Murderer Kim Jong-Il Feels Pressure

There are ongoing protests outside the London embassy in an effort to stop this;
North Korea Christian Faces Imminent Execution

PYONGYANG/SEOUL (BosNewsLife) -- Family members and human rights activists urged the international community Saturday, April 22, to pressure North Korea not to execute a Christian man who has been accused of "betrayal" and "espionage" by the Communist government.

Advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), which has closely monitored the case, told BosNewsLife that the public execution of Son Jong Nam, 48, was imminent unless the world intervenes.

In a statement CSW and other activists said Son has been imprisoned in the basement of the National Security Agency in the North Korean capital Pyongyang and is "practically dead from horrible torture."

There is so much more. North Korean evil goes on and on;

Korean Reds Targeting Christians

WASHINGTON - A woman in her 20s executed by a firing squad after being caught with a Bible. Five Christian church leaders punished by being run over by a steamroller before a crowd of spectators who "cried, screamed out, or fainted when the skulls made a popping sound as they were crushed."

These and other "horrifying" violations of human rights and religious freedom in North Korea are reported in a new study by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, titled "'Thank You, Father Kim Il Sung': Eyewitness Accounts of Severe Violations of Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion in North Korea."

Yet, the American Left™ continues to support this evil regime.

Hey Kim! People Are Starting to Notice

N. Korea Freedom Day Rally Features Persecuted Church

WASHINGTON -– As one of the most anticipated events planned for North Korea Freedom Week, the rally on Friday not only echoed the calls of abductees, defectors, human rights advocates, and congressmen to achieve human rights for North Koreans and return abductees, but it also spotlighted the issue of the persecuted church.

How bad is it?

"It is believed that thousands of Christians are currently suffering in North Korean prison camps," said Moeller in the article On North Korea, a Country Spotlighted During the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, handed out during the rally. "The country is suspected of detaining more political and religious prisoners than any other country in the world."

"The government will arrest not only the suspected dissident but also three generations of his or her family to root out the bad influence. Kim Jong Il is the 'Dear Leader' and has been exalted and revered as a god to be followed with unquestioned obedience."

Reports have indicated that Koreans and tourists are expected to bow to the portraits and statues of Kim Il Sung. Moreover, the Communist government has created its own "trinity" - Kim Il Sung (the father), Kim Jong Il (the son) and the Juche ideology, according to Open Doors USA.

In the 2006 Open Doors World Watch List, North Korea was ranked the country with the world'’s worst persecution of Christians for the fourth straight year.

Kim Jong-Il has long said that there is no persecution in North Korea, that they have no political prisoners, and that there are no executions. He is losing his ability to maintain these fictions. Knowing this, the murderous freaks who run the DPRK continue to hold themselves up as the paragon of human rights.

Pascha Polyglotta

It is a tradition in the Orthodox Church that, beginning during the Resurrection Liturgy through Pentecost, we greet someone with the words, "Christ is Risen". When greeted in this way, we respond,"Truely He is Risen".

We do this in as many languages as possible.
Christos Anesti! Alithos Anesti!
Christos Voskrese! Voistinou Voskrese!
Al'Masiah qam! haqqan qam!

Here is a site where you, my beloved readers, can find the greeting in 250 languages.

Pascha polyglotta - Paschal Greetings in 250 Languages.

Having this blog, a web site, formerly having two Orthodox Groups, and having been in many other places on the internet, I have friends everywhere, including some in difficult circumstances. For those and everyone, have courage, hope, and faith.

Issah Ghi-yam kard! dar vagheh ou barkhasteh ast!

The Easter Sermon of St. John Chrysostom

If any be pious and a lover of God, let him rejoice in this fair and radiant festival.
If any be a faithful servant let him enter into the joy of his Lord.
If any be weary with fasting, let him now enjoy his payment.

If anyone has labored from the first hour, let him receive today his just reward.
If anyone has come after the third hour, let him now be thankful that the feast is at hand,
If anyone has waited until after the sixth hour, let him not be anxious, no loss shall be his own.
If anyone has tarried until the ninth hour, let him draw near also, shedding all his doubts.
If anyone has come only at the eleventh hour, let him not be fearful because of his delay.

For the Master is bountiful and receives the last even as the first.
He gives repose to him who came at the eleventh hour just as to one who labored from the first.
The tardy are shown mercy and the timely are made whole.
To the one he gives, on the other he bestows.
He honors the deed and praises the intention.

Let all therefore enter into the joy of our Lord, (let both the first and those who came later receive their wages)
Let rich and poor dance with one another. You sober and you heedless celebrate the day.
You who have fasted and you who have not rejoice in this occasion.

The table is full-laden let all enjoy the feast.
The calf is fatted, let no one go forth hungry.
Let all partake of the banquet of faith, let all partake of the riches of goodness.

Let none mourn his poverty, for the kingdom stands before us.
Let none lament his failings, forgiveness has risen from the tomb.
Let none fear death, for the death of the Savior has set us free.

He quenched death when it had tasted his flesh.
He despoiled Hades when he descended thereto
Foreseeing this, Isaiah cried:
'Hell was embittered when it met you face to face.'

It was embittered for it was made void,
It was embittered for it was mocked,
It was embittered for it was slain,
It was embittered for it was despoiled.
It was embittered for it was led off in chains.

It received a body and encountered God,
It received earth and came face to face with heaven.
It received what it saw and fell where it could not see.

Death where is thy sting,
Hades where is thy victory?

Christ is risen and you are cast down,
Christ is risen and the demons are fallen,
Christ is risen and the angels rejoice,
Christ is risen and life is made free.
Christ is risen and there is none dead in the tomb.

For Christ is risen from the dead as the first fruits of those that fell asleep.

To him be glory and power forever and ever, Amen.


Translated by Frank Dobbs

God bless all of you, my dear readers.

Daily History Lesson

I received this in my email;

Humans existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunter/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer & would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in winter.

The 2 most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into 2 distinct subgroups: Liberals and Conservatives.

Once beer was discovered it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early human ancestors were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.

Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to B-B-Q at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as "the Conservative movement."

Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly B-B-Q's and doing the sewing, fetching and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement. Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. The rest became known as 'girliemen.'

Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy and group hugs and the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat and beer that conservatives provided.

Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard liberal fare.

Another interesting revolutionary side note: most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood and group therapists are liberals. Liberals invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn't "fair" to make the pitcher also bat.

Conservatives drink domestic beer. They eat red meat and still provide for their women. Conservatives are big-game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, firemen, medical doctors, police officers, corporate executives, Marines, athletes and generally anyone who works productively. Conservatives who own companies hire other conservatives who want to work for a living.

Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to "govern" the producers and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America. They crept in after the Wild West was tame and created a business of trying to get MORE for nothing.

Here ends today's lesson in world history:
It should be noted that a Liberal may have a momentary urge to respond to the above before simply laughing and forwarding it. A Conservative will be so convinced of the absolute truth of this history that it will be forwarded immediately.

Despicable Lies for Peace

Cindy Sheehan, the hate-America-first "Peace Mom" uses her own heroic son's death to tell despicable lies.
Charles has the story over at Little Green Footballs.

The Lies of a Peace Mom

Read it. He does it much better that I can, and this is stunning.

Religion of Peace and Forgiveness

Islamists Post Hit List of 'Apostates';

An Egyptian group calling itself the "al-Jama’ah Consultative Council" has sent an e-mail hit list to people deemed 'apostates' yesterday. The group warned that those people on the list who had left the faith would have three days (as of yesterday) to repent or they would be killed. The group also warned that the wives and children of the Muslim apostates were being followed & would be killed.

Under Islamic Law, the maximum penalty for apostasy is death.

The list includes prominent Muslims living in the West who have spoken out against violent Islamic extremism and intolerance, some still living in Muslim countries, as well as Coptic Christians who have advocated equal treatment in Egypt.

I have a friend in Egypt, a Coptic Christian, who may be on that list.

Hillary Two Ways

Hillary goes conservative on immigration

In an interview last month on Fox News, Mrs. Clinton said she does not "think that we have protected our borders or our ports or provided our first responders with the resources they need, so we can do more and we can do better."

In an interview on WABC radio, she said: "I am, you know, adamantly against illegal immigrants."

Her view is much softer now. From her own Senate web page, IMMIGRATION

This administration has failed to provide the resources to protect our borders, or a better system to keep track of entrants to this country. I welcome the addition of more border security, particularly on the Northern Border, with passage of the Intelligence Reform bill in December of 2004 – but it should not have taken more than 3 years after 9/11 to make this needed change, and there is still much more that must be done to keep America safe, including stronger inspection of cargo on ships and airplanes. Moreover, just two months after signing the Intelligence Reform bill with great fanfare, President Bush refused to provide the necessary funding in his Fiscal Year 2006 proposed budget sufficient to hire all of the border patrol agents that had been authorized. Fortunately, during the Senate’s debate on the budget in March of 2005, we passed an amendment to provide increased funding for border patrol agents. I hope the Republican leadership will support the maintenance of this funding, to provide the resources necessary to properly protect our borders.

So, how about the Southern Border, Hillary?

There Really IS a Problem with Global Warming

There IS a problem with global warming... it stopped in 1998

For many years now, human-caused climate change has been viewed as a large and urgent problem. In truth, however, the biggest part of the problem is neither environmental nor scientific, but a self-created political fiasco. Consider the simple fact, drawn from the official temperature records of the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, that for the years 1998-2005 global average temperature did not increase (there was actually a slight decrease, though not at a rate that differs significantly from zero).

Yes, you did read that right. And also, yes, this eight-year period of temperature stasis did coincide with society's continued power station and SUV-inspired pumping of yet more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

In response to these facts, a global warming devotee will chuckle and say "how silly to judge climate change over such a short period". Yet in the next breath, the same person will assure you that the 28-year-long period of warming which occurred between 1970 and 1998 constitutes a dangerous (and man-made) warming. Tosh. Our devotee will also pass by the curious additional facts that a period of similar warming occurred between 1918 and 1940, well prior to the greatest phase of world industrialisation, and that cooling occurred between 1940 and 1965, at precisely the time that human emissions were increasing at their greatest rate.

This is controversial because what should be science is actually politics.

Since the early 1990s, the columns of many leading newspapers and magazines, worldwide, have carried an increasing stream of alarmist letters and articles on hypothetical, human-caused climate change. Each such alarmist article is larded with words such as "if", "might", "could", "probably", "perhaps", "expected", "projected" or "modelled" - and many involve such deep dreaming, or ignorance of scientific facts and principles, that they are akin to nonsense.

The problem here is not that of climate change per se, but rather that of the sophisticated scientific brainwashing that has been inflicted on the public, bureaucrats and politicians alike. Governments generally choose not to receive policy advice on climate from independent scientists. Rather, they seek guidance from their own self-interested science bureaucracies and senior advisers, or from the IPCC itself. No matter how accurate it may be, cautious and politically non-correct science advice is not welcomed in Westminster [or in Washington D.C. - ed.], and nor is it widely reported.

This is an excellent piece by Bob Carter, who provides good support for his thesis. Go and read the whole thing.

Dry Dock 2 is Empty

Looking out of the window by my desk on Pier 4 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard I saw a barge slip by with a cylindrical canister on in. This canister was 32 feet in diameter and just slightly longer than that.

Dry Dock 2 is flooded and otherwise empty.

Its previous occupant exists now only in the memory of her heroic crew.

Illegals to Get In-State Tuition

In another fit of liberal™ idiocy and America-hatred the liberal™ members of Congress have decided that, if you are in the United States illegally, then you should be able to get in-state tuition at every public college and university in the country. Of course, U.S. citizens can't do that.

Immigration bill proposes in-state tuition for illegals

"This means that while American citizens from Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Massachusetts have to pay out-of-state tuition rates if they send their kids to the University of Virginia or the University of Alabama, people who have illegally immigrated into the country do not," Mr. Sessions said. "How much sense does that make, to have people here illegally and they have more benefits than those who are here legally?"

Despite the National Leadership's effort to jam this down the national throat, the people do not like it.

But voters, even in liberal states such as Massachusetts, overwhelmingly oppose providing in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens. Earlier this year, the Massachusetts legislature was poised to approve such a measure. But after a statewide groundswell of opposition from both Democrats and Republicans, the state House voted it down by a 96-57 vote.

The bill in the Senate, Mr. Session said, also would make illegals eligible for financial aid.

The financial-aid provision has been removed.

It's a good thing that this bill is failing. Bad legislation is worse than no legislation at all.

The EU is Shocked, Shocked

EU hears the plight of North Korea's refugees

BRUSSELS -- The European Parliament held its first public hearing on the North Korean human rights issue in Brussels, Belgium on March 23. About 100 participants including European Parliament members, NGO representatives and journalists attended the hearing. Three defectors from North Korea also attended, and their stark testimonies shocked the participants.

Istvan Szent-Ivany, a Hungarian member of the European Parliament who presided over the hearing, emphasized that "human rights are universal rights," and passionately requested North Korea to respect these rights.

Murderous tyrannical regimes have always responded well to begging, and that is good because that is all that the UN, the EU and other liberal western European organizations do.

In an even more amazing development, the EU members seems puzzled at liberal self destructive self loathing.

Meanwhile, some 100 South Korean civil activists and students held demonstrations and rallies in Brussels fiercely criticizing the hearing for "assisting the United States in using the human rights issue as mean to gain hegemony."

Some puzzled members of the European Parliament who attended the hearing asked, "Why do South Koreans oppose the hearing, rather than criticizing North Koreans for committing human rights violations?" Professor Yoo Sae Hee, who attended the hearing as a South Korean representative said, "I feel ashamed as a South Korean. Those who are demonstrating against the hearing are not representatives of South Korea."

Read the whole thing. There is some interesting political interplay described there. Sadly, the upshot of the whole thing is that, although shocked, the EU wants more conferences, discussion, etc.

In Memoriam - USS Thresher (SSN 593)

Today is the 43rd anniversary of the loss of the USS Thresher (SSN 593).

The men lost aboard USS Thresher.

Officers
Harvey, John W.     LCDR, Commanding Officer
Garner, Pat M.     LCDR, Executive Officer
Di Nola, Michael J.     Lieutenant Commander
Lyman, John S., Jr.     Lieutenant Commander
Collier, Merrill F.     Lieutenant
Smarz, John, Jr.     Lieutenant
Babcock, Ronald C.     Lieutenant (Junior Grade)
Grafton, John G.     Lieutenant (Junior Grade)
Henry, James. J., Jr.     Lieutenant (Junior Grade)
Parsons, Guy C., Jr.     Lieutenant (Junior Grade)
Wiley, John J.     Lieutenant (Junior Grade)

Enlisted Crew
Arenault, Tilmon J.     ENCA (SS)
Bain, Ronald E.     EN2 (SS)
Bell, John E.     MM1
Bobbitt, Edgar S.     EM2 (SS)
Boster, Gerald C.     EM3 (SS)
Bracey, George     SD3 (SS)
Brann, Richard P.     EN2 (SS)
Carkoski, Richard J.     EN2 (SS)
Cayey, Steven G.     TM2 (SS)
Christiansen, Edward     SN (SS)
Claussen, Larry W.     EM2 (SS)
Clements, Thomas E.     ETR3 (SS)
Cummings, Francis M.     SOS2 (SS)
Carmody, Patrick W.     SK2
Dabruzzi, Samuel J.     ETN2 (SS)
Davison, Clyde E., III     ETR3
Day, Donald C.     EN3 (SS)
Denny, Roy O., Jr.     EM1 (SS)
DiBella, Peter J.     SN
Dundas, Don R.     ENT2 (SS)
Dyer, Troy E.     ET1 (SS)
Forni, Ellwod H.     SOCA (SS)
Foti, Raymond P.     ET1 (SS)
Freeman, Larry W.     FTM2 (SS)
Fusco, Gregory J.     EM2 (SS)
Gallant, Andrew J., Jr.     HMC (SS)
Garcia, Napoleon T.     SD1 (SS)
Garner, John E.     YNSN (SS)
Gaynor, Robert W.     EN2 (SS)
Gosnell, Robert H.     SA (SS)
Graham, William E.     SOC (SS)
Gunter, Aaron J.     QM1 (SS)
Hall, Richard C.     ETR2 (SS)
Hayes, Norman T.     EM1
Heiser, Laird, G.     MM1
Helsius, Marvin T.     MM2
Hewitt, Leonard H.     EMCA (SS)
Hoague, Joseph H.     TM2 (SS)
Hodge, James P.     EM2
Hudson, John F.     EN2 (SS)
Inglis, John F.     FN
Johnson, Brewner G.     FTG1 (SS)
Johnson, Edward A.     ENCA (SS)
Johnson, Richard L.     RMSA
Johnson, Robert E.     TMC (SS)
Johnson, Thomas B.     ET1 (SS)
Jones, Richard W.     EM2 (SS)
Kaluza, Edmund J., Jr.     SOS2 (SS)
Kantz, Thomas C.     ETR2 (SS)
Kearney, Robert D.     MM3
Keiler, Ronald D.     IC2 (SS)
Kiesecker, George J.     MM2 (SS)
Klier, Billy M.     EN1 (SS)
Kroner, George R.     CS3
Lanouette, Norman G.     QM1 (SS)
Lavoie, Wayne W.     YN1 (SS)
Mabry, Templeman N., Jr.     EN2 (SS)
Mann, Richard H., Jr.     IC2 (SS)
Marullo, Julius F., Jr.     QM1 (SS)
McClelland, Douglas R.     EM2 (SS)
McCord, Donald J.     MM1 (SS)
McDonough, Karl P.     TM3 (SS)
Middleton, Sidney L.     MM1 (SS)
Muise, Ronald A.     CS2
Musselwhite, James A.     ETN2 (SS)
Nault, Donald E.     CS1 (SS)
Noonis, Walter J.     RMC (SS)
Norris, John D.     ET1 (SS)
Oetting, Chesley C.     EM2
Pennington, Roscoe C.     EMCA (SS)
Peters, James G.     EMCS
Phillippi, James F.     SOS2 (SS)
Philput, Dan A.     EN2 (SS)
Podwell, Richard     MM2
Regan, John S.     MM1 (SS)
Ritchie, James P.     RM2
Robison, Pervis, Jr.     SN
Rountree, Glenn A.     QM2 (SS)
Rushetski, Anthony A.     ETN2
Schiewe, James M.     EM1 (SS)
Shafer, Benjamin N.     EMCM (SS)
Shafer, John D.     EMCS (SS)
Shimko, Joseph T.     MM1
Shotwell, Burnett, M.     ETRSN
Sinnett, Alan D.     FTG2 (SS)
Smith, William H., Jr.     BT12
Solomon, Ronald H.     EM1
Steinel, Robert E.     SO1 (SS)
Snider, James L.     MM1
Van Pelt, Rodger E.     IC1 (SS)
Wasel, David A.     RMSN
Walski, Joseph A.     RM1 (SS)
Wiggins, Charles L.     FTG1
Wise, Donald E.     MMCA (SS)
Wolf, Ronald E.     QMSN (SS)
Zweifel, Jay H.     EM2

Naval Observers
Krag, Robert L.     Lieutenant Commander Staff, Deputy Commander, Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet
Allen, Phillip H.     Lieutenant Commander Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Billings, John H.     Lieutenant Commander Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Biederman, Robert D.     Lieutenant Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

Civilian Technicians
Abrams, Fred P.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Beal, Daniel W., Jr.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Charron, Robert E.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Critchley, Kenneth J.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Currier, Paul C.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Des Jardins, Richard R.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Dineen, George J.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Fisher, Richard R.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Guerette, Paul A.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Moreau, Henry C.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Palmer, Franklin J.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Prescott, Robert D.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Whitten Laurence E.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Corcoran, Kenneth R.     Sperry Corporation
Keuster, Donald W.     Sperry Corporation
Stademuller, Donald T.     Sperry Corporation
Jaquay, Maurice F.     Raytheon Corporation

May they all be resting in the presence of God.

And, pray for all for those who go to sea in ships. God bless them all.

When Naked, Safety First!

The Deadly Funnel Web Spider

Ok, I appreciate getting naked as well as the next guy, but one thing NOT to do is mess around with gasoline and matches at the same time. Actually, one should not do this when clothed, either

Nudist's spider-killing stunt backfires

A naked man suffered burns to one-fifth of his body when he tried to set fire to a spider at a nudist resort in the NSW southern highlands.

The 56-year-old Sydney man tried to kill what he thought was a funnel web spider by pouring petrol down the spider's burrow and igniting it with a match, the NRMA CareFlight service said.

But the fuel exploded and the man was left with burns to 18 per cent of his body, on the upper leg and buttocks.

The man was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Sidney. He will be ok.

But, to add insult to injury,

Resort guests told emergency crews it was probably a harmless trapdoor spider and not a deadly funnel web, CareFlight said.

The man's lack of clothing probably contributed to the extent of his burns, the rescue chopper service said.

Gee, do ya think?

Trap Door Spider

Charles from the Planetoid Aidemydni

As both of my beloved readers know, I am a big fan of Charles Johnson, author of Little Green Footballs (LGF). You can probably tell by my badge.

Since he is an influence on me, in fact the influence that got me started in blogging, I thought it only proper to let you know a little more about him.

Two old posts from LGF that identify Charles.

"Charles" and The Truth about LFG. This is one of his funniest threads.

A drawing of "Charles" - The Terrible Secret of LFG

NOTE: I am, in fact, a member of the lizardoid army.
(Pssst, Charles, where's my check?)

Stupid Criminal Discovers Sumo

Crime weighs heavy;

What’s the worst that could happen if you’ve been caught stealing? That your crime weighs heavy on your conscience, and leaves you wrestling with your morals?

Or this: Your crime weighs heavy on your middle-aged body, and leaves you wrestling with Sumos?

HUNGH? Strange but true – it’s exactly what happened to Konoshin Kawabata in Osaka, Japan.

He stumbled upon a perfect opportunity to burglarize a building on the Shounji temple premises. A door was unlocked, the lights were off, and it was the wee hours of the morning. The Japanese man, who’s pushing 50, must’ve thought: lucky.

Damn, did he think too soon. As he started rummaging for loot, he felt himself being “caught by a massive man” whom he could not make out in the dark.

The lights were then turned on, showing Kawabata what the hell sort of mondo bizaaro was really going on. A freakin’ Sumo wrestler had tackled him – bear-hugged, in the wrestler’s own words – whilst over a dozen other Sumo wrestlers had him surrounded.

Dewanosato (real name: Hideyuki Kawahara) was the Sumo wrestler who pinned down the burglar. Don’t deadpan now: this dude just happens to stand 5′10” (180 cm) and weigh 289 lbs (131 kg).

Since the Japanese cannot legally keep a gun in the house, perhaps they should keep a Sumo wrestler. Perhaps an "Adopt a Sumo" program.

More Torture at Guantanamo Bay

The anti-American, openly Leftist™ paper, The Guardian, has the story. A big thank you to Charles for this.

Cuba? It was great, say boys freed from US prison camp

Asadullah strives to make his point, switching to English lest there be any mistaking him. "I am lucky I went there, and now I miss it. Cuba was great," said the 14-year-old, knotting his brow in the effort to make sure he is understood.

Not that Asadullah saw much of the Caribbean island. During his 14-month stay, he went to the beach only a couple of times - a shame, as he loved to snorkel. And though he learned a few words of Spanish, Asadullah had zero contact with the locals.

He spent a typical day watching movies, going to class and playing football. He was fascinated to learn about the solar system, and now enjoys reciting the names of the planets, starting with Earth. Less diverting were the twice-monthly interrogations about his knowledge of al-Qaida and the Taliban. But, as Asadullah's answer was always the same - "I don't know anything about these people" - these sessions were merely a bore: an inevitably tedious consequence, Asadullah suggests with a shrug, of being held captive in Guantanamo Bay.

On January 29, Asadullah and two other juvenile prisoners were returned home to Afghanistan. The three boys are not sure of their ages. But, according to the estimate of the Red Cross, Asadullah is the youngest, aged 12 at the time of his arrest. The second youngest, Naqibullah, was arrested with him, aged perhaps 13, while the third boy, Mohammed Ismail, was a child at the time of his separate arrest, but probably isn't now.

Tracked down to his remote village in south-eastern Afghanistan, Naqibullah has memories of Guantanamo that are almost identical to Asadullah's. Prison life was good, he said shyly, nervous to be receiving a foreigner to his family's mud-fortress home.

The food in the camp was delicious, the teaching was excellent, and his warders were kind. "Americans are good people, they were always friendly, I don't have anything against them," he said. "If my father didn't need me, I would want to live in America."

Asadullah is even more sure of this. "Americans are great people, better than anyone else," he said, when found at his elder brother's tiny fruit and nut shop in a muddy backstreet of Kabul. "Americans are polite and friendly when you speak to them. They are not rude like Afghans. If I could be anywhere, I would be in America. I would like to be a doctor, an engineer, or an American soldier."

...

Naqibullah, Asadullah and Mohammed Ismail were moved into one large room, which was never locked. They were taught Pashto (their own language), English, Arabic, maths, science, art and, for two months, Islam. "The American soldiers ate pork but they said we must never do that because we were Muslim," said Naqibullah. "They were very strict about Islam."

To bad that the Americans were strict about Islam, but these are now probably the best educated people in their local area.

Sadly for the Left™, now there are at least three children in the world who have been un-taught how to hate Americans.

So ... What Are You Choosing?

All of those of you who are "pro-choice" and believe that a fetus is just a clump of cells need to read this. From the very liberal BBC, Premature babies 'feel true pain'

Experts have never been sure how a premature baby responds to pain, the Journal of Neuroscience reported.

But a team from University College London found that they do feel pain after analysing brain scans taken when blood samples were being drawn.

They hope the findings will lead to more formal plans for managing pain in premature babies.

Lead researcher Professor Maria Fitzgerald said: "We have shown for the first time that the information about pain reaches the brain in premature babies.

"Beforehand, although we could assume it, we did not know for sure that these babies could feel pain.

"These babies' brains are so immature that it was difficult to genuinely know that the pain was going to their brain."

Previous research had shown that premature babies are capable of displaying behavioural, physiological and metabolic signs of pain and distress.

This makes clear exactly what abortion is.

Basic Instinct #2 does Poorly, Bush Blamed

And no, that is not a pun.

Erotic thrillers lose steam at box office

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The last time "Basic Instinct" man-eater Catherine Tramell prowled the big screen, the studio erotic thriller was hitting box office heights. The first "Instinct" took the top spot when it debuted in 1992, with an opening weekend of $15.1 million, the equivalent of $20.45 million in today's dollars.

By comparison, "Basic Instinct 2" limped into 10th place upon its arrival this weekend, grossing just $3.2 million.

And why would that be?

Paul Verhoeven, director of the first "Basic Instinct" (which scored $353 million worldwide) as well as the widely ridiculed "Showgirls" (now regarded as something of a camp classic), attributes the genre's demise to the current American political climate.

"Anything that is erotic has been banned in the United States," said the Dutch native. "Look at the people at the top (of the government). We are living under a government that is constantly hammering out Christian values. And Christianity and sex have never been good friends."

Scribe Nicholas Meyer, who was an uncredited writer on 1987's seminal sex-fueled cautionary tale "Fatal Attraction," agrees, noting that the genre's downfall coincides with the ascent of the conservative political movement.

"We're in a big puritanical mode," he said. "Now, it's like the McCarthy era, except it's not 'Are you a communist?' but 'Have you ever put sex in a movie?'"

I'm sure that you all remember the recent Congressional hearings where large numbers of movie producers and directors were angrily asked "Have you ever put sex in a movie?", threatened with imprisonment in Branson, Missouri. [Note to liberals, this didn't really happen. - ed.]

Even rich liberals like these assume an entitlement for themselves. They believe that they are entitled to business success, and if they don't get it, it is the fault of the government (read GWB).

From Mere Comments, Erotic Thrillers Unexciting

What are these guys smoking? Who is chasing them? Christians--no, those nasty Puritans are back--are banning sex in the movies? Gads, sex not only in the movies, it's on prime-time television and cable, the internet--you don't have to go to the movies to see erotic thrills.

Has it every occurred to them that lust, after multiple viewings, isn't all that interesting? Maybe "pure" eroticism is just one-dimensional and boring? I mean, how much can you say about it? And is the following comment unintentionally admitting this?

Mark Damon, once dubbed the king of eroticism for producing such steamy classics as 1986's "9 1/2 Weeks" and 1990's "Wild Orchid," said he stopped producing sex-steeped dramas because "I didn't find any scripts that were worth producing. The genre had exhausted itself."

There is nothing there, it is just the same thing over and over again.

The problem that Paul Verhoeven and Nicholas Meyer have is that they are Leftists™ who cannot image that market forces have any effect on attendance. Sort of like not seeing an elephant in the living room.

Gun Control

I am an expert in this weapon and have the medal for it - the M1911A .45 Caliber Pistol

Liberals have made a big issue of restricting private gun ownership. The idea runs like this; if law abiding citizens had no guns, then the gun carrying criminals will not harm us, resulting in fewer violent crimes.

There is some sound reasoning for you.

The people do not agree.

Everyone not previously convicted of a serious crime should be permitted to carry a sidearm. Criminals are less likely to attack someone if that someone might shoot back.

See also;

Gun control doesn't reduce crime, violence, say studies

WASHINGTON – While it is an article of faith among gun-control proponents that government restrictions on firearms reduces violence and crime, two new U.S. studies could find no evidence to support such a conclusion.

The National Academy of Sciences issued a 328-page report based on 253 journal articles, 99 books, 43 government publications, a survey of 80 different gun-control laws and some of its own independent study. In short, the panel could find no link between restrictions on gun ownership and lower rates of crime, firearms violence or even accidents with guns.

The panel was established during the Clinton administration and all but one of its members were known to favor gun control.

Bush Was Right

Yeah, baby!

Rock and Roll!

I agree with the review at Wizbang. A protest song for the Right.

Drunk Blogging

Ok, I admit that I have been drinking for the past few...well, it doesn't matter. I just finished bottling some wine that I made (from a kit).

I was going to post my outrage over a human rights issue that I have just run across, but I'll do that later.

I am now watching Carousel on DVD. This is excellent music in the best American tradition. If you haven't seen it, get it and watch. It is exceptional. American musical theater is a uniquely American art form of great value, and this is one of the best examples of it.

I'll do the serious stuff later. Now is the time to enjoy something splendid.

Sharon Stone Tells Children - Give Oral Sex

And you think that I am making this up.

From Mere Comments, Teenage Girls, Oral Sex, and the New Feminism

Stone talks about watching a mother and daughter trying on clothing in a department store. The mother was concerned about the daughter showing her stomach in the outfit she wanted to buy. When the mother walked away, Stone approached the teenager and gave her some tips on sex and avoiding diseases such as AIDS. Her advice to teenagers is simple:

Young people talk to me about what to do if they're being pressed for sex? I tell them (what I believe): oral sex is a hundred times safer than vaginal or anal sex. If you're in a situation where you cannot get out of sex, offer [oral sex]. I'm not embarrassed to tell them.

This advice is astounding. Not because a Hollywood actress opposes Christian understandings of sexual morality. That is nothing new. What's astounding is how resigned this feminist activist actress is to a patriarchy of the most predatory kind.

There are two things that I find astounding here;
1. That Sharon Stone would simply walk up to another woman's child and say this.

2. That she thinks that she is virtuous for doing so is not surprising, being the arrogant elitist liberal that she is, but that exactly no one in the press thinks this is noteworthy. See the original news article.

Speech Freedom Protected?

Proposed FEC Rules Would Exempt Most Political Activity on Internet

I'm not ready to remove my Gadsden Flag yet.