Friday - February 17, 2006

Kofi Must Go

Rather than just get rid of Kofi and replace him with another America-bashing crook, why don’t we just shut the damned place down and be done with it. In sixty years the UN has proven to be a money pit for the US and an invitation to every crooked, despotic regime on the planet to use the world stage to spout more and more nonsense.

We have poured billions into this useless organization and gotten absolutely nothing in return except the further animosity of the rest of the world. I have a very simple social philosophy: if you don’t like me and all you want to do is call me names and harass me, I’ll be damned if I’ll let you into my house to do it. Take your shit elsewhere. I don’t have to put up with it and I’m sure not going to provide you with drinks and snacks while you pound on me.

The rest of the world is entitled to their opinion of the US but I think it’s altogether best if they take it to Switzerland or someplace else where we can happily ignore their constant bleating and venomous infighting. While we’re at it, let them finance the damned thing too. Everyone’s entitled to voice their opinion of us ... just not on our dime ...

Bolton Launches Talks on Replacing Annan
February 17, 2006, 3:41 AM EST
UNITED NATIONS (AP)

The U.S. ambassador opened Security Council discussions on the next U.N. secretary-general, calling the choice of a replacement for Kofi Annan probably the most important decision the world body will make this year. U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, the council’s president this month, called a meeting of the five veto-wielding permanent members Thursday “to get a sense of where the council is, so that we can begin to move forward on the issue.”

Annan’s second five-year term ends on Dec. 31 and his successor must be approved by the General Assembly based on a recommendation from the council. At the moment, the permanent members—the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain—are divided on when to choose the next U.N. chief and where he or she should come from.

By tradition, the job of secretary-general rotates by region—and Asian and African nations, who represent the majority of the 191 U.N. member states, believe it is Asia’s turn to lead the United Nations. “We believe, with more than two billion people, definitely Asia can provide the best qualified candidates,” China’s U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya told reporters after Thursday’s meeting.

Russian Ambassador Andrey Denisov said choosing an Asian would follow tradition, “and it is better to follow traditions if we do have them, but it doesn’t mean that it is strict adherence.” French Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said his government believes the Asians “have a priority—but not exclusivity.” But Bolton reiterated Washington’s strong opposition to the principle of geographic rotation, a view backed by Britain.

“It’s our view that we should pick the best qualified person, whatever region of the world the person comes from,” he said. “Obviously, the secretary-general has to have political skills, but our view is the management question is far and away the most important qualification.” Bolton argued that in practice there really is no geographical rotation because three secretary-generals have come from Western Europe, two from Africa, one from Latin America, one from Asia, and none from Eastern Europe.

He also noted that there has never been a woman secretary-general and asked: “If you believe in geographic rotation, do you believe in gender rotation?” So far, the announced candidates are all Asian men. They include South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai, who is backed by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and former U.N. disarmament chief Jayantha Dhanapala of Sri Lanka who recently represented the government in peace talks with the Tamil Tigers.

Equality Now, an advocacy organization which campaigns for women’s rights, came up with a sampling of 18 qualified women from all over the world. Its list of candidates includes the presidents of Latvia, Finland and Chile, several current and former senior U.N. officials, and Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize winner who remains under house arrest by the country’s military rulers.

Council members expect more candidates to enter the race in the coming months. Bolton wants the council to decide on a candidate by June, but other members think that’s too early. China’s Wang said the council is “informally looking at dates like September, October” to give the next secretary-general time for a transition. De La Sabliere said there is growing support for a transition of two or three months.

Not only have the five permanent council members started talking about the next secretary-general, so have the 10 elected council members who serve two-year terms. But all 15 members agree that discussions are very preliminary—and there won’t be any discussion of candidates for several months. “I think we get together not to surprise each other,” Wang said of the meetings of the five permanent members, known as the P-5. “We believe the P-5 will have a major role to play. Whether they finally agree I’m not sure.”

Posted by The Skipper     on 02/17/2006 at 07:13 AM   
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Spoiled Brats

_{Henry Payne—The Detroit News}

Posted by The Skipper     on 02/17/2006 at 06:52 AM   
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Housekeeping

Sorry for the light posting this week.  I’m changing jobs (internally to the company) at the end of the month, so have been working feverishly to get all of my open items cleaned up before today.  The reason is that I leave for

for a conference early tomorrow morning.

So, the call is out to the vast BMEWS community for suggestions of some [clean] things to do in the evenings.  I’ll be in sessions until 5:30 or so each day, and won’t have a car, so travel will be by foot or public transportation.  We’re staying at Ceaser’s Palace, which appears to be right in the thick of it all.

Obviously, there is gambling, and I’m sure I’ll dip my toe in that water a little, but the idea of giving the casinos all my money is not that appealing.  I’ve looked into a few shows, but none tickled my fancy yet (Barry Manilow is the TOP star right now???  I can SURELY think of better ways to spend $200!)

Posted by Drew458     on 02/17/2006 at 06:51 AM   
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   Thursday - February 16, 2006

Photo(s) Du Jour

Ever wondered what an atomic blast looks like before it obliterates everything around it?  Before the smoke, the mushroom cloud, the devastation, it’s really quite amazing to see the first few fractions of an atomic bomb upon detonation.

Harold Edgerton built a special lens 10 feet long for his camera which was set up in a bunker 7 miles from the source of the blast which was triggered in Nevada - the bomb placed atop a steel gantry anchored to the desert floor by guide wires. The exposures are at 1/100,000,000ths of a second.

Due to the extremely high shutter speeds, the image quality and color depth is limited in these photos.

Posted by The Skipper     on 02/16/2006 at 04:23 PM   
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A Good Man

So much bad news lately that I thought it would be good to highlight someone doing it right for a change.

Via the fellas at Wizbang, we hear the story of Alex Ray.  I’ll let Jay Tea tell the story.

The Common Man is a small group of semi-upscale restaurants in New Hampshire, and the owner, Alex Ray is a pretty civic-minded fellow. Last summer, he started a program for youths—he basically turned one room of his restaurant over to a bunch of them to run as a standalone business, helping them out as needed but letting them do all the hands-on work themselves. The kids did everything—scheduling, working, making deposits, etc.—and Ray just mainly kept an eye on things.

It was a great success, and the kids learned a hell of a lot about running a business—as well as making a bit of money for themselves. All in all, a great story.

Until the federal government got involved.

They looked very carefully at the breakfast room operation, which Ray had set up through the Communities for Alcohol- and Drug-Free Youth (CADY) program and which was supervised by an Americorps volunteer, and noted that the kids had really thrown themselves into the project. They came in early, on their own time, to get the place ready, and often stayed late to make sure everything was done.

That kind of enthusiasm and dedication cannot be tolerated, however. Ray was fined almost $4,000 for child labor violations by the US Department of Labor. He negotiated it down to about half that, and paid it.

What lesson has Ray learned from this experience?

He says he’ll do it again next summer, and in two locations next time.

Makes you want to go eat some food at this man’s place.  If there are any BMEWS’rs in the Granite State, go pay Alex a visit.

Posted by Drew458     on 02/16/2006 at 11:14 AM   
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Suicide Is Painless

Another American icon disappears ... into the hands of people who hate us. I wonder if “Hot Lips” Hollihan was part of the deal? Frank Burns should feel right at home with the Islamowhackos, so all things being equal, it should pan out OK if they can make Hawkeye stop making martinis in the back-tent still. Klinger, however ... is another matter entirely ...

U.S. Army Gives Away Last M*A*S*H
February 16, 2006, 9:17 AM EST
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (AP)

The U.S. Army said goodbye to its last MASH on Thursday, handing over the green tents, emergency room and surgical tables to Pakistani doctors and nurses who had never seen the hit TV show that made the field hospital a household name in America. For the past four months, the 212th MASH—or Mobile Army Surgical Hospital—has been stationed in a mountain valley in northern Pakistan treating survivors of the Oct. 8 earthquake that killed more than 80,000 people.

The military decided to donate the MASH—worth $4.6 million—to Pakistan because the Army is switching to a new approach, called “combat support hospital.” The new system is more flexible, with surgical squads that can go out into the field instead of waiting for patients to be flown in. Surrounded by snow-covered peaks, the Army said farewell to the MASH in a brief, simple ceremony with a Pakistani army band in maroon jackets and gold-trimmed hats playing marching tunes—not “Suicide is Painless,” the TV show’s theme song.

“We are very proud of the MASH’s service to the people of Pakistan and extremely happy the MASH will be continuing its mission in capable hands,” said Army Col. Angel Lugo, MASH force commander. Pakistan army surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Syed Afzal Ahmad, said that the local staff have been working closely with the Americans during the quake mission and were ready to take over the MASH unit, which first saw action in St. Mihiel, France, during World War I.

“We are very thankful to the U.S. government and will remain thankful forever,” he said. U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker said the MASH and other quake aid “caused tens of thousands of Pakistanis up in this area to change their view of America.” Still, “Death to the U.S.” was one of the most popular chants the past week at protests across Pakistan against cartoons in the Western media lampooning the Prophet Muhammad. Crocker blamed the slogans on a “few agitators” and said it didn’t reflect wide opinion.

The MASH looked much different than the ramshackle, sprawling one on the TV show. The real camp included five long, neat tents that connected with covered walkways, creating a medical maze. The camp’s perimeter had medical trailers for surgery and sterilization that looked like green shipping containers. The TV series “MASH” ran from 1972-83, tackling the delicate task of trying to make viewers laugh while showing the horrors of the Korean War. The half-hour show juggled the funny and the serious by being a “dramady” with multiple plot lines—some serious, others comic.

- More on this story here ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 02/16/2006 at 10:56 AM   
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Baden-Powell: The Prophet

Alright, I confess. I was a Boy Scout. In fact I was a member of that nefarious religious cult for six years. We were brainwashed into believing in a power greater than ourselves. We indoctrinated Christians, Jews and Buddhists in our troop. We even taught Arnold Jenkins not to pick his nose in public. I myself, rose to be a high priest (Eagle Scout). We were shameless in our pursuit of the message laid down by the Prophet Baden-Powell (praise his name).

I cannot even begin to tell you of the secret rituals we participated in out in remote wooded areas under a full moon - although I’m pretty sure none of which involved drinking any blood ... I think. Thank goodness the ACLU is exposing this crackpot cult. Maybe now young boys will no longer be forced to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. It would be far better if they were homosexual atheists - at least, according to the ACLU, that is ...

Boy Scouts: A Religion?
February 16, 2006
(WORLDNET DAILY)

Arguments in a major Boy Scouts case argued in Pasadena, Calif., before a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals – a case that is certain to be headed for the Supreme Court—centered on the contention that the revered organization is actually a religion and should therefore not be given a lease of public land.

The case was brought by self-declared agnostics Lori and Lynn Barnes-Wallace and Michael and Valerie Breen, along with a son of each, in protest of a lease of parkland in Balboa Park and Fiesta Island by the city of San Diego to the Boy Scouts of America.

The agnostics sued the city on a claim that the lease to the Boy Scouts – out of more than 100 leases, including to the YMCA, a number of Jewish groups, one of which conducts Sabbath services on parkland, and the Girl Scouts – violates the Establishment of Religion Clause of the First Amendment, and that they are suffering “inferior usage” thereby because they don’t want to have to apply for permits, or pay usage fees, to the BSA. The case is Barnes-Wallace, et al. v. Boy Scouts of America, Nos. 04-55732, 04-56167.

A federal judge in San Diego granted the summary judgment to the agnostics, finding that the Boy Scouts are a “religion” because of the Boy Scout Oath, which includes doing one’s duty to “God and my country,” and the Boy Scout Law, which includes “reverence” as one of 12 precepts. Also, the Scouts require a belief in God as a condition of membership.

The city itself is not part of the appeal. It settled with the American Civil Liberties Union to avoid further expense, agreeing to terminate the lease and to give the ACLU $940,000 in attorney fees. The appeal continues since the Boy Scouts, if they prevail, want to be able to contract for a lease with the city again.

The case has drawn national attention because the federal judge’s finding that the BSA is “a religion” imperils the future work of not only the Boy Scouts, but all organizations that recognize a transcendent higher authority, including community service organizations like Rotary and Kiwanis, Alcoholics Anonymous, which works directly with the courts and government, and veterans organizations like the American Legion, whose constitutional preamble begins “For God and Country,” almost identical to the Boy Scouts Oath.

“If the Boy Scouts are ‘a religion,’ so are we in the American Legion. Is the ACLU going to sue our 2.7 million wartime veteran members next, claiming we, too, are ‘religion’? Are they going to sue to destroy the religious symbols at our veterans’ memorials on public property? The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier? Our work in Boys State, Boys Nation, with the government? Our Oratorical Contests with schools?” a Legionnaire asked after Tuesday’s court session.

The crucial cultural question of who or what “is a religion” was argued by lawyers for the parties and submitted for decision to three lawyers sitting as Ninth Circuit Justices: William C. Canby, Andrew J. Kleinfeld and Marsha Berzon. Mark Danis, lawyer for the agnostics, argued that the Boy Scouts are “a religion,” and the lease to the BSA therefore violates the Establishment Clause because the agreement “aids” religion. The Boy Scouts pay only $1 a year, as do, apparently, all the other nonprofit groups that have leases on parklands.

George P. Davidson, BSA lawyer, argued that the Scouts are “not a religion,” but an organization dedicated to helping youth build moral and ethical character, which mission the BSA believes needs a belief in God and reverence as a necessary component. He emphasized that the BSA is “not sectarian;” has no creed, in the sense of a systematic theology or religious doctrine; expressly directs Scouts that any religious instruction should be by their parents and self-chosen religious affiliations; and that the Scouts include boys of many religions, including Christians, Jews, Muslims and others.

- More on this “religion” here ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 02/16/2006 at 10:13 AM   
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Olympic Games Update

Meanwhile in Torino, Italy the Winter Olympics are going on. In keeping with our proud (?) tradition of making sure you are staying informed about all the news that is fit to print, we present the following Olympic update: so far the US has seven medals, the Russians have nine, the Norwegians have eleven, the East German judges have been retired, the Jamaican bobsled team is missing and the USA still has the best looking athletes ...

Gretchen Bleiler

(FMHUS.COM)

When snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler was forced to sit out of the 2002 Olympics after narrowly missing the qualifiers, she vowed she would return—and return she did. This week, the sultry Bleiler captured the silver during her halfpipe Olympic run at Torino.

That’s not surprising considering the siren of the slopes is one of the top female snowboarders in the halfpipe, having won eight consecutive competitions in 2003; snagging wins at the 2004 X Games, Gravity Games and U.S. Open; not to mention placing first-place in World Cup competition at Bardonecchia, Italy, in 2005.

To top things off, the 24-year-old Aspen native was one of the first women to complete a 900—a two-and-a-half-revolution jump—snowboarding’s equivalent of a grand slam. This is the same powder princess, while training for the 2002 games, gave herself a black eye by slamming into the pipe during a practice jump.

Posted by The Skipper     on 02/16/2006 at 07:12 AM   
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Quote Of The Day

“The refusal of this administration to level with the American people on matters large and small is very disturbing, because it goes counter to the way our constitutional democracy ... is supposed to work.”

-- Hillary Clinton, on the Bush Administration, February 14, 2006

Posted by The Skipper     on 02/16/2006 at 06:48 AM   
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Case Closed

_{Bob Englehart—The Hartford Courant}

Saddam Trial Becoming Like a TV Sitcom
February 16, 2006, 4:25 AM EST
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP)

It’s supposed to be a serious affair, but after three months and 12 hearings, the Saddam Hussein trial has become like a TV sitcom steeped in Iraqi pop culture and local vernacular. Interest in the trial has spiked since a new tough chief judge, Raouf Abdel-Rahman, took over last month and cracked down on the chaos that had marked the early hearings, which began Oct. 19.

Saddam and Barzan Ibrahim, his half brother and co-defendant, try their best to unsettle the stern new judge, using tactics from insulting his nonexistent mustache to showing up in long underwear. Proceedings are broadcast on state television with a 20-minute delay. Many Iraqis who cannot follow the hearings during business hours watch in the evenings on satellite stations, some of which show the day’s full hearing.

Perceptions of the trial among Iraqis depend in large part on their sectarian affiliations. Many Shiites, long oppressed by Saddam’s Sunni Arab-dominated regime, believe the ex-president’s execution is already overdue. To many Sunni Arabs, Saddam and his seven co-defendants are persecuted men. Yet, Iraqis are united over one thing—the trial’s entertainment value.

“The toughness of the new judge has turned the whole thing into a farce,” said Ismail Ibrahim, a 45-year-old Sunni engineer who watches the hearings at work. “It’s funny.” Hatem Abbas Khalaf, a health worker from the holy Shiite city of Karbala, said he finds the whole affair “entertaining.”

“It makes me gloat over the predicament of Saddam and his associates,” he said. Saddam’s daughter even chipped in with her own critique of what goes on in the courtroom. “This judge Raouf is the strangest cartoon character I have ever seen in my life,” Raghad Saddam Hussein has told Al Arabiya television Tuesday from Amman, Jordan.

Over two sessions Monday and Tuesday, Saddam and Ibrahim dominated the proceedings with some vintage courtroom theatrics. But in a series of instances, they appeared to break new ground. “May your mustache be cursed,” Saddam shouted at Abdel-Rahman.

Posted by The Skipper     on 02/16/2006 at 05:31 AM   
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   Wednesday - February 15, 2006

The Secret Plan

_{Ssssshhhhhhh. Quite. You have to keep this one under your hat. You mustn’t tell a soul. Especially any Democrats, Liberals, Leftists or their supporters. You have to swear not to disclose this to anyone at Democratic Underground or Daily KOS. Promise? OK, here’s the scoop. I received the following from Fearless Leader a few minutes ago and it is all becoming clear now. You must do your part to make sure The Secret Plan succeeds. Our Fearless Leader is counting on you all.}

From: Karl Rove, Propaganda Minister
To: My Evil Neo-Con Minions
Subject: The Whittington Plan

Phase One of the plan is complete and the Democrats and the Media are swallowing the bait whole. I need your help for step 4 of Phase I, which is already in progress, as you can see. Get out there and do your part to help us make sure the plan succeeds. We’re all counting on you.

The Secret Plan:

Phase I
-- 1. Vice President Cheney “accidentally” shoots hunting partner, Whittington (faked of course)
-- 2. Whittington is secretly whisked to a hospital and kept out of sight (free chamgagne, cookies)
-- 3. Press is told Whittington suffered a heart attack to get them excited (they’ll go for this easily)
-- 4. Rumors are planted to encourage Media and Democrats to call for Cheney’s head (Cheney stays mum to further encourage them)
-- 5. Whittington dies (actually faked and he is secretly taken to Brazil and given lifetime pension to stay in hiding)
Phase II
-- 1. Media and Democrats are encouraged to call for Cheney impeachment (Dick still mum to feed the frenzy)
-- 2. After three months of media frenzy and Democratic Party name-calling Cheney resigns (tearful photo-op at departure)
-- 3. President Bush goes on national TV to mourn the loss of dear friend and plea for calm (need to rehearse Dubya over and over and over)
-- 4. President Bush names Rudolph Giuliani as new Vice President (feed press pictures of Rudy on 9/11)
Phase III
-- 1. In 2008, after tough nomination process (faked) VP Rudy is nominated to run for President (Democrats in disarray)
-- 2. Rudy names Condaleeza Rice as Vice President nominee (Democrats in tears)
-- 3. Giuliani/Rice ticket wins in November 2008, beating out Clinton/Kerry (Democrats on suicide watch)
-- 4. Democrats told to “suck it” for eight more years (Democratic Party self-destructs)

Sincerely,

Karl Rove
Master Strategy Craftsman, Neo-Con’s ‘R’ Us

Posted by The Skipper     on 02/15/2006 at 03:36 PM   
Filed Under: • Satire •  
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Black Sheep

OK, this is one time I’m not even going to try. I will leave it all up to you, our gentle readers (and the Oink/OCM Comedy Conspiracy). Have at it, gang! There is an entire galaxy of puns, bad jokes and otherwise sordid commentary you can make about this stoopid asshat. You should be able to have a field day with this baaaaah-ed boy .... erh ... uh ... sorry ‘bout that ....

Mich. Man Sentenced in Sheep Abuse Case
Feb 14, 10:13 PM EST
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP)

A man who pleaded no contest to a sodomy charge involving a sheep says he should not have to register as a sex offender. Jeffrey S. Haynes said the state registry is intended to keep track of people who have committed crimes against humans.

But Calhoun County Circuit Court Judge Conrad Sindt told Haynes at his sentencing hearing that once he is released from prison, he must register with the Michigan State Police Public Sex Offender Registry.

Haynes, 42, of Battle Creek, was sentenced Monday to 2 1/2 years to 20 years in prison. He entered the plea in January. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes. Tamara Towns, an assistant prosecutor for the county, argued that Haynes should be ordered to register as a sex offender because once out of prison, he could prey on children or vulnerable adults.

Haynes said he is not a violent person and would not assault children. “The prosecutor is being real hard on me for what I did,” he said. “But I should not be treated as a child molester.” A telephone call seeking comment was left Tuesday at the Marshall office of defense attorney John B. Sullivan.

Police said Haynes had sex with a sheep at a Bedford Township farm on Jan. 26, 2005. The animal’s owner caught him on the property and the sheep was found injured. Haynes was arrested in June after a DNA sample taken from the animal matched Haynes’ genetic material.

Haynes has prior convictions for burglary, home invasion and uttering and publishing, and was on parole for burglary at the time of the sex crime.

Posted by The Skipper     on 02/15/2006 at 12:15 PM   
Filed Under: • Crime •  
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Fowl Play

Two things related to poultry jump out at me in the story below: (1) The Angry Muslims™ burned another KFC restaurant and (2) CNN persists in being chicken-shit about the cartoons. I don’t know what Muslims have against Colonel Sanders but this is the third KFC the Pakistani peasants have burned in the last year, over varoius “perceived offenses against Islam”. Between these madmen and PETA, the Kentucky Colonel doesn’t stand a chance.

As for CNN, they issued a statement earlier that they are not showing the cartoons because they fear their reporters overseas might be placed in danger. I find that statement interesting since the purpose of terrorism is to enforce one’s will upon people by causing fear. It’s as if CNN is saying the terrorists have won. No contest.

In addition, I see where CNN had no problem showing a picture of the painting of the “Holy Virgin Mary” by British artist Chris Ofili, in which the Christian icon is portrayed covered in elephant feces and pictures of female genitalia.

I don’t know which is worse, the spineless, gutless Muslim peasants who hate our chicken or the chicken network which is even more spineless and gutless.  They’re both hypocritical about their motives and both are dishonest in their intentions. Q.E.D.

Three Die In New Pakistan Protests
Third day of violence over cartoons erupts in Pakistan
Wednesday, February 15, 20066:32 a.m. EST (11:32 GMT)
LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN)

Deadly violence erupted Wednesday across Pakistan as several thousand demonstrators stormed through the streets of Peshawar and Lahore to protest the publication of caricatures of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed, police said. At least three people died in a third day of protests and clashes with police—two in Peshawar and one in Lahore. Authorities said dozens had been injured.

There were smaller outbreaks of violence in five other Pakistani cities. According to authorities in Peshawar, protesters, many of them students, set fire to a KFC restaurant, a cinema and several other buildings, including a Daewoo bus terminal that contained 16 buses, as they rampaged through the city. A number of cars and motorcycles were also burned.

Police used tear gas to try to break up the crowd. At least two people were killed in violence in Lahore and Islamabad on Tuesday. In Lahore, protesters burned more than a dozen buildings, including the provincial assembly building, two banks, the offices of Norwegian cell phone company Telenor and a KFC. Police responded with tear gas as authorities called in Pakistani paramilitary forces to calm the disturbance.

In Islamabad, protesters attacked the Foreign Ministry building, as well as Telenor offices, police said. Protests have escalated in recent weeks, more than four months after the political cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed were originally published in a Danish newspaper. Some Muslims consider his depiction to be blasphemy.

CNN is not showing the negative caricatures of the likeness of the Prophet Mohammed because the network believes its role is to cover the events surrounding the publication of the cartoons while not unnecessarily adding fuel to the controversy itself.

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

--- Frank Herbert, “Dune” - Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear

Posted by The Skipper     on 02/15/2006 at 08:52 AM   
Filed Under: • Media-Bias • RoPMA •  
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Brits Ban Smoke

The Brits had their firearms taken away. Then their liberal government tried to ban fox hunting and encouraged every mad Muslim in the world to come to their country and live off the dole. Now the liberal democrats in charge of Jolly Old England have decided to further screw with their population by banning smoking everywhere except in the home.

It’s a good thing that same liberal government recently decided to allow pubs to stay open all night so the general populace can just stay drunk while they’re all getting royally screwed by their government. What was once the greatest empire in the world has degenerated into a docile flock of sheep. Baaaah ....

Smoking Ban In All Pubs And Clubs
Tuesday, 14 February 2006, 22:51 GMT
LONDON (BBC)

MPs have voted by a huge margin to ban smoking from all pubs and private members’ clubs in England. Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said the change, expected to take effect in summer 2007, would “save thousands of people’s lives”. Ministers gave a free vote amid fears Labour MPs could rebel against plans to exempt clubs and pubs not serving food.

The Commons decided by a margin of 200 to impose a ban on smoking in all enclosed public spaces. The Cabinet was split on how far restrictions - set out in the Health Bill - should go, with Conservatives calling government policy a “shambles”. Prime Minister Tony Blair, Chancellor Gordon Brown and Home Secretary Charles Clarke all voted for a blanket ban.

But Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, Defence Secretary John Reid and Education Secretary Ruth Kelly opposed it. A total smoking ban is due to come into force in Scotland next month, and Northern Ireland is set to follow suit in April, next year. The Health Bill gives the Welsh Assembly the right to decide for itself whether to implement a ban it has already twice approved in principle.

Ms Hewitt, who voted for a total ban for England, told the BBC: “I’m absolutely delighted. This is really a historic day for public health.” She added: “This is going to save thousands of people’s lives.” Elspeth Lee, of Cancer Research UK, said: “This is really going to affect generations to come and make the nation a lot healthier.”

However, Simon Clark, director of smoking support group Forest, said: “This is a double whammy and an unnecessary and illiberal piece of legislation that denies freedom of choice to millions of people. “The Government should educate people about the health risks of smoking but politicians have no right to force people to quit by making it more difficult for people to consume a legal product.”

- More tobacco madness to this story here ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 02/15/2006 at 08:32 AM   
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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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