any sort of evaluation. Those that do become conscious of their own expertise often regress to the lower level of Whore which sadly and paradoxically means you will almost never see the Art of a Soul Surfer unless you know one personally or are lucky enough to be at the right break at the right time.

Soul Surfers use any sort of surfing equipment: longboard, shortboard or no board at all. They use whatever tool their Art requires to express the spirit of the wave and are constantly evolving in their ongoing exploration of the wave-human unity. Soul Surfers are the human embodiment of Stoke.

... Keep Reading

Green Card Lottery Results

2006-07-22T04:40:00.000-07:00

82,000 winners have been selected by the US State Dept. in the 2005 Green Card Lottery. Green Card winners and their families can live, work and study permanently in the United States. The following is the statistical breakdown by country of those registered for the 2005 lottery (called DV-2007). Only participants in the DV-2007 program who were selected for further processing have been notified. Winning notices were sent by regular mail to the address specified on the application. Those who have not received notification were not selected. They may register for the 2006 lottery.

The Prisoner's Handbook

2006-07-18T15:03:00.000-07:00

...written by a group of 'old-heads' (longtime prisoners) in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections:

"A prison psychology specialist, suggested that I write a little 'handbook' or guide for prisoners who are new to jail. After some thought, I got together with a few other "old-heads." Between us we've got over 100 years in Pennsylvania hell-holes. We know our sh*t! We came up with this little list of suggestions for the tens of thousands of young ment who are being railroaded into prison, Pennsylvania's fastest growning business. If you have a husband, son or friend who's been thrown into prison in the past year or so, I suggest that you print out this handbook and send it to him.

Rule 6: Don't comment on your cell-partner's personal habits. Farts, snoring, toilet practices and so forth are personal traits which you must learn to tolerate, or you must change cell-partners. Criticizing personal habits is, generally speaking, counter productive. Remember that you have personal habits which irritate your cell-partner. Talking about them just adds to the irritation.

Rule 13: Help those prisoners that you find you are able to help. Share your criminal skins with them. After all, that's what prison is all about: education in crime. But, where you're able, go beyond grooming the other guy to be a more skilled crook. If you can help him read or write, or work on the law, try to do those things. Conversely, never belittle or make fun of the thousands of prisoners who can't read, can't write and can't perform simple intellectual chores. In most cases, if the guys could read and write, they wouldn't be in prison in the first place. Then where would Pennsylvania's rednecks be?

Rule 20: Do one day at a time. It's an old cliche, but it's true. Live for today. Chances are that tomorrow will come.

005 DonDiva Magazine®

Miki Dora

2006-07-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

Imagine a California coastline devoid of surfers. Imagine Malibu without surfboards all over the lineup. El Porto without vehicles stacked with surfboards. The inescapable fact of surfing here is the crowd. Wherever there are good waves there is a pack of surfers. One can only imagine a time before the crowd. Miki Dora died on Jan. 3, 2002 at the age of 67. He was one of the guys who surfed Malibu before the crowd took over.

"Waves are the ultimate illusion. They come out of nowhere, instantaneously materialize and just as quickly they break and vanish. Chasing such fleeting mirages is a complete waste of time. That is what I choose to do with my life."

Miklos Sandor Dora
1934 - 2002

When the '50s rolled around Dora was one of the few to surf Palos Verdes Cove, a favorite of these paddleboard surfers. He was one of a loose crew surfing at Malibu. There a writer followed his teenage daughter to the beach one day and came up with a novel. "Gidget" had arrived. The cornball Hollywood film gave surfing a free, and unwanted, national promotion. The party was over. The pristine world of Miki Dora was invaded. Seething in frustration, Dora, "da Cat," the Malibu master, became the man who went against the grain of all that surfing was to become.

Not long before he died at his father's home in Santa Barbara, Dora lived in Guethary, France. He would be seen on a certain park bench watching the waves. If it was good, he'd go surfing. In the end, Dora bought the dream that the magazines promote so relentlessly of the wandering, carefree surfer. But like everyone else, he had to sell out and join the crowd. That's sad, but that's the way life is. I respect Miki Dora more for what he tried to do than for what he accomplished. He tried to take the Hollywood out of surfing, to make it a bold, individualistic, artistic statement. And, in the end he forgot about the crowd, the hype, the lost world and picked up his board and paddled out.

... Keep Reading

On Good and Evil

2006-07-01T05:21:00.000-07:00

It is right in principle that those should be the best loved who have contributed most to the elevation of the human race and human life. But, if one goes on to ask who they are, one finds oneself in no inconsiderable difficulties.

In the case of political, and even of religious, leaders, it is often very doubtful whether they have done more good or harm. Hence I most seriously believe that one does people the best service by giving them some elevating work to do and thus indirectly elevating them. This applies most of all to the great artist, but also in a lesser degree, to the scientist.

To be sure, it is not the fruits of scientific research that elevate a man and enrich his nature, but the urge to understand, the intellectual work, creative or receptive. It would surely be absurd to judge the value of the Talmud, for instance, by its intellectual fruits.

The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which he has attained to liberation from the self.

For the foxes

2006-06-27T15:10:00.000-07:00

don't feel sorry for me.
I am a competent,
satisfied human being.

be sorry for the others
who
fidget
complain

who
constantly
rearrange their
lives
like
furniture.

juggling mates
and
attitudes

their
confusion is
constant

and it will
touch
whoever they
deal with.

beware of them:
one of their
key words is
"love."

and beware those who
only take
instructions from their
God

for they have
failed completely to live their own
lives.

don't feel sorry for me
because I am alone

for even
at the most terrible
moments
humor
is my
companion.

I am a dog walking
backwards

I am a broken
banjo

I am a telephone wire
strung up in
Toledo, Ohio

I am a man
eating a meal
this night
in the month of
September.

put your sympathy
aside.
they say
water held up
Christ:
to come
through
you better be
nearly as
lucky

Bukowski

IMAGES OF LAWYERS AND THE THREE STOOGES

2006-06-25T07:06:00.000-07:00

This Article surveys several of the Three Stooges "shorts" dealing with law and lawyers, particularly the film Disorder in the Court. Professor Coyne provides a comedic portrayal of the courtroom through the lampoons of the Three Stooges.

According to film critic Leonard Maltin, an observation first made in a 1937 issue of Motion Picture Herald remains true today. "The public, upon which the screen depends for its existence, appears ... to be divided roughly into two groups, one composed of persons who laugh at the Three Stooges and the other made up of those who wonder why."

1. THE STOOGE VERSION OF LAW

Between 1934 and 1959, Columbia Studios released 190 short subjects starring the Three Stooges. Long before the advent of "coming attractions," these "shorts" were considered "curtain raisers," to be shown before the feature, full-length movie. Law-related puns and slanders aimed at lawyers are generously sprinkled throughout the Stooges' films.

If you have difficulty telling the Stooges apart, perhaps Jack Kerouac's descriptions will help. Moe is "mopish, mowbry, mope-mouthed, mealy and mad." Larry, on the other hand, is "goofhaired, mopplelipped, lisped, muxed and completely flunk." And, of course, Curly is the Stooge who loves to "muckle and yuckle and squeal."

To the extent that the Three Stooges portrayed their opinion of the legal system through their comedy films, we should not be surprised that Larry, Moe and Curly lampooned the law as they did. During their careers, the Stooges were in court often, and on occasion even got what they asked for (and I don't mean a ham sandwich, nyuk nyuk nyuk). The variety of their litigation, from divorces to intellectual property claims, gave the Three Stooges ample experience to create Disorder in the Court.

The Three Stooges

2006-06-25T06:35:00.000-07:00

Hold That Lion! is notable for a cameo appearance by former Stooge, Curly Howard, younger brother of Shemp and Moe. He appears as a snoring passenger who the Stooges think is Ichabod Slipp, the man they are looking for. This was the only film that featured all three Howard brothers -- Moe, Curly, and Shemp -- in the same film.

TIMOTHY GREENFIELD-SANDERS XXX 30 PORN-STAR PORTRAITS

2006-06-22T19:08:00.000-07:00

Timothy Greenfield-Sanders (1952 Miami Beach, Florida ? lives and works in New York) is well-known for his portraits of personalities from the worlds of art, fashion, entertainment, sports and politics.

XXX 30 Porn Star Portraits contains texts by intellectuals like Gore Vidal (the preface), Nancy Fiday, JT Leroy, John Malkovich, Lou Reed, Salman Rushdie, John Waters. On the same theme of pornostars Greenfield-Sanders has also created a DVD, ?Thinking XXX? (produced by HBO, the same network as Sex and the City, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The Wire) and a music CD ?XXX: Music from Thinking XXX? (the soundtrack from the film that includes, among others, tracks by Peaches, Ladytron, Mylo, Moderato and Lou Reed).

The cycle XXX 30 Porn Star Portraits features portraits of American porn stars shown in two different shots, one in the nude and one with clothing. Otherwise the two images are absolutely identical in terms of proportions, pose, expression, color of the monochrome backdrop. The classic reference to the famous work by Goya La Maja Vestida/La Maja Desnuda is clearly evident. What is striking about these portraits is the proud composure of the subjects, presented in life-size prints in the exhibition. The diptychs are made in two sizes: 50.8 x 81 cm in an edition of six multiples, and 147 x 223 cm in editions of three.

Journey on Alone

2006-06-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

Find a friend to be with and stay in that relationship,
avoiding the dangers of hurting others.
Stay with your friend and become mindful and joyful.
If you can find no friend, then go on by yourself.
Better to carry on alone than live with the foolish.
Journey on alone, unconcerned, working no evil,
like the bull elephant in the jungle.

-Sunnata Vagga

Trust No One

2006-06-19T15:14:00.000-07:00

To trust a stranger without investigation invites troubles
so endless that even descendants must endure them.

Without investigation, trust no one. Having investigated,
entrust a man with matters for which he is trustworthy.

To trust a man who has not been tested and to suspect a man
who has proven trustworthy lead alike to endless ills.

-Tirukkural 51: 508-510

Dean Martin: June 17, 1917 ~ December 25, 1995

2006-06-17T05:23:00.000-07:00

I once shook hands with Pat Boone and my whole right side sobered up.

Bush Administration Quietly Plans NAFTA Super Highway

2006-06-17T05:18:00.000-07:00

Quietly but systematically, the Bush Administration is advancing the plan to build a huge NAFTA Super Highway, four football-fields-wide, through the heart of the U.S. along Interstate 35, from the Mexican border at Laredo, Tex., to the Canadian border north of Duluth, Minn. Once complete, the new road will allow containers from the Far East to enter the United States through the Mexican port of Lazaro Cardenas, bypassing the Longshoreman?s Union in the process. The Mexican trucks, without the involvement of the Teamsters Union, will drive on what will be the nation?s most modern highway straight into the heart of America.

A good reason Bush does not want to secure the border with Mexico may be that the administration is trying to create express lanes for Mexican trucks to bring containers with cheap Far East goods into the heart of the U.S., all without the involvement of any U.S. union workers on the docks or in the trucks.

The Mexican trucks will cross border in FAST lanes, checked only electronically by the new ?SENTRI? system. The first customs stop will be a Mexican customs office in Kansas City, their new Smart Port complex, a facility being built for Mexico at a cost of $3 million to the U.S. taxpayers in Kansas City. As incredible as this plan may seem to some readers, the first Trans-Texas Corridor segment of the NAFTA Super Highway is ready to begin construction next year. Various U.S. government agencies, dozens of state agencies, and scores of private NGOs (non-governmental organizations) have been working behind the scenes to create the NAFTA Super Highway, despite the lack of comment on the plan by President Bush. The American public is largely asleep to this key piece of the coming ?North American Union? that government planners in the new trilateral region of United States, Canada and Mexico are about to drive into reality.

Lioness in zoo kills man who invoked God

2006-06-17T05:01:00.000-07:00

KIEV (Reuters) - A man shouting that God would keep him safe was mauled to death by a lioness in Kiev zoo after he crept into the animal's enclosure, a zoo official said on Monday.

"The man shouted 'God will save me, if he exists', lowered himself by a rope into the enclosure, took his shoes off and went up to the lions," the official said.

"A lioness went straight for him, knocked him down and severed his carotid artery."

The incident, Sunday evening when the zoo was packed with visitors, was the first of its kind at the attraction. Lions and tigers are kept in an "animal island" protected by thick concrete blocks.