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The Big Players
Condi Rice-"Minister of Propaganda and Popular Enlightenment" is at it again....
Boy oh boy has our little "Secretary of State" been popular this week or what? (And thus the reasoning behind the cute little cartoon at the head of this post).
1: While on a "Good will" tour of the U.K., her presence has resulted in demonstrations almost everywhere she has gone with people telling her to "Go Home" and other "not so nice epitaphs" here and there. A link to one of the articles that mentions part of her visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/world/Europe/02rice.html?hp&ex=1143954000&en=bf4c583c2e73b665&ei=5094&partner=homepage
1.5:And then having made the statement that has now been heard around the world many times "We have made thousands of errors in Iraq" , one starts to wonder if there will be a forthcoming book on all those thousands of errors! (by the way..she is now trying to downplay what she said, as all politicians do when they open their mouths and insert both their feet before speaking).Maybe I should write it. On second thought, I would probably be able to sum up such a book in one sentence and that would probably be something like "THE ADMINISTRATION THAT THOUGHT IT COULD PULL THE WOOL OVER OUR EYES"!! Below is a link to one of the articles where she made that soon to be infamous statement: http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/Europe/04/01/uk.rice.straw/index.html
2: But to be fair she also has offered her (our?) Mortal Enemy-Iran- some assistance if they feel like taking a handout from her, in response to yet another devastating Earthquake that happened just a few days ago. She did make it "crystal clear" though that in no way would that "offer of goodwill" affect the process now in place to take away Iran's ability to "play God" with little "Nukes'. I am sorry but I find this all so amusing. And then not thirty seconds later, Iran is testing some cool missile over its airspace that has the potential to take out the "Land of Jesus"......wow...what a screwed up situation we are embroiled in!!!
A link to an article where the offer of U.S. assistance is talked about and then following that, a link to an article about the "little missile test" that Iran just conducted. (Links will take u to CNN articles): http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/04/01/earthquake.iran/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/03/31/iran.missile.ap/index.html
(On this last issue regarding the missle test..the above article is making it seem that this is just another reason to escalate the U.N. process that is now underway to "reign in" Iran, but I feel that Iran is doing what it feels it needs to in order to protect itself as a sovereign nation from the bad guys (yes us!).
That is my view and not everyone will agree with me, but the more I read and dig into these things that are happening over there, the more I am realizing that the U.S. and (the U.N. more likely is calling these shots) it's cabel of "behind the scenes" leaders (which this New World Governance is all about) are trying to take over every sovereign country on earth as part of their plan for global domination. If a country wants to enter into this "One World Union" so be it....but if they do not, then I say "LEAVE THEM ALONE"!!!!
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Space Shuttle Columbia Destroyed by Lightning??
I came across the following while looking at one of my more favorite sites for strange news that often is not reported in the mainstream news media outlets.
I remember the day when the Shuttle disintegrated in the sky. I was sitting in a hospital bed recovering from surgery after having shattered my ankle. Watching the whole thing unfold on TV as it was happening was just so "surreal"......
A quote from the article: The Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas on February 1, 2003, during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere on its 28th mission, STS-107. The entire seven-member crew died.
Now an image taken by an amateur astronomer from a hillside in San Francisco, showing a mysterious blue streak striking the shuttle, is making NASA reconsider an earlier theory: that the shuttle may have been struck by an unknown form of lightning.
Click link below to go to full article which I have archived from the Unknown Country website:
http://jrepinski3.blogspot.com/2006/04/was-space-shuttle-destroyed-by.html
If this is the case, just imagine what "A Random Act of God" did....the power...ikkes!!
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Iran
I have a strange feeling that this is a word which is going to be about as much used in our daily english vocabulary as "Iraq" is right now. There is no stopping this "ball in motion" I am afraid. And I do not want to even think of this particular scenario becoming the final "catalyst" for World War Three, but a sinking pit in my stomach says that this may very well be what brings this much feared "world ender" to a start.
One story that caught my eye was the following one. In it, there is rumors of secret military planning between the U.S. and British Governments, of the imminent attack on Iran. One of the quotes from this story that I found to be interesting was the following: "It is believed that an American-led attack, designed to destroy Iran's ability to develop a nuclear bomb, is "inevitable" if Teheran's leaders fail to comply with United Nations demands to freeze their uranium enrichmentprogramme."
And on the 22nd of March, Bush went into a very intense speech about how he will protect Israel with military action if necessary:
This of course was the precursor to the U.N. high level meetings with the Security Council, where they started setting into motion the plans against Iran. A funny quote from one of Iran's leaders: Earlier this month, Teheran responded angrily when it was referred to the Security Council. Angered by talk of sanctions, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Teheran's envoy to the IAEA, said: "The United States is also susceptible to harm and pain. So if that is the path that the US wishes to choose, let the ball roll."
So as I said previously....hold on to your hat...it's gonna be a bumpy ride!!!
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Homelessness in America
I have never been homeless thank the lord, but I have come very close. How aweful it must be for someone not to have their own bathroom to take a shower in and their own bed to get a good night's sleep. A place to call "home" should be the right of every human being in the world, much less the great country of America.
Unfortunately this is not the case any more. I personally know of one person who has been homeless in the past year and I have seen many others. When I was vacationing in New York City this past fall I saw so many homeless people. My heart ached each time I saw that.
Don't get me wrong here....I know there are homeless people that are "lazy bums" that will not do what is needed to change their situation when a solution is available to them....such as hard work ect. What I am talking about are those people who are working but with wages not being enough to even pay for a one bedroom apartment with electricity and some basic amenities. That is happening more and more every day. People who are working 50 hours a week making $7.00 an hour and not being able to afford a place to "lay their head down" at night. Such are the facts of life for many people today that are stuck between the halves and the halve nots.
Like this woman, who's missives I have just begun to read, and though she lives in England which is across the ocean from us, her experiences mirror many of those here in the United States:
http://www.wanderingscribe.blogspot.com/
She calls herself the Wandering Scribe and the way she introduces the way her life is going from the start of Feb. is nothing short of way cool. She talks about her situation in a candid manner and offers a lot of interesting stories as to what it is like to be a homeless person in this day and age. Bear in mind that this woman is not lazy or stupid....she has had the unfortunate displeasure of having become one of the victims of this "New World" that we are living in....even if just a temporary victim at that.
Her blog posts just happened to be picked up by a writer for the "New York Times Newspaper", who was doing an article on homelessness and found her in London and made her part of the story. The story on homelessness that the New York Times wrote and where the "Wandering Scribe" is mentioned, follows below:
http://jrepinski3.blogspot.com/2006/04/new-york-times-article-on-homelessness.html
I hope if there ever comes a day where I find myself in a situation where I can not afford even the basics of life, that there will be friends and or family that will be willing to help me out. I would do the same for them.
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Strange News Tidbits: that I found to be Interesting. (Warning: some graphic details)
For some reason, a lot of these stories today are emanating from what some people call "God's Waiting Room"....the Sunshine State of Florida. I am sure that people have crazy things going on all over the place in the world, but the articles that I am finding are very "Florida heavy" and it is purly by accident. Next week it will probably be Ill. (or Wisconsin-but it has been rather boring here lately). So on to today's selections:
1.Coffee will kill you!
It seems some very unlucky chap in Canada decided to take a "pee pee" break while sipping a cup of "Dark Roast" and got dark roasted himself when something akin to a bomb went off in the restroom of the coffee shop. Remind me to limit my caffeine consumption when in Canada. Isn't anything sacred anymore....even my favorite places are becoming places of terrorist activity. I do have to say that the "Wall of Fire" line in the story was pretty interesting...
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/04/02/canada.blast.reut/index.html
2.Now There's a MILF!
For those that don't know what that acronym stands for, I wont bother to explain. Ask your teenager and they "might" tell you. Or read the following article and put the words together for yourself. All I can say here is that to most 6th-8th grade boys (I was one once also), what supposedly happened here would be a fantasy come true.
http://www.wftv.com/news/8366535/detail.html
3.Act Stupid-Face the Consequences:
I don't even know if I wanted to include this one, but if some of my younger viewers are reading this, then maybe they wont try the same thing and it may just save a life or two.
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/8410508/detail.html
4.A Baby like No Other....Kind of Sad:
I think India is the locale for this unfortunate birth. After reading the article and knowing that the little one didn't survive...my only question is: Why were they carrying the baby in what looked like a dishpan, through the streets?? Too weird!
http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=69722
5. Denver Airport Cruelty. (TSA=terrorizing Something awful?)
An older (and very frail) woman is put through traumatic screening while her daughter stands by her side, virtually helpless to assist her because some TSA Screener thinks it may be fun to pick on old ladies.....
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4585114,00.html
6. U.S. Soldier Cruelty to Iraqi's-And they said it they were there to PROTECT!
This has got to be one of the more undeniably disgusting stories I have read this weekend. Our U.S Soldiers shooting the feet off of unarmed citizens and kicking a severed Iraqi citizen's head around like a soccer ball. I know WAR does some pretty weird things to soldier's minds...but come on....these guys remind me of the "school yard" bullies of my youth who picked on the weak and challenged. I am sorry but when I see those darn "Support our Troops" decals on vehicles...this is what will now unfortunately come to mind for me. A quote from the article: Joshua Key, the first U.S. deserter with combat experience in Iraq to apply for refugee status in Canada, told the board he witnessed numerous atrocities committed by U.S. forces while serving eight months as a combat engineer.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/03/30/1512671-cp.html
7.Florida-Land of the Crazy and Sex crazed....."Mother of the Year Award" goes to:
An unemployed mother from New Port Richey, Florida (by the way...Isn't this the town in Florida where the scientoligists dumped that McPherson girl's body??) lets a male neighbor molest her 7 year old son for $600.00. They are both now in jail. The kicker in this story is that man had previously been employed by the "Florida Dept. of Children and Families". I wonder how many more victims there may be here. And I can't even imagine where this woman's "motherly love" went to...multiple sites that link to this sad story below:
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/03/30/Pasco/Police__Mom_accepted_.shtml
http://www.local10.com/news/8386487/detail.html
8.A crazy African "War-Lord" with Ties to a crazy American "Televangelist"...
I was reading a story in one of the many Florida websites (which I do frequently so I can keep up with what is going on in my friend's (B & M) and my relation's neck of the woods) and I came across an article about a son of a former African War-Lord being arrested when he landed at Miami Airport. I decided to get some more background on this guy who ruled an African country for a few years in the late 90s into the early 00's. Some will know of Charles Taylor, the exiled president of Liberia Africa, and how he was recently released by his neighboring country and flown back to Liberia to face charges of "Crimes against Humanity" by a U.N. Court in Sierra Leone. What most people probably wont know is that during Taylor's tenure as president of this "war torn" African nation, he had dealings with "PAT ROBERTSON" of "700 CLUB" fame.
The following from an article on Wikopedia that talks about this connection, as well as related links within the paragraphs below:
According to a June 2, 1999 article in The Virginian-Pilot,[11] Taylor had extensive business dealings with televangelist Pat Robertson. According to the article, Taylor gave Robertson (who also had business dealings with Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire) the rights to mine for diamonds in Liberia's mineral-rich countryside.
According to two airplane pilots who reported this incident to the state of Virginia for investigation in 1994, Robertson used his Operation Blessing planes to haul diamond-mining equipment to Robertson's mines in Liberia, despite the fact that Robertson was telling his 700 Club viewers that the planes were sending relief supplies to the victims of the genocide in Rwanda.
The subsequent investigation by the state of Virginia concluded that Robertson diverted his ministry's donations to the Liberian diamond-mining operation, but Attorney General of Virginia Mark Earley blocked any potential prosecution against Robertson
It is quite funny how through reading and digging into the most "unweird things" that I manage to find very "weird things".
9.Crooked Cops in Florida and "Intimidation" of the News Media:
Everyone knows that there are "unsavory" officers of the law here and there in our wonderful "police state" that we call the U.S. The following story is just one more example of this:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/14218941.htm
I tried finding the "South Florida Police Union" website but every link I clicked on said the server was unavailable. So the above will have to suffice.
10.Another "Mother of the Year" Award goes to:
An Austrian woman who gave birth to four (maybe 5) babies and killed them all shortly after they were born. This one just takes the cake. Just imagine that one of these precious little humans might have been the next "World Famous Composer". Unfortunately the world will never find out. This woman needs to burn in hell for these atrocities....
http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0001/20060331/1300452609.htm
11.And now for a "Family of the Year" Award:
A son commits suicide, and hours later his parents do the same. Death by "sympathy"? How tragic. The parents must have had such despair. This is just one of those things that defy explanation I guess.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4862848.stm
12.And a "Mother and Father of the Year" Award:
A little girl gets "dumped" on the street and parents take off?? I mean come on now...some crazy person might do this to a cat or even a dog-but a human child? (This also from Florida-a big sorry to my friends and family that live there in advance)....
http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_090074940.html
13.Sick of all the "Bush"??
A lady in Georgia is pulled over for a "lewd bumper sticker" that says the above. Read on....
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/spotlight/news-article.aspx?storyid=54669
I want to know where I can get one of those!!!!
14.For Fun-A little "Ditty" on the differences between Men and Women:
http://www.bozzetto.com/flash/fem_male.htm
The above is a "flash cartoon" and though it is made in spanish, it has english subtitles and I thought it was kind of cute. A sort of distraction for those that are managing to get through this post in one sitting. Enjoy!
Closing Thoughts
So another week is upon us and hopefully some of my friends and other site visitors have found a few interesting things to read (if not, I am sorry) and as the week begins anew, there seems to be quite a bit going on in the world just as there has been every other week in history. The cool thing about now (this current era) is that news from all over the world can be seen and heard by everyone for the most part. I feel it is truly an amazing time to be alive and though at times things may seem to be a bit scary for our planet, our freedoms and our overall intelligence as a species, I am happy to be a part of this "great experiment". And that is what I truly feel this planet is....an experiment that was set into motion many eons ago by someone or something that we can never even begin to "comprehend" let alone even touch the "fabric of it's being".
A good week to everyone......
