May 2010

There Is Something Rotten In Jamaica

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There is something rotten in Jamaica and it just isn't about drugs.

I had never heard of this guy, Christopher "Dudus" Coke, before I became aware of the news reports, which all say, that he is an alleged notorious drug kingpin, a criminal, who is wanted in the United States. I don't argue with the tag placed on him, that he is a criminal. Drug dealing is a nasty business with terrible human and social consequences. However, if a criminal he was, he is not just a criminal now. The government of Jamaica and its security forces, by their heavy-handed actions, carried out during raids to arrest him, have elevated Mr. Coke to the status of outlaw.

Back Stepping Into War?

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From  Linktv  — " May 27, 2010  — (May 28, 2010). After the South Korean warship Cheonan sunk -- allegedly due to a North Korean torpedo -- the West was unanimous in its judgment of North Korea's guilt, and quick to spin different theories on the motive for the attack. But, some South Koreans aren't so sure, thinking the attack too neat a coincidence with the looming elections, and finding the evidence murky. The plot thickens" See the video.

Dennis Hopper, R.I.P.

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Dennis Hopper died today. He was 74. He is best being remember for his work in the film "Easy Rider." He directed and co- starred in the film with Peter Fonda

I saw "Easy Rider' when it came out in '69 I went with a group of friends. The friend who got us together to see the movie, became a professor, a student and writer of film criticism. He said at the time that this is an important film. He was right "Easy Rider' is an important film, about rebellion, about youth and freedom, a road picture about America from the eyes of the 1960's youth culture. The film put the counterculture on the screen. At its release, the film was in a way, a step toward realism, and a step forward, and away from only showing a fake or clean-up view of America, the America through the eyes of Debbie Reynolds and Doris Day. The movie also reintroduced Jack Nicholson to the movie going public.

Palin Attempts To Intimidate Author

Why is Sarah Palin afraid of author Joe McGinniss? Author Joe McGinniss rented the house next door to the Palins. Author McGinnisss has been critical of the Palins and is writing a book on Sarah Palin.

Author McGinnisss told the reporters that Todd Palin visited the house and became “increasingly hostile.”

According to the Washington Post, Sarah Palin accused Mr. McGinniss of moving into the house to spy on her family. "Wonder what kind of material he'll gather while overlooking Piper's bedroom, my little garden, and the family's swimming hole?" she wrote on her Facebook page. And she posted  Mr. McGinnissin picture on Facebook.

Palin: What is the lady hiding?

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The Associated Press reports today, May 28, 2010, that former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has erected a 14-foot-high fence at her Wasilla home, making good on a promise to prevent her new neighbor, a writer working on a book about her, from peering in. See the video.

Journalist and author Joe McGinniss, who is not known for writing flattering books about politicians, decided to write a book about Sarah Palin.

Brits Scrap National ID Cards

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The Associate Press reported yesterday —" British Home Secretary Theresa May has confirmed the ID card scheme will be scrapped within 100 days.'. See Video.

I am an American who roots for the Labor Party in their contests with Britain's Conservative Party. I rooted for Gordon Brown in the the recent election. I remember the bad old days when the team of Margaret Thatcher ran things in the United Kingdom and Ronald Wilson Reagan was the president here. The pair of them were just awful. So I am please to see that the current coalition government led, by the Tories, have stuck a blow for civil liberties by planning to scrap their country's national id card. National ID cards are a police statist idea. To its shame the Labor Party introduced them in Britain, and there have been calls to introduce them here. Well, Britain will be tossing theirs into the rubbish, which is where the cards belong.

Tom Cruise, Screen Icon

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Tom Cruise was presented with the Screen Icon Award of the National Movie Awards in London. See the video.

Tom Cruise is a movie star who is also a very good actor. He is one of the most under-rated actors in today's films. He has been a very good actor, for a very long time in a number of different film roles. He has not won an Oscar, though he has been nominated. The number of Oscars an actor wins is a popular measurement used to judge the ability of movie actors. The Oscar, the Academy Award, is an over rated tool. Great actors of the past, some nominated, some not, never won Oscars.

Tom Cruise suffers from the Cary Grant affliction. Cary Grant was a popular actor, a great actor, a movie star, and an icon, who never won an Oscar. Why because he was Cary Grant. He had good looks. He had no trouble getting a movie part. He had no real need for an Oscar, right?

Joining The Crowd

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I saw this CBS video on "What is Crowdsourcing?" and I couldn't go another minute without posting my comment.

Crowdsourcing? It sounds like a good idea, doesn't it? If two heads are better than one, then a hundred heads or a thousand are even better, right? If every success has many fathers and failure is an orphan, then don't we want to give every idea as many father as possible? A crowd of fathers? Right? That was what Kennedy meant, right? Now, we know that too many cooks killed the broth, but what about kitchen help who stirs the pot? Can we have too many hands stirring the -- Shall I say, soup?

Lindsay Lohan

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Lindsay Lohan is what? 23? And she is known as a world class drunk? A while back, she pled no contest to DWI. She was DWI on more than one occasion. She was sentenced to probation, and to taking classes and staying sober. She was promised the reward given to all citizens who follow the program, who stay sober and who go to the classes -- Her record would have been wiped cleaned.

Now, I understand  addiction. Staying sober is not as easy as it sounds, even if a person wants to, and tries hard. Failure is not a stranger when the call to give in to drink is strong. Alcoholism is a disease. DWI is a crime, and there must be consequences for crime. The court has placed Ms. Lohan on a strict routine. Weekly checks and the 24/7 wearing of an alcohol monitoring ankle bracelet.  And she has been warned, comply with the probation or risk going to jail. See Video.

Fergie's Not Welcome At the Palace?

She's not welcome at the palace? I don't know if she is or not. I assume not. The she of course is Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, former wife of Prince Andrew of the United Kingdom.

The Associated Press reports, "Britons aren't offering much sympathy to Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, after a tabloid released video in which she appears to sell access to her ex-husband, Prince Andrew." See the video.

Fergie or Duchess, or the Bag Lady is now complaining, loudly, that her "lapse of judgment" wasn't her fault. The stingy royals only pay her $22K a year. She wants the world's sympathy. $22K a year! And she's a duchess! How can any one expect a duchess to manage on $22k!

BA Strike, Labor Party Rising?

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British Airlines cabin crew have gone out on a five day strike. I may be wrong, but it seems to me that England has fewer strikes when there is a Labor Government in charge. Why that is, I only can guess. Maybe the unions don't want to cause trouble for their favorite party, and the Tories, the representative of management, deserves to have trouble. I know, sometimes I try to make serious things simple, and I know that simplicity often skips over the flaws in many arguments, as complexity often covers over flaws with dense and not so deep layers of words.

A joke? Who's laughing?

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She started a joke on Facebook and who is laughing?

People who think it would be cool to mock other people's religion, because they can mock their own, or they can mock anything, and who believe it is important to do so, that it is one of the most important things to do, are people who have their priorities all screwed up.  A Seattle cartoonist satirically joked that, today Thursday, should be dubbed "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" on Facebook, suggesting that it might be a fun thing to do. The cartoonist has changed the joke, and now wants everybody to make today the "Everybody Draw Al Gore Day."  She must think that would be harmless.

Is Bristol Palin Really Worth $15-20,000 an Hour?

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While most of America is still left wondering about the new Miss America’s response about birth control being a “controlled substance”, one unwed young mom is raking in the big bucks in speaking fees primarily because she is probably the most famous teen mom in the US. Bristol Palin won’t be making quite as much cash as her mom, but will be taking in somewhere between 15-20,000 for each speaking engagement.

What is up with that? Bristol got into the national spotlight for being a pregnant teenager who was pretending to be engaged to a guy she and her family are now suing for custodial rights for their son. Are she and her abstinence-only education message what teenagers really need to hear about?

Dead Apple Touring?

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A dead apple tour? Oh my, what is a dead apple tour?  Sounds like sight-seeing  something rotten in the Big Apple? Well, doesn't it?  Yeah, well.  Shouldn't write that. Dead Apple Tours,  according to the  New York Post,  is a tour company that "offers tourists a unique ride around town in a hearse to sites where famous people have died."

Why the hearse? Marketing. Some people will find a way to sell anything. Others will be entertained by anything? What about a tour of dropping flies? House flies? Yes,  how about going on a tour of where house flies have fallen? Does that sound interesting,. tourists? What did would P. T. Barnum say about that idea? What would he say about touring, in a hearse, sites where people died ?

Robot Presides Over Wedding

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Item -- AssociatedPress  —  May 16, 2010  — "A humanoid robot conducted a wedding ceremony in Tokyo on Sunday - a world first, according to the manufacturer of the "I-Fairy," a four-foot (1.2 metre) tall seated robot with flashing eyes and plastic pigtails." See the video.

Well, people can get married anyway they want. They can trained a parrot to lead them through their vows. They can train a dog to wag his tail in a sort of sign language. They can stand together and tap dance out their vows. Freedom is what it is. Everybody is free to be themselves or whatever. A person is free to be peculiar.  

That Rascal Polanski

A British actress, Charlotte Lewis, is claiming that rascal Roman Polanski sexually abused her. In her words  “in the worst possible way,” when she was 16-years-old. She says she is coming forward with this claim because Polanski has to be held accountable  See the video.

Mind Your Own Beeswax, Facebook

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Today I was faced with a big scare when my four-year-old woke up with neck pain, screaming at 2:00 in the morning. We rushed her to the emergency room and waited for a while to discover that, thankfully, it was just a muscle issue and not something broken, meningitis, or anything else from my wildest nightmares. I wanted to post it on Facebook when I got home so my family would know she was okay and I wouldn’t have to call every single person (status updates have been making our lives that much more simple, amirite?), not to mention explain my whereabouts to anyone expecting me for various appointments. Plus, it’s just nice to be able to share such good, relieving news with friends and family.

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