News from the Owl Post

Going veg is a great way to halt global warming

2007-02-07T11:31:00.000-05:00

AlterNet has recently published an article entitled, "Vegetarian is the New Prius", written by Kathy Freston. Although none of the information is new, I still recommend reading it.

I've been a vegetarian for around six years, and vegan since June. Mainly I chose this path for moral reasons; I feel that specieism (sp?) is just as wrong as any other form of prejudice. However, I knew that wasn't the only argument one could make for veganism. One of those other reasons is almost as important as the morality argument; our planet.

A paragraph from the AlterNet post sums it up nicely:

...the University of Chicago... noted that feeding animals for meat, dairy, and egg production requires growing some ten times as much crops as we'd need if we just ate pasta primavera, faux chicken nuggets, and other plant foods. On top of that, we have transport the animals to slaughterhouses, slaughter them, refrigerate their carcasses, and distribute their flesh all across the country. Producing a calorie of meat protein means burning more than ten times as much fossil fuels -- and spewing more than ten times as much heat-trapping carbon dioxide -- as does a calorie of plant protein. The researchers found that, when it's all added up, the average American does more to reduce global warming emissions by going vegetarian than by switching to a Prius.

I think a great resource for this wealth of information is Factoryfarming.com. Please take some time to read through it.

AlterNet's "Vegetarian Is The New Prius"

Bill O'Reily hates America and is a loon

2007-02-03T14:18:00.000-05:00

Below is a video from YouTube containing a segment where Bill O'Reily interviews Jim Fetzer, part of Scholars for 9/11 Truth.

Unbelievably, there are people who are hailing this video as proof that the theories put forth by the 9/11 Truth Movement can't hold up. What the hell? If anything, the only thing this video proves is that the media won't cover the story because they're too busy brainwashing it's viewers. The reason Mr. Fetzer can't provide any evidence during this taping is because O'Reily didn't give him a chance to. He was much to busy yelling "You hate America" repeatedly.

At one point toward the end of the video, O'Reily says "Number one, you hate your country; and number two, you're a loon." I disagree. It is in fact Bill O'Reily who hates this country; he represents the American media. The American media that refuse to provide unbiased and important news stories to the citizens to whom it concerns. The American media that makes up stories, cover-up legitimate stories that disagree with their particular angle, and uses propaganda that could rival the best Orwellian world.

There's a very real reason so many people despise America. It's because this garbage is what they see; it's because powerful Americans deny reality; it's because powerful Americans don't give a damn about the common people. I'm ashamed of this country and everyone who runs it.

One frame can say it all

2007-02-03T08:53:00.000-05:00

link

The Strokes' "Juicebox"

2007-02-03T08:34:00.000-05:00

I've never been a big Strokes fan, but this song grew on me.

Daily Show vs. FOX News

2007-02-01T22:09:00.000-05:00

Bush quotes of the day

2007-02-01T21:51:00.000-05:00

"I think that the Vice President is a person reflecting a 'half-glass-full' mentality."

"All timetables embolden the enemy."

Heard here:
Crooks and Liars

Cigarette ban a good thing

2007-02-01T20:32:00.000-05:00

Al Jazeera

France has outlawed smoking in public places like schools and hospitals. According to this article from Al Jezeera, "there has been no sign of any widespread revolt".

I don't have a problem with people smoking. In private. Personally, I don't give a damn if people want to do harmful things to their bodies. I just don't want those things to harm me as well. Secondhand smoke kills 53,800 people every year. So a law that reduced that number is just.

France isn't the first country to put this law into practice, and I'm sure it won't be the last. I doubt that America will follow anytime soon, but we can always hope.

"Patrick Leahy slams Gonzales"

2007-01-31T08:02:00.000-05:00

From AlterNet

The video is a little long, but you won't regret it.

The 10 Most Puzzling Ancient Artifacts

2007-01-30T14:17:00.000-05:00

Another winner from StumbleUpon.

This wonderful list covers 10 baffling historical artifacts that are completely shrouded in mystery. One of these, the "Dropa Stones", are particularly interesting since they allegedly tell of an alien species crash landing in the mountains of China. However, as this Wikipedia article states, "There is absolutely no precedent for a completely unknown language being successfully deciphered."

The 10 Most Puzzling Ancient Artifacts

So Cruel

2007-01-26T15:37:00.000-05:00

I would never force my precious cats into this machine. It's disgusting how people can treat animals like objects.

Oops

2007-01-26T15:02:00.000-05:00

I feel as though I've been neglecting this blog lately. So from this day forward I'll be posting at least once a day. And if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to share them in the comments.

I recently had to reboot my laptop, which actually was a bit more fun than I'd imagined. I had to do it once almost exactly one year ago because it crashed, but this time I did it just because my computer had begun pissing me off. Part of it was my fault; in an attempt to uninstall Windows Messenger I'd uninstalled all of the Windows components. The other part was that I was constantly getting error messages. So I backed up all my data and fixed it up. When it was done I had that feeling of owning a brand new shiny computer, despite the fingerprints on the screen. Best part: Before I rebooted, I had only 15 GB left; now, 40. I can't believe how much junk I'd had installed that I never used.

I've also decided to minimize my (online) life a little. It takes almost two hours every morning to check my email, read my blogs, and check various forums I'm a member of. I'm still subscribed to a lot of blogs, mainly because that's where I get all of my news from, but the number is down quite a bit. And I did the MySpace clean-out. You know, delete a bunch of people, unsubscribe for boring blogs, and resign from many, many groups.

If anyone knows of any other ways to minimize (and in the process enhance) my internet life, post freely in the comments.

The Mighty Ninja

2007-01-26T14:57:00.000-05:00

Howstuffworks has a great article on Ninjas. It's not very long, but it is very good and insightful. It covers everything from the not-so-Hollywood beginnings to their weaponry and even to modern Ninja-infiltrated movies. Read the article here.

Prejudice Against Germany

2007-01-20T15:28:00.000-05:00

I actually wrote this as a forum post, but I decided to repost it here.

I just finished a very good article in the August '06 issue of BBC History (I know, I'm a little behind, lol) about "the way in which football illuminates the historical development of Germany's relationship with England". Here's an excerpt:

"The Second World War ended over 60 years ago. And yet, despite the emphasis placed by the British and German governments upon the excellent state of their relationship - meeting at Berlin in February 2006 Tony Blair and Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, reaffirmed the point - the two countries have yet to learn to live comfortably together at all levels of society. A substantial gap remains between a predominantly harmonious official bilateral relationship and a frequently hostile British media discourse focused upon a Germany that no longer exists. Certainly, football's role in mirroring, influencing and articulating British perceptions of Germany, at least at the popular and media level, should never be underestimated. In fact, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is currently exploiting such stereotyping in annual essay competitions organised for British university students on the subject of "But don't mention the war"."

I'd never really thought about it before, but there really is a certain prejudice surrounding Germany. When most people hear the word, they instantly think of Hitler and the Nazis. People never really consider that Germany is just like the European countries surrounding it.

I think part of the reason is that people like having a country that "they're better than", just like most people have someone that they compare themselves to, but I think the biggest problem surrounding such attitudes is a combination of bad educators, the media constantly bringing up Germany's Nazi past, and people being blind to their own ignorance.

What's next for Apple?

2007-01-20T14:07:00.000-05:00

From Worth1000: Photoshop Apple's Next Invention!
Find it here.

The Clayman's Dancing Chicken

2007-01-17T12:15:00.000-05:00

Completely pointless... but what the hell. The Clayman's Dancing Chicken

History Repeats Itself

2007-01-15T09:27:00.000-05:00

Over at AlterNet, Barry Lando has written a piece called "Surging to Baghdad-The Blockbuster Remake", highlighting the similarities between America's occupation of Iraq with Britain's Mesopotamia. Read it here.

Scary

2007-01-08T09:30:00.000-05:00

From AntiWar

Former UNSCOM Chief Weapons Inspector SCOTT RITTER: Look, we’re already overflying Iran with unmanned aerial vehicles, pilotless drones. On the ground, the CIA is recruiting Mojahedin-e-Khalq, recruiting Kurds, recruiting Azeris, who are operating inside Iran on behalf of the United States of America. And there is reason to believe that we’ve actually put uniformed members of the United States Armed Forces and American citizens operating as CIA paramilitaries inside Iranian territory to gather intelligence.

Now, when you violate the borders and the airspace of a sovereign nation with paramilitary and military forces, that’s an act of war. …So, when Americans say, “Ah, there’s not going to be a war in Iran,” there’s already a war in Iran. We’re at war with Iran. We’re just not in the declared conventional stage of the war. –Democracy Now! interview, Oct. 16, 2006

SCOTT RITTER: The bottom line is, within two days of our decision to initiate an attack on Iran, every single one of you is going to be feeling the consequences of that in your pocketbook. And it’s only going to get worse. This is not something that only I recognize. Ask [Senator] Dick Lugar what information he’s getting from big business, who are saying, “We can’t afford to go to war with Iran.”

SEYMOUR HERSH: Final question: given all this, are we going to do it?

SCOTT RITTER: Yes, we’re going to do it. –“Ethical Culture Society,” Oct. 2006

Godly Video Game

2007-01-08T09:17:00.001-05:00

How will we keep up with production of corn?

2007-01-07T11:10:00.001-05:00

In an article published yesterday, studies showed that "US factories producing ethanol fuel for cars may consume as much as half of the country's corn crop next year" for ethanol. Essentially, prices may rise because the corn will be harder to get due to the vast amount it takes to make ethanol.

After reading this article, one thought jumped to my mind. Factory farming consumes so much land, resources, and food. With the elimination of these cruel and barbaric practices, all the land previously consumed would be free for ethanol production and other eco-friendly ideas for the future.

Just one more reason to go vegan.

Well, I'm not surprised

2007-01-07T11:04:00.000-05:00

Startling as it may sound, I seriously doubt anyone is really surprised by the news that Israel wants to attack Iran with "mini-nukes". These two posts will cover it better than I'll be able to:

From The Nether-World
From Another Day in the Empire

Most annoying Thank You card EVER

2006-12-31T13:04:00.000-05:00

The Million Thank You Meter Card: It's exactly what the title implies; a million thank yous.

Tiny Creepy Babies

2006-12-31T10:12:00.000-05:00

These "babies" are tiny enough to fit in a shell or your hand. But they're creepy! I came across this site with the help of StumbleUpon, and wanted to share it.

Camille Allen

Programming Language Inventor or Serial Killer?

2006-12-31T09:37:00.000-05:00

With this quick game, you can test your knowledge of famous programming language inventors and serial killers. There's 10 questions, and with every answer, be it right or wrong, you'll learn a quick thing or two about the man in question. Give it a try.

Programming Language Inventor or Serial Killer?

By the way, I got 10/10! I don't know if I should be happy or scared that I know a serial killer when I see one.

Creepy Dolls

2006-12-30T16:14:00.000-05:00

This contains some truly creepy (yet beautiful) dolls.

{Click on "Jessica's Dolls"}

Something to do when bored... and in a parking lot

2006-12-30T13:28:00.000-05:00

Have you ever driven though a parking lot and saw someone parked in four spaces at once? Now you can vandalize their vehicles with I Park Like An Idiot stickers. $10 for 20 stickers, they're the size of bumper stickers, bright yellow so they're easy to spot, and, if regular bumper stickers are anything to go by, a pain in the bum to scrape off.

Those yellow "I support the troops" magnets

2006-12-29T22:09:00.000-05:00

movie trailer

2006-12-29T19:27:00.000-05:00

Freedom Ship

2006-12-29T11:16:00.000-05:00

The Freedom Ship, which is currently only in the planning stages, is an entirely at-sea community, where you can live, shop, work, and play without ever setting foot on land.

According to the designers, this ship would be larger than the Queen Mary at 4,500 feet long and 750 feet wide. It would constantly be on the move, circling the world (see the map here). The top level is reserved for small aircraft that would transport people to and from the "floating city".

Lifted from their site, the objectives of the Freedom Ship are to:

Provide a unique, traveling residential community, combining the amenities of a modern city with those of the finest resorts, in an attractive, stimulating, and secure environment.
Create a vigorous commercial community whose privately owned and operated on board enterprises will sell their products and services worldwide.
Establish the world's largest duty-free retail shopping mall and bring it to markets around the world with a steady and substantial stream of resident and visiting customers.
Develop the standard in education (US grades K through 12) for the entire world.
Provide the residents and crew with the finest healthcare facilities and plans possible.

View their site here.

Links of the day

2006-12-29T08:57:00.000-05:00

Post of the day: Bitchasaurus' 'Short Clip on Scientology'
From Beau Bo D'Or: A wonderful life... for Blair?
From Boing Boing: How to disable your new, RFID-laden US Passport
From Crooks and Liars: AP Poll: Bush #1 Villain of 2006
From D-Notice: The costs of ID cards
From Didn't You Hear: God protects you while you sleep?
From Didn't You Hear: Amnesty uses staples
From Archaeology in Europe: Top 10 discoveries of 2006
From Robotzilla: Toshiba Drape Analog Clock Phone
From Londonist: Wanna bet?
From Reaction: 100 things we didn't know last year

Random Bush Joke

2006-12-28T16:41:00.000-05:00

I found this in a saved file on my laptop. I don't remember where it came from, so if anyone's seen it before, please let me know where.

President Bush, First Lady Laura and Dick Cheney were flying on Air Force One. George looked at Laura, chuckled and said, "You know, I could throw a $1,000 bill out of the window right now and make somebody very happy."

Laura shrugged her shoulders and replied, "I could throw ten $100 bills out of the window and make ten people very happy."

Cheney added, "That being the case, I could throw one hundred $10 bills out of the window and make a hundred people very happy."

Hearing their exchange, the pilot rolled his eyes and said to his co-pilot, "Such big-shots back there. Shit, I could throw all of them out of the window and make 56 million people very happy."

Special Defects

2006-12-28T12:34:00.000-05:00

This site is beautiful. You can choose a series of special effects and watch them unfold. Check it out here. BTW, the above screenshot is from "Explosions in the Sky".

Strange Statues Around the World

2006-12-28T12:25:00.000-05:00

Thanks to StumbleUpon for this wonderful collection of interesting statues around the world:

LINK

Another game

2006-12-28T12:10:00.000-05:00

Although this time it's not educational. But it's fun. It's called Tilt. The object of the game is to keep a weight in the air, and it's actually quite hard when you get to level 5 and up.
Update: I just reached level 11 and 2147 points. yay!

Best Typing Game Ever

2006-12-28T11:46:00.000-05:00

Word Shoot is the ultimate typing game. There's four levels (Impossible really is impossible) to test your skills. Most typing games are so blah, but this actually is a game. Give it a try.

What to do with a nuclear plant after a meltdown

2006-12-27T13:06:00.000-05:00

via Boing Boing

Leekspin

2006-12-26T12:37:00.000-05:00

I don't get it. But I like it. The song's catchy.

Leekspin

Shame on Diesel

2006-12-24T09:48:00.000-05:00

I'm sure all of you have seen a Diesel clothing ad somewhere. Their latest is a new low for them. Sadly, I haven't been able to find it online anywhere, but I'll do my best to describe it.

It involves two unnaturally skinny models surrounded by parrots in the middle of a street (the street looks as if it's somewhere in the Middle East - although I'm not sure if it's just a set). In the lower right-hand corner of the ad there's a small box with contains the words "GLOBAL WARMING READY".

I've got a problem with this ad. Diesel is making light of a very serious problem. Global warming will never be taken seriously if stuff like this continues.

Most scientists now agree that we've got about ten years to make a difference. We can't fix what we've done, but we can slow it down and even stop it from growing. But without seriousness, the masses won't acknowledge that global warming is a major danger to our civilization.

Tie Skirt

2006-12-23T21:05:00.000-05:00

I'll admit that I'm not going to jump up and buy this since I'm assuming the ties are made of silk (I'm vegan). But it's creative and original, which is a little rare nowadays when everything is just a clone.

The skirt is from anezka handmade and the direct link to the skirt is here.

What are the chances of you dying?

2006-12-23T16:26:00.000-05:00

From August 2006 National Geographic, who in turn got their information from National Safety Council, 2003 data

Total odds of dying, any cause: 1 in 1
Heart disease: 1 in 5
Cancer: 1 in 7
Stroke: 1 in 24
Motor vehicle accident: 1 in 84
Suicide: 1 in 119
Falling: 1 in 218
Firearm assault: 1 in 314
Pedestrian accident: 1 in 626
Drowning: 1 in 1,008
Motorcycle accident: 1 in 1,020
Fire or smoke: 1 in 1,113
Bicycling accident: 1 in 4,919
Air/space accident: 1 in 5,051
Accidental firearm discharge: 1 in 5,134
Accidental electrocution: 1 in 9,968
Alcohol poisoning: 1 in 10,048
Hot weather: 1 in 13,729
Hornet, wasp, or bee sting: 1 in 56, 789
Legal execution: 1 in 62,468
Lightning: 1 in 79,746
Earthquake: 1 in 117,127
Flood: 1 in 144,156
Fireworks discharge: 1 in 340,733

Lovely Idea for City Living

2006-12-23T10:20:00.000-05:00

I saw this on Inhabitat, but because I procrastinate I haven't posted it on here yet.

Grass Wheel

Absolutely the coolest design I've seen in a while

2006-12-23T09:26:00.000-05:00

I love design, especially when it involves household furniture, decor, or hardware. That's why the sink pictured below is beautiful:via Didn't You Hear...

600!!!!!

2006-12-23T08:57:00.000-05:00

I've just got 600 views! How awesome is that!

A big thanks to anyone that reads this blog. I love ya :)

Have you ever seen a $310,000 phone?

2006-12-23T08:53:00.000-05:00

From Neatorama:
The phone has "one pear-cut diamond, one round white diamond, two emerald eyes, and 439 rubies".

What do you do in five years when your phone is out of date and you want a new one?

Awesome

2006-12-22T23:16:00.000-05:00

From the September/October issue of Sierra, the Sierra Club's magazine:

Greenie and the Greenback

Henry "Hank" Paulson, President Bush's new secretary of the Treasury, has been called "Wall Street's greenest titan." He's an advocate of mandatory curbs on greenhouse-gas emissions. As CEO of Goldman Sachs, he allocated $1 billion for investment in renewable energy and energy-saving projects. He's chair of the Nature Conservancy and loves birdwatching.

According to Wikipedia,

Paulson has been described as an avid nature lover.^[7] He has been a member of the Nature Conservancy for decades and is the organization's Board chairman and co-chair of its Asia-Pacific Council.^[4] In that capacity, Paulson worked with former President of the People's Republic of China Jiang Zemin to preserve the Tiger Leaping Gorge in Yunnan province. He donated US$100 million worth of his Goldman Sachs stock to a family foundation dedicated to conservation and environmental education.^[8]

Paulson is also on the Board of Directors of the Peregrine Fund; was the founding Chairman of the Advisory Board of the School of Economics and Management of Tsinghua University in Beijing; and, previously served as chairman of the influential trade group, the Financial Services Forum.

Notable among the members of President Bush's cabinet, Paulson is a strong believer in the effect of human activity on global warming and advocates immediate action to decrease this effect. ^[9]

This is an awesome dude.

A world without the first admendment

2006-12-22T08:17:00.000-05:00

Recently, something terribly frightening has been happening. Republicans want to remove our Freedom of Speech. At first I didn't pay much attention to Newt Gingrich, simply because he's a joke and I don't bother. But now there's more people talking about doing away with the First Amendment. Read Another Day in the Empire's post about Mike Gallagher for more information.

What's so scary is that until recently there was no one in the media that advocated for a removal of this right. Now there are people actually considering it. And people aren't that outraged about it.

Whenever I read an article like the one on Mike Gallagher, two things pass through my mind. One book and one movie. 1984, and the popular movie V for Vendetta.

Top 10 Ugliest Sneakers of 2006

2006-12-21T16:57:00.000-05:00

Kineda has put together a list of the 10 ugliest sneakers from this past year. And they're not joking. Check it out here.

Across the Web, 21 December 2006

2006-12-21T08:48:00.000-05:00

When Charity Shouldn’t Begin at Home from Common Dreams.

The Hidden Opportunity in Global Warming from AlterNet.

Colbert's word: The Draft [VIDEO] from AlterNet.

Rowling finds finishing final Potter book a nightmare from Yahoo!.

US Out Now from Antiwar.

The Star of Bethlehem from i-Science.

Rwanda seeks to join Commonwealth from BBC.

Triplets for woman with two wombs from BBC.

One in 20 Hispanics 'goes hungry' from BBC.

Avoid crappy plane seats with this site: seatguru.com from Boing Boing.

Baby put through airport x-ray from Boing Boing.

Two-headed fossil from Boing Boing.

Metalhead graffiti causes terror freakout from Boing Boing.

Aluna Tidal-Powered Clock from Inhabit.

Numbers

2006-12-20T17:04:00.000-05:00

This is for all you number freaks. I didn't actually read through the whole thing (I'm not one of the previously mentioned "number freaks"), but what I did read of it was interesting.

What's Special About This Number?

Not quite how it seems

2006-12-20T11:47:00.000-05:00

For the few remaining pro-Iraqi war people, when asked why we should be in Iraq and how the Iraqi people have benefited, they almost always bring up women's rights. However, in this article from Feministing, women may have less rights then they did before the invasion.

Iraqi Women Have Fewer Rights Than Ever

The French Could Have Killed Bin Laden

2006-12-20T07:24:00.000-05:00

So what?

Not too long ago Americans were angry at Bill Clinton because he let Osama Bin Laden "go". Now it's the French. Are we going to have to start eating freedom fries again?

Seriously, what's the point of playing this little roundabout game? Saying, "You should have killed him" is not going to fix anything. You can't change the past.

Best I've Seen All Year

2006-12-19T16:28:00.000-05:00

This is the best cartoon I've seen all year. And it's without doubt the most truthful.

Here's the link.

DNA testing

2006-12-19T11:18:00.000-05:00

States get DNA samples from convicted felons. Everyone knows that. And it's as it should be. But should the police also take samples from people guilty of minor crimes and people that are arrested?

In the U.K., a country that makes everyone have their cheek swabbed for DNA sampling, criminals have been identified as a direct result of the DNA testing 660,000 times. On the other hand, the United States, who doesn't mandate sampling/testing, has only identified 39,000 criminals through this method.

Personally, it it can help solve rapes and murders then I'm all for it. But some may view it as an assault on our privacy. Opinions?

India forces couples to have HIV testing

2006-12-19T09:19:00.000-05:00

In a recent article from the BBC it was reported that India would make HIV testing mandatory in order to do something about the growing HIV epidemic. Currently, there are over five million Indians living with the disease. For more information, click here.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, it could prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and help people seek treatment. On the other hand, it's an invasion of privacy.

Maybe instead of mandatory, India should offer free testing. Unfortunately, they barely have the money and resources to deal with the number of illnesses now.

What are everyone else's opinions on this?

Learn about black holes

2006-12-19T08:25:00.000-05:00

This is a really interesting little site. It's an interactive way to learn about black holes. Which some believe will kill us all. (It's highly unlikely, but there are some people that think a black hole is heading towards our galaxy and that will be the end of civilization as we know it).

Black Holes

Mad TV Tickle Me Emo

2006-12-19T07:11:00.000-05:00

Check Bush's E-mail

2006-12-19T07:05:00.000-05:00

Another site for all the Bush-haters.

I love Britain

2006-12-19T06:01:00.000-05:00

Britain Approves World's Biggest Offshore Wind Farm

As the article says, this farm will provide electricity to 1 million homes.

widsom

2006-12-18T20:57:00.000-05:00

"That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history. - Aldous Huxley"

lalala...

2006-12-18T20:50:00.000-05:00

My biggest pet peeve is people singing. Not all singing, mind you. Just people who seriously can't. Or when someone sings along to a song. It annoys me beyond reason.

I'm not trying to be a joy killer or anything. And I'm not really sure why it bothers me so much, but it does. The worst of all is when someone tries to sing along with a song whose words they don't know, and it ends up being a series of mumbles that aren't actually words at all.

Just a few issues

2006-12-15T17:40:00.000-05:00

In the December 2006 issue of Marie Claire, the magazine polled 600 of it's readers on some political issues. Since I've nothing better to do, here's what I think. Feel free to comment with how you feel for each issue.

How do you vote? Democrat, although I'm Green.

More than 78 million Americans didn't vote in 2004. If you could securely vote from home, would you be more likely to do so? Not at all. I always vote. Even in local elections. If you don't vote, you have no right to complain.

Legal immigrants in the U.S. pay taxes but can't vote. Should taxpayers have the right to vote, regardless of citizenship? Yes. If they pay taxes, they have a right to choose how they want the money spent. I'm obviously not in the majority on this question. 65% of the readers said no.

Would you vote for a female president? Yes. But only if she could do the job. I wouldn't vote for anyone just because they're a woman.

Does the U.S. have the right to determine whether other countries can develop nuclear weapons, considering we already have them ourselves? No. We're not the leader of the world.

Who pays for your health insurance? My dad. I'm 19 and getting ready to start college; I can't exactly afford it.

Electoral College or popular vote? I understand why there's an electoral college and the benefits, but it's always felt wrong to me.

Gay marriage - whose call? National. It's a human right.

Should the U.S. have a time line to withdraw from Iraq? Yes, but I'm not sure I trust them in keeping their promise.

Golly

2006-12-15T17:38:00.001-05:00

Truly Weird... but fascinating

2006-12-15T15:44:00.000-05:00

I personally don't want one of these. The idea of pumping blood into a scarf makes me feel icky. But Laura Splan, whose work "explores perceptions of beauty and horror, comfort and discomfort" (obviously) has created this scarf that uses your own blood to keep you warm. I have to say, it's outrageously creative. Still...

Laura Splan

Make sure you look at some of her other work.

(Thanks to Didn't You Hear for writing about this.)

I'm Angelic

2006-12-14T22:11:00.000-05:00

According to this quiz anyway. Which I guess is a good thing. I would secretly love to have a "dark streak". Maybe it just hasn't come out in me yet.

How evil are you?

I'm Smarter Than You

2006-12-14T20:51:00.000-05:00

The BBC just published an article that says in the header "Intelligent children are more likely to become vegetarians later in life, a study says". How awesome is that. Here's the link to the article.

Mel Gibson's Secret

2006-12-14T20:22:00.000-05:00

Supposedly this has been on the net for awhile now, but being the slow-poke I am I haven't seen it yet. I'm counting on not being the only one.

It turns out that there's a hidden "easter egg" in the Apple trailer for Gibson's latest, Apocalypto. Check out AlterNet's entry about it for a slowed-down clip of the trailer.

And in case you're wondering if it's real or not, it is. I wanted to see it for myself, so I went to the original trailer and found it.

"A Story From History"

2006-12-14T20:17:00.000-05:00

I love The Highlander. It's not a particularly fancy magazine (black & white, non-glossy), but the articles are some of my favorite. If you ever come across an issue, definitely take a look at it. You won't be disappointed.

This is a quick little tidbit from their November/December 1999 issue that's buried away between a larger article and a short article on the Memphis Scottish Society. Usually I skip the pages I think are only updates on Scottish Societies throughout the US, but I happened to see the title, "A Story From History", and read it. I want to share it with you here. Unfortunately I don't know who the author was, but it's a good read.

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to eke out a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself.

Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death. The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy farmer Fleming had saved.

"I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life."

"No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied, waving off the offer.

At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family home.

"Is that your son?" the nobleman asked.

"Yes," the farmer replied proudly.

"I'll make you a deal. Let me take him and give him a good education. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll grow to a man you can be proud of."

And that he did. In time, farmer Fleming's son graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin.

Years afterward, the nobleman's son was stricken with pneumonia. What saved him? Penicillin. The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill.

Albert and the 'eadsman

2006-12-13T11:54:00.000-05:00

Written by Marriott Edgar

ALBERT AND THE 'EADSMAN

On young Albert Ramsbottom's birthday
His parents asked what he'd like most;
He said to see t' Tower of London
And gaze upon Anne Boleyn's ghost.

They thowt this request were unusual
And at first to refuse were inclined,
Till Pa said a trip to t' metrollopse
Might broaden the little lad's mind.

They took charrybank up to London
And got there at quarter to fower,
Then, seeing as pubs wasn't open,
They went straight away to the Tower.

They didn't think much to the building
'Tweren't what they'd been led to suppose,
And the "Bad Word" Tower didn't impress them,
They said Blackpool had got one of those.

At last Albert found a Beefeater,
And filled the old chap with alarm
By asking for Ghost of Anne Boleyn,
As carried her head 'neath her arm.

Said Beefeater "You ought to come Fridays
If it's Ghost of Anne Boleyn you seek,
Her Union now limits her output,
And she only gets one walk a week.

"But", he said, "if it's ghosts that you're after,
There's Lady Jane Grey's to be seen,
She runs around chases by the 'Eadsman
At midnight on th' old Tower Green."

They waited on t' green till near midnight,
Then thinking they's time for a sup,
They took out what food they'd brought with them
And waited for t' Ghost to turn up.

On the first stroke of twelve, up jumped Albert,
His mouth full of cold dripping toast,
With his stick with the 'orse's 'ead 'andle
He pointed, and said "'Ere's the Ghost!"

They felt their skins growing all goosey
As Lady Jane's spectre drew near,
And Albert fair swallered his tonsils
When the 'Eadsman an' all did appear.

The 'Eadsman chased Jane round the grass patch,
They saw his axe flash in the moon,
And seeing t' poor lass were headless,
They wondered what next he would prune.

He suddenly caught sight of Albert,
As midnight was on its last chime;
As he lifted his axe Father murmured,
"We'll get the insurance this time."

At that Mother rose, taking umbridge;
She said, "Put that cleaver away.
You're not cutting our Albert's 'ead off,
Yon collar were clean on today."

The brave little lad stood undaunted
Till the Ghost were within half a pace,
Then taking the toast he were eating,
Slapped it, dripping side down, in his face.

'Twere a proper set-back for the 'Eadsman,
He let out one howl of despair,
Then taking his lady friend with him,
He disappeared - just like that there.

When Pa saw the way as they vanished,
He trembled with fear and looked blue,
Till Ma went and patted his shoulder
An' said, "'S all right, lad, we saw it too."

Some say 'twere the drippin' as done it,
From roast leg of mutton it came,
And as th' 'Eadsman had been a Beefeater,
They reckoned he vanished from shame.

And around Tower Green from that moment
They've ne'er seen the sign of a ghost,
But when t' Beefeaters go on night duty,
They take slices of cold drippin' toast.

A Blonde Joke

2006-12-13T11:47:00.000-05:00

A blonde walks into a bank in Chicago and asks for the loan officer. She says she's going to Europe on business for three weeks and needs to borrow $5,000. The bank officer says the bank will need some kind of security for the loan, so the blonde hands over the keys to a new Rolls Royce.

The car is parked on the street in front of the bank. She has the title and everything checks out. The bank agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan. The bank's president and its officers all enjoy a good laugh at the blonde for using a $250,000 Rolls as collateral against a $5,000 loan. And employee for the bank then proceeds to drive the Rolls into the bank's underground garage and parks it there.

Three weeks later, the blonde returns, repays the $5,000 and the interest, which comes to $18.41. The loan officer says, "Miss, we are very happy to have had your business and this transaction has worked out very well, but we are a little puzzled."

"While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multi-millionaire. What puzzles us is why you would bother to borrow $5,000?"

The blonde replies, "Where else in Chicago can I park my car for three weeks for only $18.41 and expect it to be there when I return?"

Finally... a SMART blonde joke

you know you're a monty python fan when...

2006-12-13T11:46:00.001-05:00

You know you're a Python fan when...

.. Just by listening, you can tell which voice belongs to which Python.

.. You can recite whole scenes and gags by yourself AND do all the right voices.

.. You correct others when they get a teeny part of the script wrong.

.. Then you insult their parents with a French accent, saying 'Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!'

.. You've tried to do a Silly Walk.

.. You have ever tried to teach someone The Knights of Ni's new name: "The Knights who Say Ecki-ecki-ecki-ecki-p'clang-zoop-boing-g'berz'howliziv"

.. You see decapitation on TV and comment, "It's just a flesh wound."

.. You think someone with fresh fruit is dangerous.

.. All questions are asked in 3.

.. You constantly end sentences with, "Know what I mean? Know what I mean? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more!"

.. Whenever you see a rabbit you say "that's no ordinary rabbit, that's the most cruel, vile and vicious rodent you ever set eyes on!"

.. You're at the grocery and the butcher is wheeling a cart of meat to the counter and you say "Bring out your dead!"

.. You've ever tried to buy a license for your pet fish name Eric.

.. You've actually tried to research the velocity of an unladen swallow... both African and European!

.. You see a dead animal (especially a bird) and automatically exclaim, "THIS is an EX-PARROT."

.. Whenever someone begins, "I didn't expect..." you interrupt with, "Nooobody expects the Spanish Inquistion."

.. You have ever told someone to bring a shrubbery before entering your house.

.. You always refer to yourself as an upper-class twit, and pretend to jump over match boxes.

.. You have learned how not to be seen.

.. Your friends show off their house and you say: "It's only a model."

.. You know the "Philosophers Song" by heart.

.. ...You take college philosophy to learn why Immanuel Kant was a real pissant.

.. Mom asked you what do you want for dinner and you say, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM!!

.. Every woman you come in contact with, you touch their breasts.

.. You're still trying to find a man with three buttocks.

.. Everytime you hear a gun shot, the first thing through your mind is "Noooooooobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!"

.. You have ever tried "street climbing"

.. You keep walking back and forth by someone saying "good morning....good morning...."

.. You believe your name is Dinsdale and your being chased by a forty foot hedgehog named "Spiny Norman"

.. You eat, wear, burn, and feed the cat lupins.

.. You skip through the house making horse sounds with coconuts.

.. When in a restaurant, you can't resist taking the napkin, knotting the corners, and wearing it like a hat. (

.. After telling someone your profession, you immediately add "...but I always wanted to be a LUMBERJACK!"

.. You suddenly change the subject by saying "And now for something completely different..."

.. When, after coming in from doing hard work, someone asked you what you've been doing you've ever replied "I just spent four hours buryin' the cat" (and enjoyed the strange look you got)

.. You have ever responded to someone asking where something is by saying "Is it behind the rabbit?"

.. All of your comebacks/insults are in an "outrageous accent."

.. Somebody wishes to move past you (vehicle, etc.) you quote the bridge scene.

.. If you find yourself saying "NI" to people that you don't like

.. You have a perfect cockney accent... and you've never been to England

.. You find yourself saying "tis only a flesh wound" when you are bleeding to death and laughing about it through the pain

.. You have all the CD's with songs on them, and people catch you singing them to yourself.

.. You watched "As Good As It Gets" and snickered when Jack Nicholson played "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life," not because of the irony of it all, but because you remember the song from "Life of Brian."

This is for Theodor Seuss Geisel

2006-12-13T11:02:00.001-05:00

...or Dr. Seuss. Great writer, and probably the most-read children's author of all time. I was bored, so what the heck, let's learn about this man. But instead of writing about some boring biography, I found some pretty funny stuff instead, including one of his own political cartoons. Here you go! Tell me if you know of any more...

And now for the Dr. Seuss Bible:

One day God said, "This is what I will do:
I'll send down my son. I'll send him to you
To clear up this humpity bumpity hullaballoo.
His name will be Christ and he'll never wear shoes.
His pals will all call him 'The King of the Jews.'"

He didn't come in a plane.
He didn't come in a Jeep.
He didn't come in a pouch
Of a high jumping Voveep.

He rode on the back of a black Sassatoo
Which is the blackiest creature you ever could view.

He rode to Jerusalem -- home of the grumpity Jews
Where false prophets were worshiped -- some even in twos.
There was Murray VonMyrrh and Ghengis Vovooz --
The one you could worship by taking a snooze.

Christ spoke from a mound
Which is a pile of ground.
People gathered around
Without making a sound.

Thus he spake:

"Sin in socks
Socks full of sin.
How do we quiet
This Jehovaty din?
Do unto others as they do unto you.
That includes you, young Timothy Foo."

One pharisee said to another he knew,
"What shall we do with this uppity Jew?"
"Let's wash him in wine and make him all clean
And into Sam Zittle's crucifiction machine."

Twirl the Gawhirl
And release the Galeese
And in go the nails
As fast as you please.

And it is said
That he said as he bled,
"Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.
For they walk throughout life in toe crampity shoes."

Do you?

Amen.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch.
You really are a heel.
You're as cuddly as a cactus,
You're as charming as an eel.
Mr. Grinch.

You're a bad banana
With a greasy black peel

You're a monster, Mr. Grinch.
Your heart's an empty hole.
Your brain is full of spiders,
You've got garlic in your soul.
Mr. Grinch.

I wouldn't touch you, with a
thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole.

You're a vile one, Mr. Grinch.
You have termites in your smile.
You have all the tender sweetness
Of a seasick crocodile.
Mr. Grinch.

Given the choice between the two of you
I'd take the seasick crockodile.

You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch.
You're a nasty, wasty skunk.
Your heart is full of unwashed socks
Your soul is full of gunk.
Mr. Grinch.

The three words that best describe you,
are, and I quote: "Stink. Stank. Stunk."

You're a rotter, Mr. Grinch.
You're the king of sinful sots.
Your heart's a dead tomato splot
With moldy purple spots,
Mr. Grinch.

Your soul is an apalling dump heap overflowing
with the most disgraceful assortment of deplorable
rubbish imaginable,
Mangled up in tangled up knots.

You nauseate me, Mr. Grinch.
With a nauseaus super-naus.
You're a crooked jerky jockey
And you drive a crooked horse.
Mr. Grinch.

You're a three decker saurkraut and toadstool
sandwich
With arsenic sauce.

And here's some sites:

http://www.seuss.org/seuss/seuss.home.html http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/dspolitic/

VHEMT

2006-12-13T10:59:00.000-05:00

Q: What is the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement?

VHEMT (pronounced vehement) is a movement not an organization. It's a movement advanced by people who care about life on planet Earth. We're not just a bunch of misanthropes and anti-social, Malthusian misfits, taking morbid delight whenever disaster strikes humans. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Voluntary human extinction is the humanitarian alternative to human disasters.

We don't carry on about how the human race has shown itself to be a greedy, amoral parasite on the once-healthy face of this planet. That type of negativity offers no solution to the inexorable horrors which human activity is causing.

Rather, The Movement presents an encouraging alternative to the callous exploitation and wholesale destruction of the Earth's ecology.

As VHEMT Volunteers know, the hopeful alternative to the extinction of millions of species of plants and animals is the voluntary extinction of one species: Homo sapiens... us.

Each time another one of us decides to not add another one of us to the burgeoning billions already squatting on this ravaged planet, another ray of hope shines through the gloom.

When every human chooses to stop breeding, Earth's biosphere will be allowed to return to its former glory, and all remaining creatures will be free to live, die, evolve (if they believe in evolution), and will perhaps pass away, as so many of Mother Nature's "experiments" have done throughout the eons. Good health will be restored to the Earth's ecology... to the "life form" known by many as Gaia.

It's going to take all of us going.

http://www.vhemt.org/aboutvhemt.htm#vhemt

New Old Blogs

2006-12-13T10:53:00.000-05:00

I really like a lot of the blogs I've posted on my MySpace blog since I joined the site, so throughout the day I might repost some of them here. Just a heads-up. :)

UPDATE: Done.

"The Bonnie Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond"

2006-12-13T10:37:00.000-05:00

I recently came across this song/poem in the November/December 1999 issue of The Highlander, an American magazine about Scottish heritage. According to the article, written by Gilly Pickup,

The tune is a traditional one; it is said that it was first sung in the back streets of Edinburgh by street urchins. There is no denying it is a lament - a particularly sad song - but there is a note of defiance in it too, which surely turns this poor soldier's death into a kind of victory.

This was written by a prisoner in the 1700s. The prisoner was a Jacobite soldier who had been captured. There were so many of these captives that they were divided into groups, and only one out of each group would be tried while the rest were sent to the New World. After the selection, only 127 remained.

Here's the verses:

By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes,
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond,
Where me and my true love were ever want to gae,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

Oh ye'll tak' the high road and I'll tak' the low road,
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye;
But me and my true love will never meet again,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

'Twas there that we parted in yon shady glen,
On the steep, steep side o' Ben Lomond;
Where in deep purple hue, the heilan' hills we view,
And the moon coming out in the gloamin'

Oh ye'll tak' the high road and I'll tak' the low road,
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye;
But me and my true love will never meet again,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

The wee birdies sing and the wild flowers spring,
And in sunshine the waters are sleeping;
But the broken heart it kens nae second spring again,
Tho' the waeful may cease from their greeting.

Oh ye'll tak' the high road and I'll tak' the low road,
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye;
But me and my true love will never meet again,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

"Anti-Telemarketing EGBG Counterscript"

2006-12-12T23:15:00.000-05:00

I wonder how telemarketers get dates. Seriously. Everyone hates them. So here's what to do the next time one calls. Sadly, I myself have never had the fortune of doing this (since strangely I've never had one call me - I don't know if I'm just super lucky or not worthy), but if anyone tries it out let me know how it goes.

Anti-Telemarketing EGBG Counterscript

UPDATE: Watch this video. It's hilarious.

How To Prank a Telemarketer

500

2006-12-12T22:41:00.001-05:00

500 views. Whoohoo! I know it's not a lot, but it's something. I like thinking that people have come to this site 500 times to read what I have to say. THANK YOU!!

Viking Kittens

2006-12-10T10:42:00.000-05:00

It's insanely weird that I actually find this interesting. It's not extremely good. But there's a good song (Zeppelin), and it's strangely hypnotizing. Or maybe it's just me.

Viking Kittens

Windows Mix

2006-12-10T10:22:00.000-05:00

Do you find all those Windows sounds annoying? You might not after this:

Windows Mix

My problem with Sunday

2006-12-10T08:49:00.000-05:00

I don't like the weekends. I never have.

This is mainly because nothing is open, when it is it's so crowded, nothing good is on TV, and even the internet is boring. Because we live in a Christian society, people view Sunday as a "day of rest" because God rested on the 7th day after creating everything. So, stores open late, they put infomercials on TV, and no one works.

With so much unemployment, wouldn't it be better for the economy to keep everything open on Sundays? Not everyone goes to religious services on Sundays. Hire people that will work Sundays so things can stay open. So people can get things done.

My Firefox Favorites

2006-12-09T18:49:00.000-05:00

I love Mozilla Firefox. It's really safe and all that good stuff, but mainly the reason I use it is for the extensions and themes. So here's a list of my favorites (All of these are for Firefox 2).

EXTENSIONS

Adblock Plus - This gets rid of all those annoying advertisements on sites like MySpace.
WOT - This shows you the "reputation" of the sites you are visiting. The ratings are based on the viewer's (including yours) opinion of the site. When a site has a very negative rating, it alerts you.
Calorie-Count.com Toolbar - There are a lot of sites that let you track your diet, but this one is free. The reason I'm including it on the list is for the toolbar itself. When you're signed into the site, you're calorie intake is shown on a nifty little status bar. It stares at you.
Clean and Close - I'm sure I'm not the only person who hated having to press the "Clean Up" button every time I downloaded something, and then having to press "Close". This makes just one button, saving a little bit of time.
Clippings - This comes in handy if you can't always remember things like HTML codes you commonly use. It lets you save a clip of text to your "Clipboard" (not the one you use for Cut & Paste). When you want to insert it into whatever you're writing, just right-click and choose the text. I use it constantly.
Cooliris Previews - This lets you view a webpage without you actually clicking on it. You can also use Cooliris to search for a selected bit of text or send a link to a friend.
CuteMenus - Okay, so this doesn't really have a function, but it makes all your menus prettier.
Email This! - When you're on a webpage, just right-click and choose how you want to send this page to a friend. You can pick from Gmail, Yahoo, or Mailto.
FoxyTunes - This puts a little music player in your status bar. It supports a variety of players, and it saves time by making it easy to pause or stop your music.
GooglePreview - A must for anyone that searches with Google. It puts a nice little picture of the webpage right next to the link in the search results.
IE Tab - Although Firefox is awesome, some pages just look better in IE (like some MySpace profiles). This extension lets you click on a button in your status bar to switch over - all the time staying in the same window.
Linkification - This "linkifies" unclickable links on a webpage.
Organize Status Bar - This goes without saying. Otherwise it's just all a mess.
PermaTabs - You can right-click on a tab and make it permanent. Although you can unclose tabs in Firefox 2, this still makes it a little easier.
ReminderFox - Puts a reminder in the status bar that lets you know when an event arrives. You can add notifiers. Great for birthdays.
Smiley Xtra - A smiley sidebar great for forums.
StumbleUpon - My favorite overall. I use it daily. Using this extension, you can "stumble" to a new site. It's fantastic. Beware: You can waste hours using this.
Tabinta - When you install this, you'll be able to insert an actual tab into a body of text.
These Toolbars with Small Icon - Makes the toolbars less bulky.
Throbber Button - When you set this up, clicking on the throbber button in the top-right corner of the browser will take you to a site. It's great for sites you use throughout the day.

Those are my favorites. But if you have Firefox, by all means spend a few hours looking through all the extensions. You'll find one for everything.

Leader of the Free World?

2006-12-09T18:11:00.000-05:00

I know this is totally a pointless site, but it's funny anyway.Leader of the Free World?

By the way, StumbleUpon is awesome. I absolutely love it. Because of stuff like this.

Apple iPhone

2006-12-09T17:01:00.001-05:00

I WANT ONE! Although it looks as if I'll have to wait until 2007.

Thanks to Robotzilla I found this video from YouTube made by Apple fans.

Some of those ideas look pretty fricken' awesome.

"Prince Charles to Use Commercial Flights"

2006-12-08T17:11:00.001-05:00

Here's the original article from AOL.

I think it's great that he's trying to save the environment. I've actually had a lot of respect for Prince Charles since I found out how much he does for the earth.

MySpace

2006-12-07T20:10:00.000-05:00

I love MySpace. I've been a member for awhile now, along with a few other social networking sites. But despite my love, I'm usually pissed off by it. MySpace has a plethora of ways to annoy you. Spambots, error pages, slow loading times, Tom, 15 year olds, etc.. grr. But I will continue to use it.

Mel Gibson pisses off even more people with latest film

2006-12-07T14:16:00.001-05:00

Obviously, everyone remembers the hoopla surrounding The Passion of the Christ. Gibson was accused of being anti-semitic, and there were protests against the film.

As it almost always does, history repeats itself.

With the release of Apocalypto looming on the horizon, activists in Guatemala are saying that the film is unrealistic. Here's the article from the BBC.

Mel Gibson just needs to stick with acting. And only acting.

It's about freakin' time!

2006-12-03T09:21:00.000-05:00

I while back I posted a blog about the military discriminating against pagans. You can read it here.

This is an update I found from AOL

War Widow Dedicates Wiccan Plaque Symbol

By MARTIN GRIFFITH

RENO, Nev. (Dec. 2) - The widow of a soldier killed in Afghanistan saw a Wiccan symbol placed on a memorial plaque for her husband Saturday, after fighting the federal government for more than a year over the emblem.

Roberta Stewart, widow of Sgt. Patrick Stewart, and Wiccan leaders said it was the first government-issued memorial plaque with a Wiccan pentacle - a five-pointed star enclosed in a circle. More than 50 friends and family dedicated the plaque at Northern Nevada Veterans Cemetery, about 30 miles east of Reno.

They praised Gov. Kenny Guinn for his role in getting the Nevada Office of Veterans Services to issue the plaque in September. The agency cited its jurisdiction over maintenance of the state cemetery.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes more than 30 symbols, including more than a dozen variations of the Christian cross and the atomic whirl used by atheists, but not the pentacle.

VA officials have said they are rewriting rules for approving emblems, but the process requires a public comment period.

Last month, Americans United for Separation of Church and State sued the VA on behalf of Stewart and others for its refusal to include the Wiccan emblem.

"Our people are on the front line in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it's not right they're not getting equal treatment," said the Rev. Selena Fox, one of the Wiccan organizers of the event.

About 1,800 active-duty service members identify themselves as Wiccans, according to 2005 Defense Department statistics. Wiccans worship the Earth and believe they must give to the community. Some consider themselves "white" or good witches, pagans or neo-pagans.

Stewart and four other soldiers died Sept. 25, 2005, when their Chinook helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan.

100 Ways to Save the Environment

2006-11-28T17:15:00.000-05:00

This site is a wonderful place to start if you want to do something nice for the world and for future generations. Here's an idea: Why not take up one of the tips every day until you run out? Or every few days? Or every week? It's better for everyone.

100 Ways to Save the Environment

Excerpt from "The Perils of Escalation in Iraq: A Grim History Lesson"

2006-11-27T08:13:00.000-05:00

From AlterNet's G. Pascal Zachary:

"The past is not always prologue of course. But the failed escalations in Korea and Vietnam are surely warnings against any escalation of the war in Iraq. And surely the failed escalations of the past should cast doubt on any premature euphoria over escalating the Iraq war. The escalate scenario should only be met with dread -- and the hoary reminder that people who forget the past are condemned to repeat it."

VegSpace is back

2006-11-26T08:09:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile, but it's finally back. Here's my profile. I love this site!

U.S. involvement in Iraq war eclipses WWII

2006-11-25T23:41:00.000-05:00

From the History News Network:

U.S. involvement in Iraq war eclipses WWII

Source: AP (11-25-06)

The war in Iraq has now lasted longer than the U.S. involvement in the war that President Bush's father fought in, World War II.

As of Sunday, the conflict in Iraq has raged for three years and just over eight months.

Only the Vietnam War (eight years, five months), the Revolutionary War (six years, nine months), and the Civil War (four years) have engaged America longer.

Fighting in Afghanistan, which may or may not be a full-fledged war depending on who is keeping track, has gone on for five years, one month. It continues as the ousted Taliban resurges and the central government is challenged.

Bush says he still is undecided whether to start bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq or add to the 140,000 there now.

One of the Reasons Abortion Should Be Legalized

2006-11-23T21:07:00.000-05:00

Because it kills 68,000 women a year.

And it sends over five million to the hospital.

BBC News

21 Reasons to Give Thanks

2006-11-23T16:44:00.000-05:00

This Thanksgiving, progressives have a lot to be thankful for. Here’s our list:

We’re thankful for our country’s troops.

We’re thankful America dumped the 109th Congress.

We’re thankful Rick Santorum will have more free time to find the WMD.

We’re thankful we don’t have to go to war with the Secretary of Defense we had.

We’re thankful for “red state values,” like protecting reproductive rights, supporting stem cell research, and rejecting discrimination.

We’re thankful Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), who calls climate change the “greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people,” will no longer chair the Senate environmental committee.

We’re thankful Matt Drudge does not rule our world.

We’re thankful Al Gore helped the country face an inconvenient truth.

We’re thankful Bill O’Reilly does not resort to name calling - well, besides labeling ThinkProgress as “far left loons,” “kool-aid zombies,” “hired guns,” “vile,” “haters,” a “far left smear website,” and “a very well-oiled, effective character assassination machine.”

We’re thankful minimum wage ballot initiatives passed in six states.

We’re thankful the Dixie Chicks aren’t ready to make nice.

We’re thankful Ted Haggard bought the meth but never used it.

We’re thankful for the 100,000 readers who responded to our Tell the Truth About 9/11 campaign.

We’re thankful for “the Google” and “the email” (and the “series of tubes” that make them possible) — but not iPods, which are endangering our nation.

We’re thankful Maf54 isn’t online right now.

We’re thankful people send us Jack Abramoff’s email.

We’re thankful Keith Olbermann’s ratings are up and Bill O’Reilly’s ratings are down.

We’re thankful President Bush’s secret plan for Iraq is safe with Conrad Burns.

We’re thankful we won’t spend Thanksgiving turkey hunting with Dick Cheney.

We’re thankful the “Decider” only gets to make the decisions 789 more days.

And last but not least: We’re thankful to the Think Progress readers for their tips, energy and support.

Happy Thanksgiving! — The Think Progress Team.

From Think Progress

Betsy Miller

2006-11-20T15:08:00.001-05:00

Recently I became aware of an admirable woman named Betsy Miller. Although she is not very well-known, I feel she shouldn't be forgotten.

Betsy Miller was born in 1791, the first of eight children, in Saltcoats, Ayrshire, Scotland, to parents William Miller and wife Mary. William dealt with timber and was the owner of a ship, the Clytus, which usually carried 200 tons of coal from Saltcoats to Belfast, Ireland. Carrying out their lives overlooking the harbor, the sea ran through the family's veins. Betsy began lending a helping hand to her father's business when she was fifteen years old. Her only brother, Hugh, also worked on the ship.

In 1839, when Betsy was forty-eight years old, tragedy struck the Millers. Hugh, who the family was counting on to carry on the business, drowned at Ardrossen, Ayrshire. In the same year William's health started to falter. Despite such setbacks, Betsy, who was as confident at sea as anywhere else, bravely took over the business. She needed to get her family out of the £700 debt that her father had put them in.

Betsy Miller became the first woman to be listed in the British Registry of Tonnage as a ship's captain. Although many people were at first startled to see a female captain, she received respect from the men she encountered.

According to records, Betsy always were a "white frilly cap", even though she was on a dirty coal ship. She converted the ship's deckhouse into her own private quarters so she could be apart from the men of her crew, and she was always at the head of things.

One of the key moments of her career took place in a storm just outside of Irving Bay. The captain, crew, and ship were all struggling to keep afloat. When things looked their darkest, Betsy calmly remarked "Lads, I'll gang below and put on a clean sark, for I would like to be flung up on the sands looking kind of decent ... Irvine folks are gossiping, nasty bodies!" While she was in her cabin, the situation changed drastically for the better. From that day forward her crew believed that they were alive thanks to Betsy's clothing and wisdom.

Betsy's career as the Clytus' captain ended in 1862 due to bad health. Two years later, when she was seventy-four years old, she died and was buried at Ardrossen Parish Church, which was later made into the North Ayrshire Museum. Her youngest sister Hannah took over for a little while, but the ship was not long after condemned by the Board of Trade. It was left to rot on the sea at North Pans.

In a fitting statement made after Betsy's death by the Ardrossen and Saltcoats Herald on 14 May 1864, "Her memory, her deeds and her example will live and be spoken of long after the generation who knew her personally will have passed away."

I'm back!

2006-11-20T14:26:00.000-05:00

Sorry it's been so long. I kinda, sorta forgot about this blog. But I'm back and I'm going to continue adding to my growing archives.

A politician's job and life are separate

2006-04-30T19:57:00.000-04:00

An article published on the BBC website today discussed deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's affair with civil servant Tracy Temple. It reminded me of the Clinton scandle. And I feel the same way about both. I don't think that how a politician spends his or her time outside of the job should be discussed or critized at all. Their job in office is what matters. Yes, Bill had "sexual relations" with Monica, but the United States also had a surplus budget. You don't see that now, do you? All that matters is a person's ability to take care of the people of whom they are serving.

Army Times poll says bye bye Rummy

2006-04-27T08:14:00.000-04:00

Taken from AlterNet, written by Evan Derkacz, April 26th 2006 www.alternet.org/

In a thoroughly unscientific poll on the Army Times website, found by Raw Story, responders have voted 2 to 1 in favor of dumping the man widely seen as the architect of the Iraq War -- if it could be said to have structure, that is.

The question was as follows:

"Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has come under fire in recent weeks from a variety of retired generals, who say he should resign for his performance in managing the war in Iraq. Do you think the U.S. war effort is grounds for Secretary Rumsfeld to resign?"

When I clicked through to the Army Times page I found this advertisement occupying the middle of the page. I doubt it needs much commentary:

2006-04-21T10:13:00.000-04:00

Here's a pic I found on Myspace Quizzer. I thought it was pretty cool. It actually reminded me a bit of some pictures my dad fowarded me a few days ago. I'll post those too.

Here are the ones by artist Julian Beever. He specializes in sidewalk art. It's so cool. Here's the pics:

Are you now wondering how this guy does it? The next two pictures will give you a hint:

This Talks For Itself

2006-04-20T21:38:00.000-04:00

Taken from Vanity Fair, April 2006:
"The Pentagon has also found a novel way of recovering some of the $240 billion it has spent to fight its losing war in Iraq: charge soldiers for gear destroyed in battle. First Lieutenant Willaim "Eddie" Rebrook IV, a 25-year-old West Virginian, found out about this new military income stream the hard way. He was riding in the turret of a Bradley Fighting Vehicle last year when it was hit by a roadside bomb. Rebrook's right arm was wounded and he was picked up by a Black Hawk helicopter and taken to a combat hospital in Baghdad. When he turned his gear in early this year, prior to heading home, he was ordered to pay nearly $700 for the equipment that was destroyed in the attack, including $570 for the Kevlar vest he had been wearing. Not really knowing what to do, Rebrook borrowed the money from his pals in the First Cavalry Division and paid the U.S. Army. When WKWS, a local Charleston, West Virginia, radio station, reported the story, donations flooded in - more than 200 of them, according to americablog, for a total of $5,400. Rebrook, who graduated with honors from West Point, ins't keeping the money. He's giving some of it to the mother of a soldier who helped save his life in Iraq; her house was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The rest, he's giving to charity.

Spectacular Canadian Architecture

2006-04-20T14:58:00.000-04:00

I was glancing through the entries of Luxist (http://www.luxist.com ) when I saw a picture of this awesome building. It's located near Toronto, at a place called Mississauga, Ontario. It was built by Beijing-based MAD Architectural Design Studio. It's not built quite yet, but will be fully completed by 2010. Isn't it gorgeous?

Harry Taylor is my hero

2006-04-18T08:35:00.000-04:00

Harry Taylor vs. President Bush.

Q: You never stop talking about freedom, and I appreciate that. But while I listen to you talk about freedom, I see you assert your right to tap my telephone, to arrest me and hold me without charges, to try to preclude me from breathing clean air and drinking clean water and eating safe food. If I were a woman, you’d like to restrict my opportunity to make a choice and decision about whether I can abort a pregnancy on my own behalf. You are –

THE PRESIDENT: I’m not your favorite guy. Go ahead. (Laughter and applause.) Go on, what’s your question?

Q: Okay, I don’t have a question. What I wanted to say to you is that I — in my lifetime, I have never felt more ashamed of, nor more frightened by my leadership in Washington, including the presidency, by the Senate, and –

AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Booo!

THE PRESIDENT: No, wait a sec — let him speak.

Q:And I would hope — I feel like despite your rhetoric, that compassion and common sense have been left far behind during your administration, and I would hope from time to time that you have the humility and the grace to be ashamed of yourself inside yourself. And I also want to say I really appreciate the courtesy of allowing me to speak what I’m saying to you right now. That is part of what this country is about.

THE PRESIDENT: It is, yes. (Applause.)

Q: And I know that this doesn’t come welcome to most of the people in this room, but I do appreciate that.

THE PRESIDENT: Appreciate –

Q: I don’t have a question, but I just wanted to make that comment to you.

THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate it, thank you. Let me –

Q: Can I ask a question?

THE PRESIDENT: I’m going to start off with what you first said, if you don’t mind, you said that I tap your phones — I think that’s what you said. You tapped your phone — I tapped your phones. Yes. No, that’s right. Yes, no, let me finish.

I’d like to describe that decision I made about protecting this country. You can come to whatever conclusion you want. The conclusion is I’m not going to apologize for what I did on the terrorist surveillance program, and I’ll tell you why. We were accused in Washington, D.C. of not connecting the dots, that we didn’t do everything we could to protect you or others from the attack. And so I called in the people responsible for helping to protect the American people and the homeland. I said, is there anything more we could do.

And there — out of this national — NSA came the recommendation that it would make sense for us to listen to a call outside the country, inside the country from al Qaeda or suspected al Qaeda in order to have real-time information from which to possibly prevent an attack. I thought that made sense, so long as it was constitutional. Now, you may not agree with the constitutional assessment given to me by lawyers — and we’ve got plenty of them in Washington — but they made this assessment that it was constitutional for me to make that decision.

I then, sir, took that decision to members of the United States Congress from both political parties and briefed them on the decision that was made in order to protect the American people. And so members of both parties, both chambers, were fully aware of a program intended to know whether or not al Qaeda was calling in or calling out of the country. It seems like — to make sense, if we’re at war, we ought to be using tools necessary within the Constitution, on a very limited basis, a program that’s reviewed constantly to protect us.

Now, you and I have a different — of agreement on what is needed to be protected. But you said, would I apologize for that? The answer — answer is, absolutely not. (Applause.)

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