BLOGGING DAWG STYLE
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Crack is Whack
Drinking and Drugging
“Crack is Whack”
Remember that phrase? I heard many people repeat it last week as they appraised the waste of Whitney Houston’s later years and flashed back to her 2002 interview with Diane Sawyer, when she uttered those immortal words. She was bristling not at rumors that she abused drugs but at insinuations that she turned to cheap ones. With album sales like hers, you didn’t have to suck on a pipe.
Sawyer wanted to know what Houston was on. Everyone wanted to know what Houston was on, and news reports after her death took unconfirmed inventory of the pills in her hotel suite, wondering if they represented the extent of her indulgences.
No. By many accounts, Houston also drank. More than a little. In fact one early, leading theory about the cause of her death, which won’t be known until toxicology tests are finished, was that a mix of prescription drugs and alcohol did her in.
But while the drugs leapt immediately to the foreground, with questions raised about which doctors and pharmacies had provided them, the alcohol receded from focus, as it too often does. Wrongly, perilously, we tend not to attribute the same destructive powers to it that we do to powders, capsules and vials.
We don’t talk of its abuse in quite the same titillated, scandalized, censorious tone. Vodka isn’t wack. Beer, certainly, isn’t wack. It has adorable mascots — remember Spuds MacKenzie, the Bud Light bull terrier? It’s advertised during the Super Bowl and on the sides of municipal buses. It even comes in cloying fruit flavors and brightly colored cans, with fun names. Four Loko, anyone?
Because drinking is legal for adults, safe in moderation, the rightful font of epicurean reveries and the foundation of a multibillion-dollar industry with lobbyists galore, it gets something of a pass. Many of us like it — no, love it — too much to survey the damage it can do, look at ways in which our society could work to curb that and acknowledge that the effort isn’t so very vigorous.
Read it all HERE.
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(CNN) — In Syria’s cyberwar, the regime’s supporters have deployed a new weapon against opposition activists — computer viruses that spy on them, according to an IT specialist from a Syrian opposition group and a former international aid worker whose computer was infected.
A U.S.-based antivirus software maker, which analyzed one of the viruses at CNN’s request, said that it was recently written for a specific cyberespionage campaign and that it passes information it robs from computers to a server at a government-owned telecommunications company in Syria.
Supporters of dictator Bashar al-Assad first steal the identities of opposition activists, then impersonate them in online chats, said software engineer Dlshad Othman. They gain the trust of other users, pass out Trojan horse viruses and encourage people to open them.
Once on the victim’s computer, the malware sends information out to third parties.
MORE.
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This shows how our government loves to waste money! And enrich other countries.
There once was a plan to turn over the main U.S. detention center in Afghanistan to control of the Afghans in 2011. That’s out the window. Instead, the military is offering millions to vastly expand the center’s inmate intake.
Specifically, $35 million will fund expansions necessary to house “approximately 2,000 detainees” at the Detention Facility at Parwan on the outskirts of Bagram Air Field, an hour’s drive from Kabul. The Army Corps of Engineers wants to expand “detainee housing, guard towers, administrative facility and Vehicle/Personnel Access Control Gates, security surveillance and restricted access systems,” according to a recent solicitation. A Turkey-based company received the contract in late January.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. As far back as summer 2010, senior military officials in charge of the detention center boasted to Danger Room outright that by January 2012, they wouldn’t be running the square-mile sized prison. They considered handing the detention center to the Afghans a mark of their own success at fostering a culture of law and order within the Afghan government.
MORE.
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Nope, nothing like this at the gym this morning. And I doubt I will ever see such a thing. Because going to the gym in the morning? Just like my wife and I, only the older set appears. But at least there is no competition, as in I can run faster and longer on the treadmill than you can. So far anyways!
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In Chenzhuang Village, China, about 20 miles northwest of central Beijing, the ruins of a partially built amusement park called Wonderland sit near a highway, surrounded by houses and fields of corn. Construction work at the park, which developers had promised would be “the largest amusement park in Asia,” stopped around 1998 after disagreements with the local government and farmers over property prices. Developers briefly tried to restart construction in 2008, but without success. The abandoned structures are now a draw for local children and a few photographers, who encounter signs telling them to proceed at their own risk. Reuters photographer David Gray visited the site on a chilly morning earlier this month and returned with these haunting images of a would-be Wonderland. [21 photos]
MORE .
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Just Another Presidential Fable
A number of folk stories and a few divisive rumors have surrounded the office of the U.S. presidency, and skeptical folks like us check a few of them out.
In the United States, February brings “Presidents’ Day” and some familiar stories, such as George Washington chopping down ye olde cherry tree, circulate anew. Sweet as it may sound about not lying to one’s father, this story is not true. Nor, to bite into a story of more recent vintage, did he have wooden teeth.
Let’s skeptically consider a few of the many fables that regularly appear about current and past presidents, and critically think about the purposes they may serve.
First, we need to address the initial fable of a “Presidents’ Day.” Yes, Martha, there is no such legal designation. Once upon a time there were two presidential holidays in February: Lincoln’s Birthday on the 12th and Washington’s on the 22nd. (Never mind that Washington was actually born on the 11th, based on the Julian calendar in effect in 1731.
MORE.
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June 1941. Erie County, Pennsylvania. “Each group of ten trailers in the FSA camp at Erie has a trailer service unit, water faucet, slop sink, and garbage pail.” Photo by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration
Shorpy . Interesting site to enjoy.
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And prior to another fine dinner prepared by my lovely wife, arguably the best damn cook in Iowa, how about some butt?
Or better yet, this butt?
Shocking! Hitler had a Love Child! TRUE!
Who the hell knew this? I have never seen anything in print that came close to saying Hitler had a child, never heard or seen on the many documentaries and movies about Hitler, Nazi Germany, etal. that Hitler had a child. But now? 94 years later, there is strong provable evidence that young Adolph fathered a child in France in 1918. Interesting.
New evidence has emerged to support the disputed theory that Adolf Hitler had a secret son in 1918 after an affair with a teenage French mistress, a French newsmagazine reported Friday.
The man, Jean-Marie Loret, died in 1985 after an eventful life that saw him join the French Resistance and fight German forces led by the man who the evidence suggests was his father.
Loret claimed to be Hitler’s son in an autobiography he published in 1981. The claim has been hotly debated by historians ever since, with the weight of opinion concluding that the story was bunk.
The new evidence — which includes handwriting analysis, documents indicating Hitler secretly supported the woman financially and paintings signed “Adolf Hitler” discovered in her home — is outlined by Le Point magazine, whose report Friday was widely picked up in the French media but largely ignored by German news outlets.
The evidence comes from Loret’s lawyer, Francois Gibault, who said Loret’s children could use it to establish a claim to royalties from Hitler’s manifesto, “Mein Kampf.”
Loret’s 30-year-old autobiography is also expected to be republished to include the new evidence.
Loret’s mother, Charlotte Lobjoie, was 16 when Hitler, who was a corporal serving with German forces in France in World War I, supposedly had an affair with her while on leave in 1917.
Read all about the love child of Adolph Hitler HERE.
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Friends and family of the late Whitney Houston gathered this afternoon at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark to bid farewell to the hometown girl who got her start singing in that church’s choir.
“We are here today, hearts broken but yet with God’s strength we celebrate the life of Whitney Houston,” said Rev. Joe A. Carter at the opening of the four-hour ceremony.
Moving “expressions” from Tyler Perry, Kevin Costner, and Clive Davis followed, punctuated later by emotional performances by Alicia Keys and Stevie Wonder.
Aretha Franklin, who was scheduled to perform as well, cancelled earlier today due to leg spasms. At her Radio City Music Hall concert last night, Franklin asked the crown to remember Houston hits and “forget the misses.”
Considering the rocky life she led, it was somehow fitting for her “homegoing” ceremony to encounter a few bumps.
Ex-husband Bobby Brown left the church early after allegedly being asked to leave. It was reported that Brown arrived with an entourage of nine people despite being asked to bring no more than two people along. His request to sit with his nine companions in the family section near his daughter, Bobbi Kristina, is said to have elicited negative reactions from other family members, and he was ultimately asked to exit the building.
Flip through the memorial program here, and watch Kevin Costner memorialize his Bodyguard co-star here.
(meanwhile, true heroes get no recognition from any liberal news outlet. Got to be a druggie singer to get that)
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Now you know the minimum armament you need. Add more for wife, kids, etc.
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The skies are going to look very different pretty soon, and it’s been a long time coming. Congress finally passed a spending bill for the Federal Aviation Administration, allocating $63.4 billion for modernizing the country’s air traffic control systems and expanding airspace for unmanned planes within three and a half years.
By Sept. 30, 2015, drones will have to have access to U.S. airspace that is currently reserved for piloted aircraft. This applies to military, commercial and privately owned drones — so it could mean a major increase in unmanned aircraft winging through our airspace. That’s airspace to be shared with airliners, cargo planes and small private aircraft.
STORY “HERE”
(soon, between our government and google, everyone will know where you are at and what you are doing)
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“Those jobs aren’t coming back.”
What does China have that America lacks?Quite a lot. China has more mid-level engineers, a more flexible workforce, and gigantic factories that can ramp up production at the drop of a hat. China also offers tech firms a one-stop solution. “The entire supply chain is in China now,” a former high-ranking Apple executive tells The Times. “You need a thousand rubber gaskets? That’s the factory next door. You need a million screws? That factory is a block away. You need that screw made a little bit different? It will take three hours.”
(makes the point, we can meet or beat the Chinese in manufacturing anything, but not their system they have)
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CHESTER — A group of Islamic leaders is urging Muslim business owners to stop selling alcohol, tobacco and drug paraphernalia, which are prohibited in the Quran because they contribute to the destruction of humanity.
The United Muslim Coalition for Chester Citizens Against Violence and Crime mailed out a letter detailing the request to 16 Muslim-owned businesses last month.
The coalition wants the businesses to stop selling such products because they run counter to Islam and also contribute to the drug and violence problem plaguing Chester. The coalition claims the business owners are ignoring passages in the Quran that call for Muslims to protect others from harm.
“They’re preying on the addictions that plague our community,” Imam Haneef Mahdi said. “We’re trying to eradicate from the root those things that are hurting our community.”
“We have a right to request that you stop contributing to the death of your community,” Keith Muhammad said. “We are asking as a community for you to stop. That should be respected. Certainly, out of the law of Islam, you should be moved.”
(hey, this goes nationwide? Be a lot of stores up for sale! And probably be cleaner, smell a lot better, and you can understand what the owner is saying)
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Okay, this is a bit rotten, but damn it is funny. I do not know who Robert Fine is, but to the email I received, it says he is the author.
Robert Fine Interviews Celebrities On The Way Out of Whitney Houston Service
Stevie Wonder: I never saw her look so beautiful.
Jay Z: Be sure you buy my ‘Whitney’s Dead’ t-shirt.
Bobby Brown: Even in death, I still felt like beating her up.
Her pharmacist: We will miss her.
Alec Baldwin: I wish I could have told her in time, the same thing I once told my daughter: “You’re acting like a pig.” Too late, I guess.
Puff Daddy: See? She didn’t vote — and now she’s dead.
Samuel L. Jackson: The damn bitch just laid there.
Rep. Sheila Jackass Lee: Does this mean the money’s dried up?
Al Sharpton:. Anybody seen my car?
Scarlett Johannson: At least they didn’t put her in a sweater vest.
Bill Maher: Drug addict, lousy mother – but she was still cool, just like Barack Obama.
Michael Moore: Is there food somewhere?
Michelle Obama: Is there free food somewhere?
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White House Dossier has the story
as the government struggles to cut the deficit, the symbolism of a first lady jetting out to Aspen with a security entourage at taxpayers’ expense to ski would seem to send the wrong message about cutting back on spending.
free republic for more information
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Priests for Life Associate Director is Arrested Outside White House
by sundancecracker, The Conservative Treehouse
Occupiers throw grenades and smokebombs at White House with no consequence. Occupy protesters attack police officers, take over public parks, defy laws, become arsonists, destroy public and private property, threaten harass and intimidate people, and yet they are blessed by Obama and Nancy Pelosi. Contrast against a priest who kneels down in prayer and is immediately arrested……. think about it.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Father Denis Wilde, OSA, associate director of Priests for Life, was among six people arrested today during a peaceful protest outside the White House.
Father Wilde was representing Priests for Life at an organized protest of the HHS contraception mandate that violates the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion. Priests for Life yesterday filed a lawsuit against the Obama Administration that seeks to permanently block the implementation of the mandate because it imposes clear violations of conscience upon any American citizens who morally object to abortion and contraception.
Father Wilde and the other protesters, including the Rev. Pat Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition, were cited for “Failure to obey a lawful order” as they knelt in prayer in front of the White House.
Read the article here.
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Voodoo environomics: Fantasy replaces reality in Obama’s green economy
President Obama’s rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline wasn’t, as he claimed, based on science or the environment. It certainly wasn’t based on sound economic policy, either. The decision was, in fact, the product of voodoo environomics: a destructive blend of bad science based on fear-mongering and manipulated research, the bad economics of green-job fantasies and “starve the beast” energy politics.
At the very heart of voodoo environomics, of course, is the much-hyped theory linking man-made carbon dioxide (CO2) and climate change. Without the world’s policy focus on CO2 emissions, climate-change alarmists would be robbed of the ammunition they need to change and control human behavior via draconian energy policies. They also would be robbed of the substantial financial support needed to continue their biased research.
When adopted as official government policy, voodoo environomics can wreak havoc on the economy and represents a double whammy for working Americans. The admitted goal of CO2-slashing schemes such as “cap and trade” is to jack up the price of energies like gasoline and coal to make expensive alternative energies more competitive financially. Of course, their proponents hope you don’t realize that it’s ordinary Americans who are stuck paying higher prices for utilities and gasoline.
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The present article, the last in the series on the schism within the Iranian leadership, focuses on the move by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to abolish the presidential regime in Iran and replace it with a parliamentary regime, as an institutional means of eliminating his rivals, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hashemi Rafsanjani.
The lead-up to the upcoming Majlis elections, scheduled for early March 2012, saw an intense public debate over the issue of changing the political system. The debate was sparked by a speech Khamenei gave in Kermanshah on October 16, 2011, in which he hinted at the possibility of eliminating the post of president and instating a parliamentary system in which the head of the executive branch of government is elected by the Majlis.[1] Khamenei noted that this idea will only be implemented in the distant future, and only if necessary, yet his speech was perceived as ground breaking and as heralding a significant, and perhaps imminent, change in the structure of the regime.
READ.
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