Saturday, January 15, 2005

Looking For a Career Kids? Try Stripping

A big bust helps…

"Students at a Palo Alto middle school learned more than school officials ever expected when a recent “career day” speaker extolled the merits of stripping and expounded on the financial benefits of a larger bust.”

“...He told the students, “For every two inches up there, it’s another $50, 000,” according to Jason Garcia, 14."

But don’t do cartwheels on the playground.

“Bump, grind your way to riches, students told"

Posted by John Venlet on 01/15 at 07:49 AM
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Calling Solomon

Desperation for a child…

"The infant dubbed “Baby 81” nurses from a bottle of milk and kicks playfully at a pink blanket as nine desperate, heartbroken women quarrel over him - all claiming he was torn from them by the tsunami.

One man standing outside the nursery at Kalmunai Base Hospital threatened to kill himself and his wife if they are not given the baby. A woman at the hospital said she would kill the doctors unless she gets him."

“9 desperate woman fighting for tsunami-survivor ‘Baby 81’"

Posted by John Venlet on 01/15 at 07:26 AM
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Friday, January 14, 2005

"Feeling lucky, Punk?"

Tax free and no questions asked?...

"Colombia on Wednesday invited the world’s bounty hunters to scour its jungles and mountains and drag back rebel chiefs in return for cash rewards."

“Earn Easy Cash in Your Spare Time..."

Posted by John Venlet on 01/14 at 05:12 AM
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It Goes Deeper Than That

Not just a dumbass, ignorant, too…

Reportedly, individuals around the world are up in arms over Prince (dumbass) Harry and his choice of Nazi attire for a private costume party he recently attended.  Jewish individuals have condemned Harry, as well they should.  Supposedly, Prince Charles was "incandescent with rage," and calls for a proper apology are certainly ringing in Prince Harry’s ears from all the compass points.  Well, except for the Mideast.

Articles, today, note that Harry will make a visit to Poland, as penance, to view first hand, what remains of the horrors which the Nazis visited upon the Jewish people.  This is all well and good, as Harry’s display demonstrated a real lack of understanding of what bastards the Nazis were, and still are, actually, as there are still in this day and age Nazis running around various parts of the world.  And I don’t mean just old Nazis from the days of Hitler.

But this whole brouhaha over Prince Harry is simply a masking of deeper problems, the problems of historical ignorance and moral relativism.  It is also a condemnation of those who purportedly write and teach history. 

Are the evils which the Nazis and Fascism visited upon the world glossed over when brought to children’s minds due to the moral relativism which has draped itself over current thought?  Is only victory over the Germans being taught in schools, and the moral evils of Nazism and Fascism ignored, much like the evils of Socialism are ignored when individuals look at the history of Russia?

As a friend stated in a post on another subject, instead of teaching hand wringing over history to our children, quite possibly we should be teaching them how to "cultivate their contempt." No costume required.

Posted by John Venlet on 01/14 at 04:29 AM
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Thursday, January 13, 2005

Anthropological Meltdown

That didn’t take long…

The advance of civilization, wrapped in the embracing arms of the State, can quickly reduce a hardy society, to a society of alms beggars.

"Electricity was restored to most homes in an Arctic village Wednesday, four days after the community lost power in a fierce blizzard and was thrown into a deep freeze."

"Power Back on for Most in Arctic Village"

Posted by John Venlet on 01/13 at 04:50 AM
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Rivers of Rhetoric, Rivulets of Reality

Hip waders will suffice…

Calvin College, a local, Grand Rapids, Michigan college associated with the Christian Reformed Church, has been hosting The January Series, which is described this way.

"For 15 days in January, you are invited to join in the excitement of the award-winning January Series with its world of ideas, beliefs, and theories presented in internationally-renowned presenters. Calvin College, as a distinctively Christian, academically excellent liberal arts college, strives to shape minds for participation in the renewal of all things. We invite you to join us to question, evaluate, and reflect on current topics affecting our world."

I haven’t attended any of the lectures, though I do attempt to stay on top of what is being discussed.  The most recent speaker was the Rev. Eugene Rivers, and his presentation covered the topic of homosexuality.  Here’s a few things he had to say.

"On Tuesday, he said those favoring equal rights for homosexuals have skillfully cloaked themselves in the rhetoric of the civil rights movement in a clever attempt to draw broader numbers to their cause."

Followed by this.

"As an exercise in marketing and merchandising, this strategy is the most brilliant playing of the race card in recent memory,” Rivers said. “Not since the poverty pimps of 35 years ago who leveraged the guilt and sense of fair play of the average American to hustle affirmative action set-asides have we witnessed so brazen a misuse of African American history for partisan purposes."

He also had this to say.

"Frequently same-sex couples wanting to marry are white lesbians who seek the accouterments of family life and the proverbial white picket fence without the benefit of a father for the children,” Rivers said. “From their positions of socio-economic privilege, they insist that their desires must be viewed as rights instead of preferences."

I’m fairly certain Rivers comments will ruffle some feathers, or boas, as the case may be.

"Activist says gays steal civil rights rhetoric"

Posted by John Venlet on 01/13 at 04:17 AM
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Wednesday, January 12, 2005

False Headlines

Drawing you in with lies…

The headline.

“U.S. Sends BA Flight Back to Britain."

From the body of the linked article.

"The plane was diverted back to London following a request from the U.S. authorities about a passenger they did not want to disembark,” the BA spokeswoman said.

The U.S. official said the United States requested the flight be diverted to Bangor, Maine, but British Airways asked for permission to return to London."

It figures that the story was filed by Reuters.

Posted by John Venlet on 01/12 at 01:41 PM
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Waa, Waa, Waa

Crying wolf to the wolves…

"Did you hear the one about the two guys arrested for telling lawyer jokes?

It happened this week to the founders of a group called Americans for Legal Reform, who were waiting in line to get into a Long Island courthouse.”

...a lawyer farther up the line Monday was not laughing.

He told them to pipe down, and when they did not, the lawyer reported the pair to court personnel, who charged them with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.

Fricking crybabies.

“Tell a lawyer joke, go to jail?"

Posted by John Venlet on 01/12 at 01:27 PM
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To Protect and Enslave

License, registration, proof of insurance, and your fingerprint, citizen…

The city of Green Bay, Wisconsin is implementing fingerprinting during traffic stops, for your protection of course, citizen.

"Police say it’s meant to protect you—in case the person they’re citing isn’t who they claim to be. But not everyone is sold on that explanation."

Include me in the “not everyone is sold” category.

“Police Begin Fingerprinting on Traffic Stops"

Via Billy Beck in a post titled “No Concept."

Posted by John Venlet on 01/12 at 04:55 AM
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Trite, Now?

California dreaming…

After the tsunami, the following headline almost seems trite.

“Death Toll Rises to 6 in Calif. Mudslide"

I would imagine that many in the world are ho, humming over that one and use of words such as “desperate,” “painstaking search,” and “four days of death and destruction.”

Via Google News.

Posted by John Venlet on 01/12 at 04:39 AM
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USS SAN FRANCISCO (SSN711) - UPDATE

High speed, uncharted underwater mountains, and submarines don’t mix…

The New York Times is reporting that the intensity of the underwater collision between the USS SAN FRANCISCO, and an uncharted undersea object, was more severe than originally reported, after obtaining emails sent by Rear Adm. Paul F. Sullivan, the commander of submarines in the Pacific. 

The number of injured crewmen was also underreported.  Almost half of the crew suffered some type of injury (60 of 137 crewmembers), and I would say that the entire crew is fortunate that they are not entombed in the boat on the bottom of the sea.

The NYT’s article also reports that the sub was traveling at a speed of approximately 30 knots, that’s “All Ahead Flank” in submarine parlance, which would not be unusual considering the sub was supposed to be in transit to Australia.

I’ve been in a couple, few, unusual underwater incidents during my time in the sub service, and I can appreciate the severity of just such a collision at “Flank” speed, and potential for total disaster, which this incident narrowly averted.

“E-Mail Shows Toll of Crash on Submarine and Sailors"

Posted by John Venlet on 01/12 at 04:20 AM
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Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Dubious World Record

Drink, drink, drink…

"This incident became the first occurrence of the kind, which has ever been registered in medical practice. An individual usually suffers from vomiting after drinking too much alcohol - this physiological reaction occurs on the level of 1.2 pro mil of blood-alcohol content. A loss of consciousness takes place on the level of 3 pro mil, whereas a lethal outcome occurs on the level of 4 pro mil, when a person stops breathing and dies.

A male resident of Bulgaria from the town of Plovdiv hit all world records on the blood-alcohol level and stayed alive. Doctors determined that the man had drunk 9.14 pro mil of alcohol, the Standard Bulgarian newspaper wrote. Bulgarian medics came across such an enduring man by accident."

“Man stays alive after drinking two liters of vodka"

Za Zdrovia.

Posted by John Venlet on 01/11 at 05:37 AM
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Chain Gang?

Merely a reader of other’s words…

Is Dan Rather a reporter, or simply a spewer of words?

John T. Kennedy, in a post at No Treason, titled “What’s Wrong With This Chart?" has this to say about the CBS firings.

"I compared the organizational chart given on page 36 of the CBS report on Rathergate with a list of the firings. Look at this direct chain of command:"

Go take a look at the chart.

John’s conclusion sums up the firings in a manner which can be understood by a child.

One of these things is not like the others,
four of these things are kind of the same.
One of these things is a network brand,
tell me, can you guess his name?

Heads have rolled, except the one that talks.

Posted by John Venlet on 01/11 at 05:11 AM
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Flu Shot Hysteria

Conjuring up demand…

Recall, if you will, in the later part of 2004, the supposed impending doom awaiting us all due to a shortage of flu vaccine.  A hysteria seemingly born and bred in the MSM, rather than by the man on the street clamoring for a shot, though the MSM did supply us with a plethora of photos showing the man in the street waiting in line for the “limited” supply of flu shots.

Granted, a flu outbreak could have terrible implications, if a particularly viral strain raised its head, but is the hue and cry for the flu shot more a government and MSM created demand, rather than a necessity for the man on the street?

After reading this article, in USA Today, titled “‘Nothing easy’ in flu season,” I’d state that the flu shot hysteria was just that, hysteria bred in the MSM with the assistance of the government drum beaters, as evidenced by this quote from the linked article.

"Yet now, health officials in many states worry that they will be left with unused shots."
Posted by John Venlet on 01/11 at 04:38 AM
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Monday, January 10, 2005

Now That's A Cigar

Smoke’em if you’ve got’em…

"A cigar maker in Puerto Rico has hand-rolled a 62-foot-long stogie, which would be the world’s largest if confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records."

Yeah, but is there a humidor large enough to age it properly?

“62-Foot Stogie Rolled in Puerto Rico"

And I used to think the Fuente Canones was a big cigar.

Via Gary Cruse.

Posted by John Venlet on 01/10 at 02:53 PM
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