Haaretz News in Israel: links to stories about Gaza

Haaretz is good news source from Israel.

NY Times: Gaza Background and links for many stories

New York Times background and links here.

Am Nat Gov Summer: Gaza CIA facts and map

CIA Fact Sheet on Gaza

The worst thing ever seen on public access TV

This is really bad. not funny, almost frightening. like the end of the world. It reminds me of an out take from David Lynch's film, EraserHead. You know, the missing scenes. But Eraserhead demands a blog entry of its own, an allegorical film full of metaphors (and i dont know what that means.) But if you like this guy playing the....whatever it is.....you would enjoy seeing Eraserhead.

speaking of eraserhead, my favorite scene, where the guy is a guest at his girlfriends family house, the dinner from hell, funny scene, every time i go to someone's house for dinner, i remember this.....

Tragic death and loss

John Metzler was featured in City Paper just this past week, for his work in recycling downed trees into works of art. What an amazing man, artist, carpenter, engineer. His death is stunning - senseless. I cant believe it....terrible accident. I really enjoyed the City Paper article about him, wanted to see some of his art, and his death is really depressing, sad. A loss for our city.


John Metzler, a woodworker who transformed harvested trees into sculptures and furniture, was deeply engaged in the city's arts scene and was a regular at nearly any tree planting in the area, his friends said Friday.

Metzler, 46, of Beechview was killed Thursday night outside his Lincoln-Lemington business after he was struck by a U-Haul trailer that broke loose from a pickup truck. Metzler was using a chain saw and wearing earmuffs at the time and apparently stood little chance as the trailer bore down on him, police said.

genes identified helps Tibetans live high altitude

This is amazing: natural selection over many generations have resulted in Tibetans with unique DNA that allows them to breathe at high altitudes!

University of Utah researchers found 10 genes which help Tibetans thrive at heights where others get sick.

Two of the genes are linked to haemoglobin - the substance in blood that transports oxygen round the body.

Doctors say the research, published in Science, could lead to treatments for severe forms of altitude sickness and other illnesses.

Chinese discover use for cigarette butts

In a paper published in the American Chemical Society's bi-weekly journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, the scientists in China said they identified nine chemicals after immersing cigarette butts in water.

They applied the extracts to N80, a type of steel used in oil pipes, and found that they protected the steel from rusting.

"The metal surface can be protected and the iron atom's further dissolution can be prevented," they wrote.

The chemicals, including nicotine, appear to be responsible for this anti-corrosion effect, they added.

The research was led by Jun Zhao at Xi'an Jiaotong University's School of Energy and Power Engineering and funded by China's state oil firm China National Petroleum Corporation.

Corrosion of steel pipes used by the oil industry costs oil producers millions of dollars annually to repair or replace.

the Trabant - a utilitarian car that deserves a second look

Here is supposedly a funny video showing a Trabant being built in east germany. I get it. the guy is fitting the hood with his foot. but i have purchased american cars that i wished had gotten that attention, like the taurus i bought that had no primer so the paint peeled off, and the roof was so weak after i hauled some luggage in a roof bag the doors no longer closed properly. The Trabant was designed to last forever, simple engine, 2 stroke, could run on rubbing alcohol, very good mileage. the performance was awful, but the idea was to build an affordable durable utilitarian car. they last forever so they are a good buy even though they smoke, are slow, and uncomfortable.

Jesus dress up game

I googled sarah silverman for a photo, found a hate blog some guy runs attacking jews as anti Semitic and anti christian. anyway, this is his example of her sacrilege. funny i think, in an adolescent way. I think she was trying to market this as refrigerator magnets, i will search the web, would make great xmas presents!

sarah silversman solves world hunger

Her she is, the jew with the mostest, sarah solves world hunger. Funny, but not ha ha funny. Brilliant actually. Her satire is remarkable. Right on sarah !

After half century Picasso seen and sold

The Brody family owned this Picasso "Green leaves and nude" for half a century, painted in 1932, has appeared in public only once in 1961 just sold for $106 million. Why have a painting only you and your guests can see? As an investment? Isn't art intended to be appreciated by everyone? Isn't that the point? Or is it just an investment? I mean, over 50 yrs investing in Goldman Sachs would have been more lucrative, so whats the point of owning a picasso and keeping at home for yourself?

man embalmed on his motorcycle

man embalmed on his motorcycle. I want to be embalmed at a recreation of a college faculty meeting, so the transition from life to death will be almost imperceptible.

Virgin mary found in soup pot

Wow! this lady made some soup and the Virgin Mary appeared. And to think of all the praying i do every day, nothing f'n happens. this lady makes soup and voila! Virgin Mary appears. Ok, i am getting out my vegetarian chili pan and going at it right now, hoping for Jesus to appear when i am done. i will update you.

here is my blog about Jesus on a toaster.

Largest steer slaughtered

Yup, Cletus, the largest steer to go through auction in montana, was slaughtered. the owner (thats the one on the right) said Cletus ate 90 lbs of hay a day during winter, so he wants recoup some of his feed bill. He got less than $2000 for him. Cletus was the lead steer, meaning he led the other steers in the herd. he is looking for a new lead steer. supposedly, cletus had a good life, neutered of course, but he just ate and led the steers.

Now he is destined for the slaughter floor, the so called killing floor, where the illegals aliens work. Once they work there awhile and dont get maimed or killed, they get promoted to the the gutting line, or the kidney line, or best of all the filet line. anything but the killing floor......poor Cletus. Really doesnt make sense to raise or eat an animal that eats $90 of hay a day.

Ship Wreck Zombies in Baltic Sea

Oh my god !!! Real life zombies ! And someone is thinking of raising up these wrecked ancient ships - dont they know about zombies ? Are they insane ? "Has everyone around here gone crazy?" as the Big Lebowski would ask?


A dozen previously unknown shipwrecks, some of them believed to be up to 1,000 years old, were discovered in the Baltic Sea during a probe of the sea bed to prepare for the installation of a large gas pipeline, the Swedish National Heritage Board said Monday.

"We have manage to identify 12 shipwrecks, and nine of them are considered to be fairly old," Peter Norman, a senior advisor with the heritage board, told AFP.

"We think many of the ships are from the 17th and 18th centuries and we think some could even be from the Middle Ages," he said, stressing that "this discovery offers enormous culture-historical value.

MS wheelchair mom has her ramp stolen !

This has to be one of the most pathetic stories I have heard from western PA. Somebody stole this woman's ramp, she uses a wheelchair, so now she cant leave the house and get into her van. This is worst than the time a guy with a sword robbed the Domino's pizza store for crack money (he got less than $60 - they use a safe with a $60 max cash drawer). The police think it was stolen for its aluminum, probably pawned at a scrap metal recycling place.

Memphis 3rd worst city - Forbes Magazine - U Memphis worst univ - me

Forbes magazine rated Memphis TN the third worst city in the US, get this, after Cleveland and Stockton, CA. Right behind Memphis was Detroit, at #4.

Forbes cited violence and government corruption as the two deciding factors, not to mention chronic unemployment, and segregation.

Memphis is in Tennessee, but to really understand Memphis, you have to consider it as the "Capitol City of the Third World Nation of Mississippi." Then it all makes sense.

The University of Memphis has a railroad running through the middle of campus. Ugly buildings that reminded me of Soviet architecture. And the decaying downtown section by the river (the water smells).

The Civil Rights Museum is great, as are the trolleys that run on Front Street.

The Univ atmosphere is awful, faculty treat each other like crap, scholarship poor, teaching mediocre, recruitment a revolving door.

Worst university i have ever experienced. Horrible place to live. Faculty in public affairs are trapped in an existential "no exit" and have no self awareness of their predicament or fate.

will ferrell and green day

east jesus nowhere, will plays the cowbell, a serious musician

Rahm Emanuel apology !

Rahm Emanuel apologizes for his derogatory terms. here it is.

Valentine's day movie (2010)

Absolutely great film. Lots of comments on IMDB blast it, viewers say there are too many characters, shallow character development, Julia Roberts was overpaid ($3 million up front, 3% of gross - comes to $340,000 per word for 6.5 min of screen time - movie is 120+ min long), blah blah. But i could hear audience members gasp, cry, laugh - what ever happened to good movies that make people cry and laugh? No sex, no violence, no computer generated violence or dumb brain impossible computer action (Tom Cruise flying through air after explosion, his body still intact, stuff like that). I enjoyed the film greatly - the scene where ashton tells ticket agent larry miller that he has to have a ticket to talk to his girlfriend, because "when i look at her face i see......Sunshine!" great moment, it shows his true feelings for her, breaks down the harsh personality of larry miller, wins him over. lots of great scenes like that. When julia roberts finally meets her "man" (no spoilers here) i could hear people crying and cooing, i think thats great. I mean, i usually see movies about pain, suffering, injustice, - its great to see an old fashioned hollywood movie with big stars, lots of weaved plots, the movie just keeps bumping along, something for everyone - and Leonardo Dicaprio was great, he picked a great role.

IMDB has some really awful comments on their film boards - viewers sign on to be insulting, dumb, racist, homophobic, i mean its a place to discuss movies, not write like you are Goebbels or something. The only discussion board worth anything on IMDB was Donnie Darko, lots of spoilers, but they warn you. but the other boards are just so nasty and mean. (like comments on youtube).

Alec Baldwin describes Dick Cheney, calls him "Lying, Thieving Oil Whore..."

Baldwin provided a searing criticism of Dick Cheney, saying that he was involved in former Governor of California Gray Davis being recalled, that Cheney had instigated the outing of Valerie Plame as a CIA agent, and that Cheney had shot Harry Whittington. Baldwin wrote "The rumor I heard is that someone yelled, "Look out! Shooter!" and Cheney thought he said Scooter and fired in that general direction." He concluded that Cheney is a terrorist and Whittington should sue. "Cheney... terrorizes our enemies abroad and innocent citizens here at home indiscriminately. Who ever thought Harry Whittington would be the answer to America's prayers?" When asked if he had gone too far, Baldwin replied that Cheney was not a terrorist, but rather just "a lying, thieving Oil Whore. Or, a murderer of the US Constitution..."

Wilhelm Reich and Woody Allen's "Orgasmetron"

plans for building your own Orgone Accumulator here. Here are some other pictures of it, and updated portable orgone blanket for two (?) I will have to read more about this.

Dr. Reich believed that there was an energy source that kept the body healthy, that orgasms released this energy, and that releasing this energy prevented or fought cancer cells. His research was not verified, however, i have found reports that some of his findings were replicated. I read a book about him decades ago, was convinced he was brilliant, but also psychotic. Then again, there may be a fine line between being truly brilliant and being psychotic. I am still working on this. I am neither brilliant nor psychotic. But I am once again interested in Dr. Reich and want to read more about him. Alot more. i will keep my followers informed (as if anyone reads this stuff i write).

woody allen included an "Orgasmetron" in his futuristic movie Sleeper. It gave people orgasms. It eliminated the need for sex between (or among) humans. of course, woody allen as the robot had to have the orgasmetron for himself, and in doing so, gave himself away (he was obviously not a robot if he was enjoying the orgasmetron).

My new car, or Escalade Snow Plow

After the big snow storm, i decided i needed a big car or truck with a plow, so i bought this Escalade with a snow plow. Some crazy guy with a knife was driving it, said he was looking for Twinkies. What a nut. I bought it for a good price. Strange, though, it had some blood and guts on it, the guy said it he had been deerhuntin' and it got messy. anyhow, i am now ready for the next big snow.

I am not rich, the world is poor

How rich are you?

I am in the top .62% percentile. that means I am richer than 99.38% of the world.

What this shows is how POOR the world is.

1/3 of all humans do not have access to potable water, water they can drink.

48% of all humans live on less than $2 a day.

At least 1/3 of all families in my county of USA (Butler County, PA) are poor or working poor. Probably more now that we are in recession.

Dahntahn song about Pittsburgh

Dahntahn, video about the burgh. BTW, Shadyside chicks ARE NOT fat, thats mean.

BTW, a Samich at Primanni's will make a shadyside girl fat, unless its eaten in moderation.

The Last Picture Show

I watched Last Picture Show on netflix view now. My favorite part, read below - makes me cry every time.

"Nothing's really been right since Sam the Lion's died."

"I get sad if I think of Sam for long."

"If it wasn't for Sam, I would have just about ruined it."

Beautiful, sad movie. Great soundtrack.
see this link for more about movie, longer script quotes.

John Kerry eaten by sharks while windsurfing in Florida

First of all, John Kerry wind surfing probably cost him the 2004 election: John Kerry on a Harley would have been better (he is harley enthusiast, he would ask the police patrol escort if he could drive their harleys around the airport before the convoy to his hotel would start) or him huntin' deer would have been better (he is the only Presidential candidate to have actually killed an enemy soldier with a automatic rifle in combat.

anywho, a surfer in florida was killed by a shark, or by sharks. That is tragic. But he was 1500 ft off shore, windsurfing, and he is in an ocean full of predators.

Sharks are not lovable creatures, they are prehistoric eating machines, they exist to eat. When you are on the ocean, you are taking your life in your hands, you need to be careful, cautious, being on the ocean is very serious business. I think sharks are beautiful creatures, but they are eating machines, and we are their prey. So watch the f* out.

Toyotas are great cars - WTF is going on media?

Toyotas are a great car, always have been. the ones from the 1970's are classic, small, fun to drive, inexpensive, bullet proof (the old ones weren't rust proof thought). The current "brake" problem is weird: gas pedals sticking to the floor mat? Someone needs to buy a better floor mat. the ones from the factory are anchored to the floor, they dont move, dont get caught up on gas pedal. now i hear that software problems exist in ABS system: no, i dont think so. the ABS on my Yaris kicks in when the tires lose traction. Yes, there is a split second when the ABS kicks in, but it kicks in for better traction, better braking. thats how ABS works. I think Toyota has a media and perception problem, not a real mechanical problem. The cable news celebrity wanna-bes have not investigated this, they only report on the pile on of Toyota - GM would have gone broke if not for the taxpayers loans (which are in process of being paid off BTW) so lets pile on a successful non American car makes, Toyota. Jesus.

There is no brake problem, just the perception of a brake problem. Our journalists suck, I am a journalism minor, know how to write, how to investigate a story, and Katie Kuric and her ilk provide horrible news coverage, and this phoney Toyota issue is onw example.

Eddie Izzard raises donations by running his arse off

Eddie Izzard ran around Great Britain and raised 200,000 pounds for Sport Relief. he ran 1,100 miles in 51 days, or about 43 marathons in 51 days.

Good sport, Eddie. Fantastic achievement.

Casper the bus riding cat dead

Oh the humanity....seriously, Caspter the cat who rode buses in southwestern england was run over. the bus drivers knew which stops to let him off, the passengers loved him. funny how we become so attached to animals. I was disappointed to hear of this. The same day, 35 dead in Baghdad from timed bombs, obviously well planned, but I didnt read about this because it was too depressing.

My new Car !

Yes, a GAZ Volga, fresh off the Russian assembly line. I cant wait to receive it, it is now on a tramp freighter leaving St. Petersburg, should arrive in Houston TX in about 3 months, if the boat doesnt sink first. I like the styling, esp the straight axle rear end with stagecoach springs (abandoned even by pickup trucks in the US, finally). the color is ok. do you think they have an external jack for my ipod, or just a standard shortwave radio? The ethnic eastern european immigrant women in pittsburgh will be impressed by elegant new ride.

seriously, what are they thinking?

Cats are superior in evolution to "H.Sapiens"

My cat, Dolce, always teases me about his evolutionary superiority, how he has me feeding him, cleaning his kitty litter, how well trained he has me. Here is more proof about the long lineage and great genes of cats:


Archaeologists have unearthed a 2,000-year-old temple that may have been dedicated to the ancient Egyptian cat goddess, Bastet, the Supreme Council of Antiquities said Tuesday.

The ruins of the Ptolemaic-era temple were discovered by Egyptian archaeologists in the heart of the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great in the 4th century B.C.

The city was the seat of the Greek-speaking Ptolemaic Dynasty, which ruled over Egypt for 300 years until the suicide of Queen Cleopatra.

The statement said the temple was thought to belong to Queen Berenice, wife of King Ptolemy III who ruled Egypt in the 3rd century B.C.

GM about to kill SAAB

how could SAAB not sell with quality cars such as this? or this, the special camper edition?

Why Haiti is poor, and why Pat Robertson is an idiot

In the book shown the argument is that Haiti and the Dominican Republic have different histories of settlement, that Haiti was settled by France, a slave colony, became over populated, destroyed natural resources, while Dominican Republic settled by Spain, more European settlement, no slavery, and although it had a dictatorship in 20th century the dictator nonetheless preserved natural resources, like trees, rivers.

so, two countries, divided by mountains, two different histories, two different natural environments, and one overpopulated by poor illiterate people.

The solution: too many people on Haiti. Take at least half of them off. Send them somewhere (the moon?) recover the natural environment (would take about 50 years) import European-North Americans who are familiar with democratic institutions (like israel has done) and rely upon lots of private sector financial resources (wealthy people, charities, western nations) and then haiti has a chance.

Unrealistic? of course. but that is the solution. Haiti is hell on earth, people created it (French), people ruined that part of the island, much of it has to do with Slavery, which Abraham Lincoln (see the 2nd inaugural address) said was a national sin that deserves God's wrath.

So pat robertson not only is an idiot, he also doesnt know history - you know, he COULD go to a library and read a book, like the one shown above, but NOOOOOOO.

Matt Lauer is an idiot

Matt Lauer attended Ohio University, was 6 credits short of graduation, his major is unclear but he was in the Telecommunications dept (TV i guess). He is listed as a "journalist" but got his start as a TV producer in Huntingdon WV and as a TV reporter in that city. He also had a talk show in NYC, and was news anchor in NYC. He is co host of Today Show. He is one of those TV "news celebrities" who think they are journalists, but are not (like Katie Couric, who asked Sarah Palin about the magazines she reads, like since she is a woman she reads Womans Day or something like that, who the hell reads "magazines" anymore? what a dumb question, even I would be speechless at a question like that). Any who, Matt Lauer and John Mc Cain went at it earlier today and McCain wanted to talk about war and the economy, and Lauer wanted to talk about the latest gossip political book and you can see it at the previous link. McCain answered Lauer's questions 3-4 times, and Lauer keeps asking the same shit. The idea is to create controversy, to create news, not to report on it. Lauer is vaccuous, BTW, he received his degree from Ohio Univ 20 yrs later, when he was commencement speaker, and the univ considered his TV jobs as experience for the 6 credits he was short. what an asshole.

IRMA SONNENBERG MENKEL dies: was with Anne Frank in Bergen Belsen

The holocaust survivor who was "in charge" of Anne Frank's barracks dies. Perhaps they are together again, only this time in a paradise (its a nice thought). Her story is so very sad.

One of the children in my barracks toward the end of the war was Anne Frank, whose diary became famous after her death. I didn't know her family beforehand, and I don't recall much about her, but I do remember her as a quiet child. When I heard later that she was 15 when she was in the camps, I was surprised. She seemed younger to me. Pen and paper were hard to find, but I have a memory of her writing a bit. Typhus was a terrible problem, especially for the children. Of 500 in my barracks, maybe 100 got it, and most of them died. Many others starved to death. When Anne Frank got sick with typhus, I remember telling her she could stay in the barracks - she didn't have to go to roll call.

There was so little to eat. In my early days there, we were each given one roll of bread for eight days, and we tore it up, piece by piece. One cup of black coffee a day and one cup of soup. And water. That was all. Later there was even less. When I asked the commandant for a little bit of gruel for the children's diet, he would sometimes give me some extra cereal. Anne Frank was among those who asked for cereal, but how could I find cereal for her? It was only for the little children, and only a little bit. The children died anyway. A couple of trained nurses were among the inmates, and they reported to me. In the evening, we tried to help the sickest. In the morning, it was part of my job to tell the soldiers how many had died the night before. Then they would throw the bodies on the fire.

I have a dim memory of Anne Frank speaking of her father. She was a nice, fine person. She would say to me, "Irma, I am very sick." I said, "No, you are not so sick." She wanted to be reassured that she wasn't. When she slipped into a coma, I took her in my arms. She didn't know that she was dying. She didn't know that she was so sick. You never know. At Bergen-Belsen, you did not have feelings anymore. You became paralyzed. In all the years since, I almost never talked about Bergen-Belsen. I couldn't. It was too much.

I was caught jogging in DC !

WASHINGTON - A man was taken into custody and later hospitalized for a mental evaluation after he took off his clothes and began a jog a few blocks from the White House.

The man was seen taking off his clothes Wednesday evening around 5 p.m. He left the clothes near the northeast corner of the Ellipse, the green space south of the White House.

Secret Service spokesman Darrin Blackford says the run lasted less than a minute before the man was apprehended. The president was at home at the time. But Blackford says the man, who left his clothing in a duffel bag, did not make any threats. His bag was declared suspicious, but its contents were found to be harmless.

the mental eval concluded i was delusional, however, that is perfectly normal for a college professor, so they released me. fully clothed, of course.

Just in time for Christmas: The FU guy on Letterman

This sums up my feelings about Christmas, the FU guy on letterman. Also here again.

I just never tire or seeing that guy perform. Great.

These two guys and Santa make three

Buttenmandl and Krampusse traditionally accompany Santa Claus (St. Nick) on his visits to homes across central Europe. This I like. These guys really capture what Christmas means to me. Can you see these guys with Santa at the mall? Kids crying because they want to see santa but his helpers scare them? From now on, I think Buttenmandl and Krampusse should ALWAYS be seen with Santa.

Cheney for President 2012, a man of convictions

Here is Jon Meacham writing an op piece for Newsweek, "Gallup is not asking about him in its prospective polling, and his daughter Liz's recent Fox News Sunday allusion to a presidential run provoked good-natured laughter, as though the suggestion were just a one-liner. Float the hypothetical in political conversation, and people roll their eyes dismissively.

But I think we should be taking the possibility of a Dick Cheney bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 more seriously, for a run would be good for the Republicans and good for the country. (The sound you just heard in the background was liberal readers spitting out their lattes.)

Why? Because Cheney is a man of conviction, has a record on which he can be judged, and whatever the result, there could be no ambiguity about the will of the people."

I disagree, Cheney is a man who SHOULD BE CONVICTED. Those thinking of a cheney run for President should read this article about Angolagate, guns for oil deal in which the french, the israelis, the russians, and the US were involved. The source is a very liberal paper, however, I think they have the cast of suspects correct. Dick Cheney and Halliburton and KBR are involved, as is Condi Rice (who served on board of Chevron, oil company, which also named a supertanker after Rice, since renamed). long and short of it, back stabbing the government of the Angolan leader (Reagan called him the George Washington of free Africa) and instead giving guns, money to his opponent, all in the name of oil contracts. thus, guns for oil. Also, blood diamonds are thrown in too. So we have guns, diamonds and oil contracts. cheney and Rice were involved, this is a major political scandal in France, no mention of it here in US (so much for free press, investigative journalism, Ha!). First, I believe Cheney is the source of the bs yellow cake Saddam was seeking in Africa, never happened, he set up Sec of State Powell to make a fool of himself in UN; second, cheney is figure in guns diamonds for oil scandal in Angola; third, cheney is source of leak in the Joe Wilson affair outing wilson's wife Valerie Plame as a CIA agent. All of these must have been impeachable offenses while cheney was VP, in two of the cases, outright treason.

Heres another piece on cheney from CorpWatch, calling cheney the benchmark for the "revolving door" of Washington DC:
Vice-president Dick Cheney has brought new meaning to the term "revolving door" says Bill Hartung, senior research fellow at the World Policy Institute in New York. His easy transition from the army to private industry and then to the White House has earned him millions, Dallas-based Halliburton billions.

Cheney made a fortune in the oil industry when he took over as chief executive of Halliburton, the world's largest oil services company in 1995. In 1998 he took home $4.4 million in salary and benefits and in 1999 he was paid $1.92 million, according to the company's own financial reports. In May 2000 he cashed in 100,000 Halliburton shares to net another $5.1 million and then sold the rest of his shares in August 2000 for $18.5 million, adding up to a total of almost $30 million in just two years, a fortune for a man with no previous experience in running a company, let alone an oil multinational.

Well, Cheney comes with even better qualifications; he was Secretary of Defense during the Gulf War and worked in the Washington scene for 25 years before he took the job with Halliburton. He brought with him a trusty Rolodex and his former chief of staff, David Gribbin, whom he appointed as chief lobbyist. In the last two years the pair of them notched up $1.5 billion dollars in federal loans and insurance subsidies compared to the paltry $100 million that the company received in the five years prior to Cheney's arrival.

The federal subsidies supported Halliburton's oil services contracts in Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh and Russia. In addition the company garnered $2.3 billion in U.S. government contracts in that time, or almost double the $1.2 billion it earned from the government in the five years before he arrived.

Most of the contracts have been with the U.S. Army for engineering work in a variety of hot spots, including Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and Haiti. Not surprisingly all this work stems from a new scheme to privatize operations of the U.S. military that were drawn up by Halliburton itself under contract to Cheney in 1992.

Today the company is working on major contracts to build oil infrastructure in Brazil and Nigeria for companies like Chevron, Petrobras and Shell. And Cheney also oversaw the company's merger with Dresser Industries, one of the companies that helped Saddam Hussein rebuild Iraq's oil infrastructure after the Gulf war despite the fact that Cheney was one of the architects of the economic sanctions against Iraq. Under his leadership, Halliburton used two foreign subsidiaries to do $23 million worth of business with Iraq, more than any other U.S. company.

Get that? Cheney wanted sanctions against Iraq while Sec of Defense, paid Halliburton to conduct a study of contracting out with the Army, then became CEO of Halliburton after leaving office, obtained $1.5 billion in contracts and loans for Halliburton , also negotiated contracts with Iraq to rebuild oil infrastructure after the gulf war, of which he was a key architect. Whats that expression? Heaven doesnt want him and hell's afraid he'll take over?

Cheney for President in 2012 would divide the country, he didnt get any pardon in advance upon leaving office, I dont understand why he isnt charged with something right now. Probably Obama is afraid of Cheney's friends, opening up a can of worms about US policy toward Angola, who knows how many democrats were in on these deals?

jesus on a toaster

I think she should sell it on ebay.....you can make your own burned celebrity toast here for the original virgin mary on grilled cheese, check out this site, it has everything anyone could imagine about Mary and grilled cheese sandwiches. and yes, I know i am going to hell for posting this.

Is Dwarf tossing a sport?

in a word game, we were competing with naming sports, and I said "dwarf tossing." Outrage occurred. How disgusting ! There is no such sport as dwarf tossing ! Ah ha. but yes, there is.

Stompin' Tom Connors

Almost every multiple choice test has question with one of the possible answers, "Stompin' Tom Connors." for the record, this is Stompin' Tom Connors, a popular Canadian folk singer. yes, he stomps, an old canadian tradition.

And Stompin' Tom Connors is NEVER the correct answer.

Women steal 9 yr old girls birthday gift card - public humiliation

I read this story, thought at first, how pathetic,stealing a 9 yr old's birthday gift card at Walmart. Then I looked where it happened: Bedford, PA. Why would they do this? Desperate? The poverty and near poverty rate (up to 200% over the poverty rate, the "working poor") is at least 1/3 of every rural county in pennsylvania, including my county, Butler County, which includes Slippery Rock Univ an institution that pays good professor salaries. That means Bedford must have more than 1/3 poor or working poor, I bet approaching 50%. What leads people to steal at a Walmart? Drugs - I dont know, stealing gift cards and shop lifting cant get you much drug money, unless you shoplift and then try to return purchases for cash. Stealing a girl's birthday gift card? No, I think poverty. Being dirt poor, having no hope, living in Bedford country, looking for a steady job, a full time job, with benefits, above minimum wage. Thats very hard. So these two women were humiliated for 4 1/2 hrs, instead of GOING TO PRISON. And the congressional bastards who take trips to Europe for "fact finding missions" and charge the american taxpayers arent also crooks. another estimate just released: 50% of all current children will be fed from food stamps at some time during their childhood. I think the Judge in this case is nuts: should have told the women to repay the child, apologize, and then get them set up for social services - do these women get food stamps? WIC coupons? housing vouchers? TANF payments? Are they disabled? so much is left out of this story. What happened to investigative journalism?

BEDFORD, Pa. -- A woman and her daughter are outside the Bedford County Courthouse holding signs saying they stole a gift card from a 9-year-old girl on her birthday.

Bedford County District Attorney Bill Higgins says in exchange for 56-year-old Evelyn Border and 35-year-old Tina Griekspoor, both of Bedford, agreeing to hold the signs, he'll ask for probation instead of jail when they plead guilty.

The signs read: "I stole from a 9-year-old girl on her birthday! Don't steal or this could happen to you!" The mother and daughter were to be outside the court for 4 1/2 hours, until 1:30 p.m.

Mr. Higgins says they swiped a gift card which the girl set on a shelf while a Wal-Mart employee helped her.

The girl's mother planned to drive by the courthouse to teach her daughter the importance of obeying the law.

Liberals oppose Cape Cod Wind Farm

Opponents of wind farm on Cape Cod include environmental groups, a native American tribe and the Kennedy family. Look, if you are going to be liberal and are concerned about global warming, then NIMBY is self defeating and down right phoney (Not In My Back Yard). I think wind farms are way cool, look great, and i am constantly reminded about how much energy they are producing that doesnt involve oil from the GD middle east or from coal. And its renewable. yes, wind farms kill birds, thats a major problem, so lets fix that. there must be a way to keep birds away from wind farms - on SRU campus, we keep pigeons away from ball park by broadcasting calling sounds of birds of prey (yes, it is spooky, hearing hawks and eagles screech and not seeing anything, but pigeons and ball parks don't mix).

Instead of drill baby drill, lets blow baby blow. Lets also have more solar farms, and start developing wave farms. Lets eliminate our reliance on middle east oil, and then work on eliminating reliance on all non renewable energy.

Pittsburgh Philharmonic and Jean-Yves Thibaudet

Following an absolutely remarkable preformance by Monsieur Thibaudet on piano, the packed audience in Heinz Hall gave him a standing ovation, he came out repeatedly, finally sat down to play an encore. As the orchestra sat and waited, along with the audience, Jean-Yves thought for a few seconds, then said, ah yes, Chopin's Waltz in D minor. What else? What could a pianist play for an encore after so many ovations than a Chopin piece. The moment was so incredible, In political film, I try to explain why Chopin is played throughout the movie The Pianist, about Chopin's music, the emotion, the beauty, the heartbreak it captures. What else could accompany a film by Roman Polanski about his memories of the holocaust as a young boy?

So yes, jean-yves had to play Chopin, and he was amazing.

The performance after intermission was Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, written while he was high on opium. What? yes. Carlos Santana dropped acid and then was told he had to go out and perform at Woodstock (oops, bad timing) and Berlioz got high on opium and wrote his first symphony. It was great, the sheer number of bass violins, violas, tympany, large drums, and tubas suggested a loud and full range piece. We werent disappointed. What i liked was the second Tuba player, he had to wait until the last movement, final part, to finally play. It was worth the wait, the Tubas were important, including his part. Great performance.

"A Serious Man" new film by Ethan and Joel Coen

If you know me, you realize I am a big Joel and Ethan Coen film fan, or else you're obviously not a golfer, man. I absolutely had to see this film, tried to go thursday night but noooooo i had to do the Afghanistan program. The film was very cathartic. I understood what Larry Gopnick was going through, with all of the disasters and expectations thrown on him (at least I havent yet had to hold a Mishnah for my ex wife's dead lover) and the dreams that made him wake up screaming at night (I dont have those anymore). The humor was incredible, and the symbolism/metaphors were not all that subtle (Dr. Gopnick is a physics professor at one point explaining Heisenberg's uncertainty principle mathematically, as fast as possible, to an auditorium full of overwhelmed students, funny to rush through a presentation on uncertainty, then he says, "You probably will not understand this but you still need to know this for the mid term" - great metaphor ) (Gopnick is constantly trying to adjust the TV roof antenna for channel 4 so his son could watch F Troop, bad reception, life depends upon reception, all for a mindless or meaningless messages - F Troop as a metaphor for our meaningless existence) (the film starts with his wife complaining about his impotence, that Larry manages to get out of bed in the morning is itself amazing) and the Rabbi's who had no answer (except the last one who spoke to his son, from the Jefferson Airplane classic song: "When the truth is found, to be lies. And all the joy within you dies...what you gonna do then?"). But the ending was a shocker. Not funny. Really hard to be a human being on this planet. Funny funny film, until the end. nothing funny about that.

I think in many ways this is the Coen brothers best film. Profoundly spiritual (the old jewish dilemma, "why do the wicked prosper?") profoundly philosophical (our understanding of the world is dependent upon our perception) and dead-on existential. I really, really liked that ending.