You might have read about the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams a few months ago.

I'll refresh your memory. Tookie Williams was one of the founders of the Crips Gang in LA. He was convicted of two murders back in 1981. He claimed his innocence and there are many questions about the trial. The prosecutor removed all potential black jurors. The ballistics expert said the only physical evidence aginst him was based on "junk science at best". There is also a question about the witnesses (Korean Immigrants) who were possibly threatened with deportation. He was also brought into trial in shackles - a practice that has since been abandoned.

Since his incarceration he has written several kids' books aimed at non violence. His books twice have won two national honors. He was nominated for 5 Nobel Peace Prizes. Last year he won a Presidential Call To Honor award given by George W "Moron" Bush.

There were pleas for clemency by celebrites: Snoop Dogg and Jamie Foxx (who portrayed Tookie in "Redemption") and regular folks.

But that didn't stop Arnold. The needle came December 13th.

Just today Arnold signed the sheet to execute a 76 year old nearly blind wheelchair ridden old man.

Clarence Ray Allen was convicted killing his son's girlfriend so she wouldn't tell about a burglary and then having 2 witnesses hit while he was behind bars. OK, not the kind of guy you want to have brunch with.

He's 76 and in terrible shape. He spent 23 years on Death Row (the real one not the record label). Does this constitute "cruel and unusual punishment"?

Arnold doesn't think so. And the needle will come out again.

A new item I read today says that more that 99% or all Iraqui votes tallied are not fraudulent and will allow the country to start making a government.

Man, if only we could say that about the USA!

Just remember the voting scandal in Florida and recently the scandal in Ohio. If you want to really get mad go read about it here.

Recently there was an uproar over here when it was exposed that His Majesty George II granted a whole slew of wiretaps without getting the needed authorization. See, there is this LAW that's on the books called the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act aka FISA. Go read up on it here.

So Bush breaks the law and says it's necessary because we're fightin' a war here! "They hate our freedom", he says. What freedom, George? The freedom to be evesdropped on at any time with no court intervention? Is that what they're jealous of?

Well, the only better way that this can proceed is to have Dick Cheney, "Old Guts and Guts" to proclaim that if we were allowed to wiretap on a Presidential whim back in 2001 we might have prevented 9/11. Hey, Dick, maybe if you guys paid attention to briefings such as "Bin Laden determined to strike within US - dated in AUGUST of 2001" you might have prevented 9/11.

Great News! According to a Gallup poll taken this week Bush's ratings are at a "all time low". He's running somewhere between 43 and 45% approval rating. Yee HAAA!!!!

I wonder what is doing it? Is it the neverending mess in Iraq despite their "free elections"? Funny, how their elections were probably more "free" than ours. Is it the Pandora's Box he opened when he said Social Security needed to be "fixed"? Yeah, well if it hadn't been raped by him to give out his bullshit "tax relief for america" there might be more money in there. Is it the Terri Schiavo insanity down in Florida? I read where the religious right (aka lunatics) are all against him and his brother because they haven't done enough to save this woman. I thought that cutting another vacation short to come and sign some federal paper to try and keep this woman alive was a lot. They should keep out of this, but, I guess in the crazy mixed-up world of people who can't keep their noses out of the country's business that's not enough. I have 2 thoughts: 1) If Bush wants to foster a "culture of life" then why did he send more people to death than ANY other governor EVER? 2) If all these Christians believe in the afterlife then why wouldn't they want this poor woman to go and meet her maker? Why do they want her to be kept alive in this non functioning state?

The absolute best thing I read about this case was how one of these "pro-LIFE" people put a $250,000 price on the head of Michael Schiavo and $50,000 on the head of the judge who allowed to feeding tube to be removed. Yep, that sounds like a culture of life to me.

In July 2003 the Grand Canyon National Park's book stores added a new item: "Grand Canyon: A Different View". In it this Colorado River Guide tells how he used to tell people about the fact that the river, over the course of thousands of years, eroded what we now call the Grand Canyon. That was, however, until he met The Lord.

Yep, this guy is what's referred to as a Young Earth Creationist. Kinda like the Flat Earth Society rearing its head again. Now, I don't care if people believe in Evolution or not (despite the science proving it wrong). But I do have a problem with it being in a National Park. If people want to read about this they can go to their churches or on the church's websites.

But, it gets worse... and very ugly.

These Christians are now changing official Government information sites such as purging safe-sex information from the Centers For Disease Controls website and also posting on the National Cancer Institute claiming an increase in breast cancer for women who've had abortions.

They've also changed information on lead poisoning, water pollution and global warming. Can you guess if the information might be skewed towards Big Business?

I absolutely cannot believe that this is happening. This administration is trying to change so many aspects of this country to suit its own agenda. And they're doing it via the Bible and a wallet. The US tax code is heading for decimation to suit the richest 1% of the population, the Senate is under attack to ensure that Bush's court appointments cannot be debated to suit the Christians who want to end Roe Vs Wade and any other aspect that they don't like. You can kiss the separation of church and state goodbye, forever!

There is a country called Uzbekistan. For those Americans from the red states reading that means it's somewhere "over there". You know, the same place where France and New York are. The leader of this country is Islam Karimov. No, he's not a Muslim. This man is a dictator, through and through.

He is, however, "a valued partner and friend of the United States". He rents us a space for a large military base. He allowed us to stage there in the run up to the invasion of Iraq. So, he's a good guy.

I read today that Tony Blair wants to make the end of the Israel and Palestinian conflict a reality. Since the death of Arafat Bush said he was going to "spend the capital of the US on such a state (Palestine)." Hmmm, is this the same capital he earned in the last election? He must have earned a LOT of capital.

My favorite part of this article is where Bush says he does not want to be known only as a "war president". Yep, the same Bush that repeatedly said "I am a war President". I guess using the war and terrorism as one of the main points in your campaign is probably not the best way to be known as a peacemaker.

I just found this online. It's from C-Span and it shows Bush just trying his best to answer a question that he was completely unprepared for. First time I watched it I was just amazed at how completely ignorant he is. The second time I watched it just to revel in his absolute terror as he tries to define what "tribal sovereignty" is.

Just right click, or for you MAC people: click while holding down the little button that has a picture of a file going into a folder or whatever you people do, and choose "save target as" or "save link as".

Recently in Prosser, Washington (170 miles from Seattle) a 15 year old boy drew, while in art class, two pictures of Ole Blood 'N' Guts himself: King George W. Sounds OK, right? A 15 year old who took the time to draw the Prez and not a sports or rock star...

One picture had George's head on a stick. The other showed him as a devil launching missles. Well..... sounds perfectly OK to me! But not to the Secret Service. The art teacher told his superiors who then called the cops who, in turn, called the SS - oh I'm sorry - the Secret Service.

He was questioned and was not arrested. However, the school took disciplinary action against the boy refusing to say what the action was or what rules, if any, he broke.

Is the whole world gone mental? I can only hope that his parents (who sound like they're doing a good job if their kid thinks Bush is evil) bring up the school on some kind of charges.

Here's something you don't read about in the daily papers: People who are critical of this administration and have the balls to show up to a public appearance of Prince George are shunted away to a designated "free speech zone". Usually a half mile away in a field somewhere. Where they are not in view or near any TV cameras or reporters while Pro-Bush sign carriers are allowed to stay near the action.

Does this actually repulse anybody except me? The Secret Service says that they do this to prevent the protester from injury; that they might accidently walk in front of a motorcade and get hit. I am not making this up.

Under the guise of protecting us from Terrorism this administration is allowing the FBI to spy on anyone making anti-war protest because they are probably terrorists themselves. They have arrested grandparents, mothers with children and anybody who does not go to the designated zone. They usually charge something like trespassing, which you can't do on public property, so it gets thrown out of court but they achieved their objective: keeping up the appearance of a very Pro-Bush public.

This is not restricted to the States. In Australia Bush protesters were sent to an area and forbidden to use any public address systems. In London Bush's handlers wanted a virtual shutdown of the inner city for three days. They didn't go for it - big ups to Ken Livingstone. And don't think it ends here. In Oakland the federally funded California Anti Terrorist Task Force shot rubber bullets into a crows protesting at the port of Oakland. Asked why the spokesman for the task force said that people who protest against anti-terrorist tactics are basically terrorists themselves.

How can this happen? Simple. The Patriot Act and its son the Patriot 2 drafting seek to nullify ANY local judicial action against law enforcement agencies spying on anybody who is anti government policies. In a nutshell if you go to a public appearance of Bush and wave a sign that says anything against his policies or actions you will be photographed and tracked down. The FBI then has full access to your personal information and habits and can hassle you in any way because you can be a potential "terrorist".

You would never read about this in USA Today. It should be in every mainstream paper and magazine. This is precisely why this administration cannot be allowed to further erode this country into a virtual police state all under the guise of "anti terrorism".

I have an AOL account that I rarely use. I went to check it today and found about 100 spams in the inbox.

My question is this: how fucking stupid do they think we are? I am not the world's smartest person. But how mentally deficient do you have to be to actually read an email with the subject line: "Your turn to cheat!" ? Or "I am dreaming about my mom's girlfriend" ? Wow. How specific is that? Can you imagine that conversation? " Gee Whiz, Don. No one is visiting our website: mymomsgirlfriend.com. I would think there would be people who dream of their mom's girlfriend... What can we do? Hey! I have an idea! We'll do a SPAM mailing." The mind reels.

Here's a few more: Do You Need Any Golfballs? This from from ballman@golfball.com. I shit you not.

Here's more: lost + found (yep found it). Huh?

Or: Increibly Amazing Rates. For those people who not only need a mortgage but a good spellchecker.

Or: Extra Income Is A Click Away....UCLNYX I guess that's the sound they made when they pushed the mouse all the way to the other side of the screen.

I was watching BBC World News this morning. They had a clip of Donald Rumsfeld, you remember him - our Secretary of Defence who made a fortune working for a pharmaceutical company. He was addressing Congress about why he wants to start World War 3 when someone jumps up in the background and shouts that that there are people who don't want war. What we see on the TV is this: Rumsfeld in the foreground with this person standing up behind him. Rumsfeld's reaction is classic: it is a half smirk - half smile. It is exactly the same face we received as children when we tried to convince our parents that we should be allowed to stay up waaay past our bedtime to watch TV. It's the same reaction we give to people who voice their objections to something that not only we feel strongly about but that we know for a fact that we will win the argument. It's that "say whatever you want, little person, you're wrong and I am right" face. When the person says that we should give Iraq a chance to let the UN inspectors in he just says "oh come on". Just lays his contempt out on the table for everybody to see. What a dick. This is the face of America that the world sees. That is one of the reasons we are despised around the world.

It's the same face that Baby Bush has whenever he talks about the upcoming war. You can see his excitement. He has the "oh boy Daddy's taking me to Six Flags" look. It's definitely NOT the look he has when asked about the economy. That look is the " I hope Daddy doesn't find out I broke the vase" look.

When the Republicans started the Lewinsky thing against Clinton and these people crawled out of the woodwork like Linda Tripp or Lucien Goldberg (who is such a Clinton-hater that she paid Tripp to illegally record Lewinsky talking about her affair so she could be blackmailed into testifying) I was amazed. How could someone hate a politician so much that they break the law just to attempt get the person out of office? Up to that point I could not conceive of that hatred...until November of 2000.

Bush ended some speech the other day with "God bless you all and God bless America". There was absolutely no sincerity present. It was part of his script. Just something else that he was told to say. Something else to show the world that "we have God on our side...and all you have is Mohammed".

Oh my. What to say about this trainwreck...

I actually just finished watching all of 10 minutes of this abomination. That's all that I could stand. She is in Las Vegas gambling, going to strip clubs, driving an electric go kart obviously severely medicated on lord-knows-what. Firstly, she is totally fucked up. No question. And they let her drive a vehicle while there are pedestrians and other vehicles on the street. Illegal. Dangerous.

Secondly, this isn't even funny. It's not an "inside peek" nor anything that E! Networks hopes it is (which is The Osbournes). It's just so sad.

Old Anna, who once was really hot, is now more than a shadow of her former self. She's a shadow my former self...and yours. Seems like she's eating Valium like they're candy. She's slurring her words and she can barely walk. And this is a ...SHOW? TV?? ENTERTAINMENT???

Now that summer is upon us (on this side of the equator anyway) the scourge of the fair weather comes along, too. Flip Flops. Slides. Thongs.

Whatever you call them, they're the flat rubbery things with a little piece of something that you grip with your large toe and the one next to it that doesn't have a name. I hate them with all my might.

First off, I don't want to see anybody's feet. Feet are, by and large, the ugliest part of the anatomy. Every so often a nice pair come along but mostly they're beat up, bruised or are missing something that should be there.

The absolute worst aspect of this choice of footware is the fact that they will fall off the minute you bring your foot off the ground. So I am tortured by the scraping and shuffling sound of people desperate not to lose their $3.99 footware on the avenue. I've even seen very brave folks wearing them on the subway. The NYC subway!!! With hundreds of people clomping around in workboots or sneakers or using canes and workers working on the street...and these idiots are sliding around in flip flops. I saw a girl in the bank today who literally slid her feet one after another in a mockery of walking from the door to the ATM.

Man, I wanted to stick her on a plane next to the guy who wants her to eat so bad...

Oh my lord. I've spent the last part of the month on planes. Planes of every type and size. One thing remains constant, however. People.

Face it: people suck. They're rude, they smell, they're stupid. I wish there was a airline reserved for professional travellers. Sure, that's what business class is for, but, I fly more than most flight attendants and I do it all in coach because 99% of all bands are cheap.

The other day some girl was stopped at the baggage screening. "There is something in your bag we need to check out" says the security agent.

"Oh, is it my scissors?", says the pinhead. Scissors, yep, you heard it right folks. This nimrod was trying to get her scissors (not one but two pair) through security.

Although, the best happened to me two days ago. I'm flying from Perth to Sydney. Four or five hour flight and I'm tired. I lean against the wall...close my eyes and start to drift off, dreaming of a plane with nobody on it but me, when I sense the breakfast cart going around. I stay asleep...until...the guy next to me bashes me in the arm and says, "Hey! Wanna eat?" The flight attendant was suitably horrified as she said she told him to leave me alone.

Go to this Site - Immediately!!

This is the funniest things I've seen in months. It is so true and so funny.

www.mnftiu.cc/mnftiu.cc/war.html

Thankfully someone has the right idea.

Bush's Attention Deficit

Bush recently went on an international trip. They say he was drumming up support for our anti-terrorist actions. One of the duties that a visiting dignitary has to perform is visiting the host nation's treasures or important buildings. In Russia Bush demonstrated his desire to learn about new things and his passion for all things beautiful.

He visited the Kremlin and took part in what normally is a 30 minute tour. He zipped through it in seven.

He then visited the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburgh. This museum has over 14 miles of corridors and six buildings. He did this one in less than thirty minutes.

He always tries to be in bed for the late news and doesn't like to vary his schedule.

It's nice to see how well our installed President is representing Americans overseas..

War on Terrorism

OK, let's get one thing straight. I'm against the terrorists. I'm against anyone who wants to kill me. I am for killing them before they kill us. Agreed. What I also am against is an administration who is using the War as a big stick to beat everybody down with. "Don't say the President isn't very smart...that's anti-USA talk!" "The President may have had prior knowledge of attacks...Hey, either you're with us or against us!"

Am I the only one who sees this as obviously a ploy? Two days after the report of some prior knowledge being had we now have all these non-specific terrorist threats. Oh, and, for any of you 73% "pro Bushies" out there...if he's such a "leader" and "commander-in-chief" why was it that he wasn't even allowed to deflect that criticism? Condoleeza Rice was sent out to the press. I guess Georgie didn't have his script memorized.

Face it, we Americans have been hated for 60 years, at least. Everybody has wanted to blow us up. They never had the know-how. Why don't we get some Muslim clerics from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan who live and teach in the US to make their own videotape explaining our viewpoint and put it on the Al Jazeera network. Maybe that will help. Putting Cheney up there ain't going to cut it. Let's try and figure out why they hate us.

War on common sense, more like.

Celebrity Boxing

So help me, I was so tired the other night I couldn't change the channel. That, and a morbid fascination to watch this wretched show. I missed the first few "bouts", but, was in time for the Manute Bol - Refridgerator Perry match. OK, a 7 foot 7 tower versus a 400 hundred pound (we don't know, he literally broke the scale, which only goes up to 350), well, refridgerator. The rounds are one minute long with what seems like 5 minutes of commercials. This was almost comical. Bol's arms are so long (102" reach !) that his punches looked like they were in slow motion. Perry is so fat and slow that Bol actually tagged him a few times!! Perry would then push him into the ropes and grab him. They just stood there looking at each other so much that the ref had to admonish them to "fight or you won't get paid". Ahh, truer words were never spoken.

The headline match was Joey Buttafuoco versus Joanie "Chynna" Laurer. I never felt one way or the other about old Joey. He's a dumbass, that's a given, but, maybe he's a normal guy who had a bad break. Umm, well, I had a re-think after this display. He's a fucking asshole. Through and through. I hope he gets in a bar fight one day and some guy sticks a bottle of champagne up his ass...the wrong way...and makes him walk around pouring drinks. Joanie is trying to box and, man, she landed some great jabs. Joey would start swinging like a maniac and do shit like grabbing her head and trying to smack her face. Gee, Joey..learn that move in the kitchen when Mary Jo overcooked the steak? ...you little fag. Joey's crowning achievement came when Laurer lands a beauty right on his ugly face and he grabs her by the neck and throws her to the ground!!! What an asshole! Along with hits after the bell and a few sucker punches to the back of her head he demonstrated that Amy shot the wrong Buttafuoco.

...and he won. Last time I'll watch this show.

Surfing?? Don't think so.

God, how I hate the phrase "surfing the net". Don't you? Well, maybe not seeing as so many people still use it. Who came up with that idiotic phrase? Surfing...the...net. OK, you just are skimming around, is that it? It just doesn't make sense. Why not: Icing the Cake? Glazing the Glass? Crawling the Web? That makes a little more sense. Then, if you're a Web designer you are Spinning the Web! That makes sense.

Face it, you're "Going Online".

NYC's new Mayor

Well, Mike Bloomberg basically bought his way into the office of Mayor. He brings absolutely zero political know-how but much better financial and management skills. It's a new concept. Usually you have a political person using his money people and his people people to do the work and report back to him. This is the other way around. He has to depend on his Police Chief (former Chief Ray Kelly) to do the law and order stuff. His borough presidents will take care of their prospective areas. And Mike will do the money and listen to their recommendations. Will this work? Time will tell. It's good in a way because it opens up offices to just plain folks (with deep pockets). Mike has a tough time financially in front of him. Maybe, for the next 6 years, this was a good choice. We'll see.

Now, if the papers will stop bothering him about his weekend trips. He leaves the city and goes to one of his bazillion bachelor pads. He doesn't tell any press people where he is. He's in constant contact (you hope) with his people, so, why not? Unless he's in Australia he's only a few hours away by plane. I think it's the press who're pissed off that they can't plant photographers outside his apartment 24/7.

Give the guy a chance. If he screws up, let him have it.

VP Dick Cheney rides the peace train

This is a great one...Dick Cheney went to Yemen last week. This is the home of bin Laden's father. It's not very pro-US but Cheney wants to see if he can get them aboard the Fight Against Terrorism ©.

First off, Cheney (to me anyway) seems like the creepy high school teacher who used to send the girls to erase the blackboard so he could watch. He's rich beyond belief, his company (Halliburton) has shady dealings with all kinds of people in the Gulf, he refused to release papers to Congress and he just seems, well, untrustworthy.

Can't we send this guy back to the cellar he was running the country from or just cut to the chase, find him guilty of all kinds of stuff and put him away??

Turn off your f*cking cell phone, already!

OK, this is a no-brainer. I'm all in favor of cell phones (or mobiles for the UK people, handys for the Germans). I have one and I find it useful. I think people driving with phones is good or bad, depending on the driver's skill level. Most people can't drive let alone one-handed getting yelled at by their significant other. While I think it's sad, I understand people doing their shopping whilst yakking (what can be so god damned important?) or working a counter job (absolutely annoying to no end).

BUT! When will the acceptability of answering your phone at the movies end? Why do people think that it's their right to answer the phone and not even realize that folks are trying to watch? I don't want to bring sociology into this, but, during Training Day - phones going off, during Mulholland Drive - no phones. It's the same mentality that says it's OK to talk to the screen. Shit, that's been going on for years now...maybe the cell phone things will never stop.

That said, I did hear someone answer theirs during Episode One and whispered: "I'm at the movies.....Star Wars....Ziegfeld Theatre......Yeah, it's OK so far. I'll call you later".

Me? I'm getting a shirt that says: "Hang Up And Watch The Movie".

Kids As Customers

I'm reading this book called Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlossen which details all the horrors of our nation's glorious fast food industry (duh).

One aspect of the industry is marketing to children. There are trade publications with titles such as: Youth Market Alert, Selling To Kids and Marketing To Kids Report.

In the book Kids As Customers, James McNeal specifies the seven types of nagging:

• Pleading - "Please Mom"
• Persistent - "I'm gonna ask one more time"
• Forceful - "I'll go and ask Dad"
• Demonstrative - holding breath, crying
• Sugar-Coated - "You're the best Dad in the world"
• Threatening - hatred, running away
• Pity - child will be teased

What kind of monster would take the time to derive this info?? How can he sleep at night?

Dan Acuff, author of What Kids Buy and Why says that dreams are the answer. Children, he says, dream about animals 80% of the time. That's why Barney, Teletubbies and Disney characters are important. The Character Lab uses a technique called the Character Appeal Quadrant Analysis to help companies devolop new mascots.

With that in mind, the Federal Trade Commission along with the American Academy of Pediatrics, National Congress of Parents and Teachers, Child Welfare League and the Consumer Union proposed a ban on commercials aimed at children seven and under. However, the National Association of Broadcasters, Toy Manufacturers of America and the Association of National Advertisers lobbied the government to kill the ban. Three months after Ronald Regan was sworn into office it was dead in the water and the man who proposed the ban was blocked in participating in any future discussions of the subject.

As Bill Hicks said, "If you're in marketing, please kill yourself now."

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