Thanks to one of Tim Blair's commenters, we now know what really hit the ICRC ambulance in Lebanon:
This.
And they would've gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you darn bloggers.
Got a great checkup this morning with my neurosurgeon: Resume normal activities. Gradually decrease wearing my back brace. But no lifting more than 30-35 lbs.
Which isn't going to make WildChild very happy because that means I still can't lift him. Last night on the phone he told me to ask my back doctor if I could start lifting things. I had a pretty good idea what 'things' he meant, but I asked "What kind of things?"
"Just things, Ma."
"You mean things like.......WildChild?"
He laughed "Yeah Ma, things like ME!"
Since he now weighs between 45-50 lbs., lifting him is out of the question for at least 1 year, the doctor said. But maybe WildChild won't be too disappointed since we can now ride bikes together again.
You know how ADHD kids are. Hey, wanna ride bikes?
--One of the more asinine polls you'll see all week.
--Oh noes! Y'all are all going to die!!!! Or at least get somewhat damp. Hurricane hysteria, all the cool kids are doing it.
--It's out with the old and in with the new on tv's latest reality drama, 'Arrest the Freak'.
--Finally, he's right you know. Or maybe you don't. Maybe it's just because it's one of my favorite historical periods, but to me the parallels between now & the WWII era are particularly striking.
In fact, I was just thinking that yesterday while watching a semi-documentary on FDR & Lend-Lease. One scene stood out in particular....a sound bite by Andy Rooney, who was a WWII correspondent. He said (and I'm paraphrasing from memory here) that after Pearl Harbor, he supported going to war against Japan. But that he still believed getting into the war in Europe was a mistake. And then, he said, we got into Germany and saw what the Germans had been doing. And he was devastated. Absolutely devastated.
So now that we've gotten into Iraq and have seen what Saddam's been doing to the Kurds and to anyone who opposed him, are you equally devastated Mr. Rooney? Was Pearl Harbor so different from 9/11?
Or are you doomed to repeat your past mistakes?
One thing I like to do when there's nothing to do is visit volcano webcams, like the one at Mount St. Helen's in Washington, or the assorted ones in Alaska. There's also a handy page that shows live volcano webcams worldwide. That's where I found my current favorite, the webcam at the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park.
I'm constantly amazed at the number of people who are clueless as to which way the wind is blowing. You should see 'em scatter when they find out they're downwind from the geyser. I guess scalding hot, sulfurous water would do that to you.
Details are still somewhat sketchy, but so far there's only one confirmed survivor of the crash of Delta Flight 5191 out of Lexington, KY. Comair has a toll-free number for friends & family of passengers, 1-800-801-0088.
Reportedly weather was not a factor, and the flight crew were very experienced. No word yet on the cause of the crash, which apparently happened shortly after take-off.
My dad asked me earlier today if I'd heard about this, as one of the men found was a local man.
2nd Lt. David J. Nelson, of Chicago; Tech. Sgt. Henry F. Kortebein, of Maspeth, N.Y., and Tech Sgt. Blake A. Treece, Jr., of Marshall, Ark., are to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday, the Pentagon said.
Nelson, Kortebein and Treece were among nine airmen aboard a B-17G Flying Fortress on a mission to bomb targets near Caen, France, on Aug. 8, 1944, when the plane was hit by enemy fire and crashed near a village south of Caen.
Pretty neat that they were brought home after all those years.
Speaking of the the-ah-ta and act-tors, if you ever wanted to be in a movie, here's your big chance.
A casting call has been made to area residents for a scene in the feature film “ War Eagle. ”
Hundreds of extras are needed at the Fayetteville High School baseball field at 1001 Stone St. on Saturday night. Those wishing to be extras need to be at the baseball field no later than 7: 30 p. m. and should plan on being there for several hours while the scene is being filmed.
They're also filming on some property over around Eureka Springs owned by the parents of a friend of mine. Was my first question "Can you get me a bit part?" or "Can I meet the stars?"
Hardly.
More like "Did they insist on cash up front?"
I was just graced with a visit from our old cranky kitty.....the Norma Desmond of cats.
As is the case with many great stars, I was only allow to snap a few shots.....no autographs please.
A federal judge ruled yesterday that the Green party candidates must be allowed on Arkansas ballots this fall.
The American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of the party and Lendall, arguing it was unfair for the state to require more than 24,000 signatures to place Green Party candidates on the statewide ballot while independent candidates need only 10,000 signatures.
This is one time I agree with the ACLU. Election rules should be the same for everybody.
Why the difference?
State lawyers argued the higher threshold would prevent the state from having an overly crowded ballot.
Yeah let's not confuse the electorate with too many choices.
My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles?
Just doesn't sound right, does it?
And the survey says:
Two-thirds [of Arkansans] said illegals should be denied taxpayer-funded social and medical services, and nearly six in 10 agreed that the U.S. border with Mexico should be shut down.
However, 75 percent of respondents also agreed that illegal immigrants who are already employed and otherwise law-abiding should be given guest worker status and provided an opportunity to earn citizenship.
Hardly as schizophrenic as it might initially sound. Looks to me like the majority doesn't have a big problem with the ones who are already here & who are productive citizens. But we'd like to shut down the gravy train AND the borders so we don't attract more and more.
I wouldn't mind increasing the legals, as long as there's a corresponding decrease in the illegals. Our elected officials might take note.
We've had just about enough of their turning a blind eye to the problem.
To the Morning News, one of the few online user-friendly local news sources. Their site is easy to navigate, requires no registration, is updated regularly.....and now there's a space for reader's comments on each article.
Very nicely done.
Well since we didn't all wake up dead this morning, I'm guessing it's safe to assume the return of the 12th Flying Camel Jockey was postponed for a more auspicious occasion. I'm only assuming he's a no-show, since I've seen nothing online yet. I tried to watch the news this morning, but it was all John Karr all the time.
Strangely, I didn't care that he ate a baloney sandwich, a bag of carrots and an apple for dinner yesterday. And yes, I know that was in contrast to the delicious dinner he was served in-flight back to the States.
Hello. Business class & first class get real meals at no extra charge instead of the 'snack paks' for which we in the cattle car get to pay $5. That's hardly news to anyone who's travelled.
Until there's some definitive evidence that he's actually a child-killing pervert instead of an attention-seeking pervert, spare me the minutiae of his day-to-day life.
Surely there's more important things going on.
There's been a little drug bust in Atlanta.
Drug Enforcement Administration agents found 187 1/2 pounds of suspected meth and 41 1-kilo bricks -- just over 90 pounds -- of suspected cocaine during a search last week, said Sherri Strange, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Agency's Atlanta office.
Just some good ol' boys, never meaning no harm.
Four men have been charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine: Eduardo Castro Torres, 43, of Michoacan, Mexico, also a resident of California; Julio Ruesga Barajas, 28, of Santa Ana, Calif.; Ignacio Castro Torres, 39, of Buford, Ga.; and Enrique Medina, 25, of Madalena, Mexico. All four were at the home in Buford at the time of the seizure. Buford is 33 miles northeast of Atlanta.
....
The operation in Buford was part of a Mexican drug ring that imports and distributes multi-pound quantities of meth and cocaine from Mexico by moving it through California and Texas to points throughout the U.S.
But hey. Our porous border with Mexico no es una problema.
Como se dice 'bullshit' en espanol?
I've been to an allergist for testing this afternoon, which was a pretty interesting experience. There for a while I looked like an old speckled hen. Verdict: mild allergies to cats, 2 kinds of mold, and grass & tree pollen. Which I already knew. And allergy shots would only have a 60% chance of helping my sinus problem, so I may try those at some point.
But not today.
The Benton Co. coroner was arrested Friday for her alleged novel way of protecting deceased hospice patients' medication. It's alleged she took the medication home & injested it herself.
Effective, but prolly not the best method.
Over the weekend, two of our gubernatorial candidates have agreed on a debate schedule, breaking news which set off a collective yawn heard 'round the state. It's been hard to get interested in the governor's race this time around.....even with Beebe's duck hunting ads running all weekend.
I mean seriously. I'm happy that he enjoys that Delta farmer pasttime of 'it flies, it dies', but that doesn't necessarily equate to support for the 2nd Amendment. As if the governor of Arkansas would ever dare to try to limit gun ownership anyway. Instant career killer, duh.
Besides, there's just something vaguely creepy about that guy.
Not that I'm a big Asa fan either. His Homeland Security record isn't anything to write home about. Illegal immigration is growing, an estimated 40,000 in Arkansas. Talk's cheap, what have you done? Not much that I've seen. So he gets a big Meh from me.
So far this election cycle hasn't exactly opened with a bang. Right now, I'd have to vote for 'Who Gives a Shit'.
Or the ever popular 'None of the Above'.
Today is WildChild's first day at kindergarten. He's both excited and scared about it.....and a wee bit disgusted as he's seated between 2 girls. He don't like girls, he says. He was a little scared because he doesn't know anyone there yet, but he met his teacher at orientation yesterday he proudly reported when he called this morning. He sounded as cranked up as a ferret on crack. I suspect his teacher is going to have her hands full today until he calms down. lol
I expected some acting out from him over the weekend, but as I told his mom when we dropped him off yesterday, he was extra-special double-plus good all weekend. I could tell he was feeling the strain though, especially after he presented me with this picture Saturday. Which of course I proudly hung on the refrigerator with an M for Ma.
It cracks me up every time I look at it.
Chemical tests show the liquids which closed the West Va. airport yesterday were not in fact explosives. And, the 'security issue' that closed the Ft. Smith airport the other day was a hoax bomb call.
Spokesman Steve Frazier says 30-year-old Michael Terrell Jackson had a dispute with his wife and made the threat to keep the plane from taking off Tuesday from Fort Smith Regional Airport. A Fort Smith police report says the American Eagle flight to Dallas took off after a bomb squad and the F-B-I found nothing of concern on the plane. The report says Jackson's family did not board the plane and police believe they left the airport with Jackson. The flight was delayed by less than an hour.
Someone should thump that Bubba on the soft spot. Hard.
A West Virgina airport has been evacuated.
A West Virginia airport terminal was evacuated Thursday after a female passenger's water bottle twice tested positive for explosives, a Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman said.
CNN, et al, apparently are leaving out a few details though.
The Transportation Security Adminstration says a woman is being detained at the airport after she tried to go through security with two vials of an explosive material in her carry-on.
Airport Director Larry Saylers tells 13News a 28 year-old women is being questioned. He says the women born [sic] in Pakistan, relocated to Detroit and recently moved to Huntington.
I don't think the liquid has been positively identified as explosive at this point. But the bottles/vials have been removed for further testing and, if needed, detonation.
Hopefully, this will be another false alarm.
For now anyway. The vet wasn't sure exactly what is wrong with Smokey's swollen paw, but he prescribed an antiseptic spray and told me to soak his paw daily in warm water & Epsom salts.
Then he laughed. And laughed.
He didn't think I could make Smokey hold his foot in water for 7-8 minutes daily. And I admit, the first time I tried, there was much growling, hissing and spitting. And the cat wasn't too happy either. I think I had more on me than on him before it was over.
Gotta be a better way.
So yesterday I bought some small cans of cat food....because I know that Smokey will do just about anything for tuna. I spread about half the can out on a saucer while Smokey purred and protested his undying love for me and btw that food smells rilly good and kitties want some RIGHT NOW cuz omg kitties absolutely lurve whatever that is. Stuck his foot in the water and before he could start to struggle, held the saucer with the lovely food under his nose.
Voila! Instantly still kitty. Took him about 7 minutes to finish the food, during which time he couldn't be bothered about his foot in water. Afterwards, he lay sprawled on the floor like an obese truckdriver who'd just finished Thanksgiving dinner.
I was surprised he didn't belch.
Mike's enroute to Philly for a couple of days, work-related so I didn't get to go. He should be landing in Memphis in a few minutes, if the plane ever quits circling the airport. I'm tracking him on Aeroseek, a cool program that tracks pretty close to real-time....plus lets you track via Google Earth.
Speaking of Memphis, we received word yesterday that our good friend and occasional commenter Bob passed the CISSP exam. Good job Bob!
And speaking of good job, why is it always such a hassle to get my freaking oil changed? I stopped to have it done on the way home from dropping Mike at the airport and good grief what a PITA. I swear, the next time I'm going to dress like a man complete with the appropriate physical accoutrements so I don't get hassled just because I INSIST THEY PUT IN THE SAME SYNTHETIC OIL THAT I'VE USED SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR IN 1999.
Instead, I get "Synthetic oil? Are you sure that's what you want? It costs more you know."
"Yes, I know. That's what I want."
Repeat scenario ad nauseum. Restrain urge to kill clerk, who after all that, enters the wrong oil on the order.
Then before I can get inside, I also get the actual mechanic. "You the one what wants synthetic oil? It costs more y'know."
*grits teeth* "Yes I KNOW THAT. I've been using it for years. That's what I want."
He looks me up & down skeptically. "So you're sure that's what you want? It's more expensive."
Mother of God, how annoying. I was a little surprised when he accepted my next "Yes." But then I realized when I was walking away, I had my right hand clenched into a fist. I guess he thought I was going to pop him one....not that I'd actually do that.
At least I didn't have to give him my patented "I can assure you my lack of a penis in no way inhibits my ability to understand basic machinery" talk.
But it was close.
An AA flight from Ft. Smith to Dallas was evacuated this afternoon due to a "security issue". No details online yet, but the local tv station just said that the issue arose from a phone call made to the airport, if I understood them correctly. The plane was later cleared to leave.
Not sure exactly what happened yet, though the tv report mentioned that whomever made the phone call was going to be in big trouble.
Rilly big trouble.
Whaddya mean thin-lipped bitch?
You mean like this?
I may be a thin-lipped right-wing bitch, but at least I don't look like someone smacked me in the mouth with a big greasy slab of pork belly.
So Botox that.
I recently helped WildChild round up the school supplies he needed for kindergarten. Now granted it's been a while since I bought school supplies, but once I saw the supplies list I was like WTF?
Why do kindergarteners need wet wipes? Kleenex? Hand sanitizer? Is there neither soap nor T.P. in schools anymore?
Where are our tax dollars being spent?
I've seen a lot of talk about how foolish it is to do a thorough pre-flight search of babies and their formula. Think so?
One senior Government security adviser warned of a race against time to identify individuals who might pose a threat.
The adviser said: “It may be beyond belief, but we are convinced that there are now women in Britain who are prepared to die with their babies for their twisted cause. They are ruthless, single-minded and totally committed.”
The nightmare is that mums carrying tiny tots would provide “very good cover” and not raise suspicions among even the most alert security guards.
It wouldn't even have to be a fanatic. Honestly, how hard would it be to slip something innocuous appearing into the diaper bag of some harried mother of 3 waiting for a flight? Or to pay some addict $1,000 to be a drug mule, only the contraband would have a hidden surprise?
Not so much.
The problem with the informal profiling that we all do is that it is often colored by what Mike calls "like-me syndrome". It is inconceivable to most of us to deliberately harm a child, so we unconsciously assume that no one else would either. Or that a grandmotherly type does something besides bake cookies. Or that a clean-cut white all-American boy could deliberately kill hundreds of people.
But, you may say, those are outliers, aberrations. True enough, but in this area, it only takes one aberration to commit mass murder.
And that's the problem with formal profiling. It's based, in part, on statistical analysis of what's happened in the past. Which is fine as far as that goes, but you don't have to know much about statistics to know that there's always anomalies. Just because statistically suicide bombers, et al, are predominately Middle Eastern males, doesn't mean they all have been.
We sometimes make the mistake, I think, of thinking that we are dealing with rational, civilized people whose only goal is our removal from Iraq or Israel. And that's simply not the case.
Our deaths are their express, do-not-pass-go direct ticket to Heaven.
And just because some of them have been bumbling idiots doesn't mean we should blindly underestimate their cunning. Or their resources.
That's a deadly mistake we can't afford to make.
I have to take Smokey to the vet later this morning, and as you can see, he's just beside himself with anxiety. The paw he's hanging down there has been swollen for a couple of weeks now, and looks like it may be getting infected. (I suspect he's been spider bitten again.) So off to the vet we'll go before it gets any worse.
Right now he's not too worried about that, but I suspect that'll change once he gets in the car.
Nothing like a long drive with a squalling cat.
It appears the terrorists were planning to strike on August 16th. At least that's when the airline tickets found were dated.
And of course their local imam has strongly condemned the planned attacks and all the accused stand for.
The imam of Walthamstow mosque, where many of the suspects live, urged the Muslim community to remain calm and assist the police in their inquries. The unnamed imam added: "We'd like to remind people that the suspects are innocent until proven guilty."
True enough, but that doesn't exactly distance oneself from the beliefs of those who think all infidels must die, now does it.
Where do they pick up those beliefs anyway?
The terrorist arrests are just a plot to help Lieberman get elected....planned by Bushilter, et al, who are simultaneously too stupid to speak yet smart enough to rule the world. Good thing we have those on the far left to clue the rest of us in on their evil ploy.
*rolls eyes*
I'm beginning to develop the opinion that there are way too many stupid people in the world.
Here's the deal. Their plan was to blow up as many as 10 planes, mid-Atlantic to maximize the casualties. They don't give a crap whether the passengers were liberal, conservative, green or pee-purple polka-dotted. Even other Muslims are fair game.
They were apparently planning a dry run in the next couple days, with the main event to follow shortly thereafter. The date more than likely had something to do with 8/22, the day Mohammed flew on his magic horse, or the proximity to 9/11. It could have even been planned to affect mid-term elections, I suppose. Because lily-livered liberals in power certainly would make terrorists' jobs much easier.
It doesn't really matter if you believe or don't believe. You'll still explode just like the rest of us if some of these fanatics slip through.
Idiots.
I'm not the only one to call bullshit on Al Gore's 'carbon neutral' claims.
Public records reveal that as Gore lectures Americans on excessive consumption, he and his wife Tipper live in two properties: a 10,000-square-foot, 20-room, eight-bathroom home in Nashville, and a 4,000-square-foot home in Arlington, Va. (He also has a third home in Carthage, Tenn.) For someone rallying the planet to pursue a path of extreme personal sacrifice, Gore requires little from himself.
More at the link. Like Al's oil company stock holdings and his zinc mine pollution citations.
How totally inconvenient.
Due to the British terror plot arrests this morning, all flights from the US to Britain have been placed on red alert. There will be heightened security on all other flights.
"Consistent with these higher threat levels, the Transportation Security Administration is coordinating with federal partners, airport authorities and commercial airlines on expanding the intensity of existing security requirements," Chertoff said.
"Due to the nature of the threat revealed by this investigation, we are prohibiting any liquids, including beverages, hair gels, and lotions from being carried on the airplane."
He said the changes take effect at 4 a.m. local time across the United States and will be undated [sic]as warranted.
If you're flying out of Britain to anywhere, no carry-on luggage will be allowed either. Seems there was a plan underway to blow up multiple flights mid-Atlantic. And they ain't found all the participants yet.
Maybe the August 22nd prediction wasn't so far off after all.
Well, not really.
Members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard have been found among Hizbollah guerrillas slain by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, Israel's Channel 10 television reported on Wednesday citing diplomatic sources.
Hey it's on Reuters, it's got to be true. Right?
All together now: Aaaaaww.
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked protesters from pitching tents or placing portable toilets near President Bush's ranch, ruling that roadside camping and parking bans are constitutional.
Good thing Cindy bought those 7 acres. They can protest there to their hearts content.
"I can't speculate about why," Broiles said, adding that his clients may appeal the ruling or continue trying to reach a compromise with the county.
No great mystery. Hell even hillbillies know it's not nice to squat right beside the road.
Ain't you people had no raisin'?
One of the ways you can tell fall is on its way in the Ozarks is the sounds of the dope helicopters going over. Unfortunately, one of the local National Guard's helicopters crashed this morning near Green Forest.
The two individuals that crash landed in an Arkansas Army National Guard OH-58 Kiowa helicopter this morning have been identified as Maj. Timothy Dickinson and Arkansas State Trooper Andy Wiley.
Both are reportedly in stable condition at area hospitals.
Here's hoping both have a quick and complete recovery.
No, I'm not talking about this. Or even this. I'm talking about my on-going battle against the damnable Scalopus aquaticus. When we moved in last fall, the back yard was so riddled with tunnels that it wasn't safe to walk pretty much anywhere. So this year, we've been trying to discourage a return by treating the lawn for grubs....twice so far. That had helped, but recently I've been seeing tunnels popping up overnight again. I discovered, accidentally, that the best way to destroy a tunnel without killing the grass was to flood it with the waterhose and re-pack the mud into the tunnel with a shovel.
So. After I got back from the doctor this morning, I noticed a large area with tunnels everywhere that hadn't been there when I left earlier. Grumbling, I got the waterhose and a shovel and got everything back in its proper place. About 15 minutes later, I noticed another mound of dirt pushed up in the area in which I'd been working earlier.
Sneaky mole bastard.
I was in the midst of flooding the new hole with water & packing the mud back down when suddenly something wiggled up through the muck. It popped out of the hole, gasping for breath. It was a large mole....which I promptly dispatched with a quick whack of the shovel.
Aha! Moles: 1,645,742, Rita: 1.
That ought to slow the tunneling down. For a little while anyway.
Or something like that.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "and his followers clearly believe that this time is now, and that the terminal struggle has already begun and is indeed well advanced. It may even have a date, indicated by several references by the Iranian president to giving his final answer to the US about nuclear development by Aug. 22," which this year corresponds "to the 27th day of the month of Rajab of the year 1427. This, by tradition, is the night when many Muslims commemorate the night flight of the prophet Muhammad on the winged horse Buraq, first to 'the farthest mosque,' usually identified with Jerusalem, and then to heaven and back (c.f., Koran XVII.1).
Ummm....o-kay.
I'm sorry, I know it's not nice to make fun but.....WTH kind of name is 'Baraq'? I mean, that's the sound our Akita makes when she belches.
It'd be pretty cool if she could fly though. She'd terrorize every squirrel in the neighborhood.
The afteraffects of the Reuters Photoshop continue to spread.
Also on Monday, the AP recalled a photo that it had transmitted Sunday night of a worker in Alaska examining an oil pipeline. In that photo, the worker appeared to have four hands, and there were other elements such as a section of pipe that appeared to have a double image.
Lyon said the distortions were unintentional and resulted from careless use by the photographer of a software feature in Photoshop called a "cloning tool." The photographer had used the feature in an attempt to clear up a glitch in the picture caused by a dirty sensor, the part of a digital camera that records the image. AP's ethical guidelines permit use of "cloning" in limited circumstances to clean up dirt or scratches from an image.
Good thing the editors caught it. Well, not exactly the editors.
Lyon said the error was not caught by either the photographer or the editing desk before it was transmitted on the AP's photo service. He said the company was reviewing disciplinary actions against the photographer and other parties involved.
You think a little thing like a 4-handed person might stand out.
--"Investigators said the department has not been called before to deal with any problems with the couple but after the investigation police said the relationship ended badly." Gee, ya think?
--Another neighbor from hell.
--Alternate-day watering still voluntary in B-ville. Today is not my day.
--Some other towns not so lucky.
Like my hometown, which had to start sucking water out of a creek because the spring that's the city's water source went dry. No link available, but my hometown newspaper said the state health department wasn't too happy about it.
Imagine that.
I'm not sure why anyone is surprised by this. Some people will do anything to regain their imaginary lost youth.
The attractive brunette has opted for a controversial stem- cell therapy where umbilical cord tissue from new-born babies will be injected into her body.
It may seem distasteful, but thousands of women have already done it and it is organised by a seemingly respectable British clinic then carried out in Rotterdam, Holland, where rules regarding stemcell therapies are not so strict.
Wasn't stem cell therapy supposed to be only used to treat Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, make the lame walk, cure hoarseness? Ah, but Pandora's box isn't so easily closed. And no surprise, umbilical cords aren't the only source.
In Barbados, stem cells for 'beauty treatments' are harvested from "aborted foetuses". Worse, some countries have a more sinister source.
RUSSIA and the Ukraine currently top the world abortion league, with more of the operations carried out here than anywhere else on earth. Evidence gathered by the Moscow police department has shown a growing black market in aborted foetuses, which are smuggled into Russia from the Ukraine and Georgia.
Here, poverty-stricken young women are paid 200 U.S. dollars to carry babies up to the optimum eight to 12-week period - thought to be best for harvesting stem cells. They are then sold on to cosmetic clinics.
Here, have a nice harsh cup of reality.
Mmm, tasty.
By now you've prolly heard about the Photoshopped Reuters photos. See if you can find what's missing from this paragraph.
Reuters ended its relationship with Hajj on Sunday after it found that a photograph he had taken of the aftermath of an Israeli air strike on suburban Beirut had been manipulated using Photoshop software to show more and darker smoke rising from buildings.
Hmmm. Who found the photos had been altered? There's a hint at the very end of the article.
Questions about the accuracy of the photograph arose after it appeared on news Web sites on Saturday.
Several blogs, including a number which accuse the media of distorted coverage of the Middle East conflict, said the photograph had been doctored.
Oh come on CNN. Would it kill you to properly credit those who discovered the problem?
At least Reuters did the right thing.
Today I'm waiting for 3 different tree guys to come & give us an estimate on how many ka-jillion dollars it will cost to take down the big elm in the backyard before it falls on the house. The dry weather has made it lean more & more every day, so much so that I've started calling it the leaning tower of tree-sa.
Since it's about 30 ft. tall and has a major branch up in the top that's partially split off from the trunk, I'm sure it won't be THAT expensive to take down.
Riiiiight.
This went a bit to the west of us yesterday, though we got enough wind to make me wonder if we were going to lose the tops out of our tall walnut trees in the back. We didn't lose power either. But we did get a nice soaking rain, which we badly needed.
Mike may even have to mow a little tomorrow since I'm still banned from lawn maintenance.
Dammit.
But it's all over but the crying.
They say it`s a grand slam for Springdale and it`s a story you heard on KNWA first. As of Thursday night, it`s official-- the Wichita Wranglers will be calling our area home. KNWA’s Ginny Barksdale has the story.
Follow the link for more. Now if they'll only stay away from chicken names for the team.
Personally, I like the Arkansas Diamonds since they're a farm team for KC. You know, the Diamonds. The Royals. At least semi-related.
Sounds much better than the freaking Springdale Red Roosters.
Perhaps we would be more receptive to this if we hadn't seen an accompanying increase in things like this and this and this and this.
Just a theory.
Just in case you have trouble telling these apart:
I'm not sure why everyone is so shocked & surprised about this. The far left is generally every bit as racists as their far right counterparts, they're just usually more covert about it.
And could we all drop this now? It's not like it's the first time a drunk's motor mouth has gotten him into trouble. A Hollyweird star is a closet anti-Semetic. And the surprise is what?
Here's another, more local thing that needs to be dropped. Let's face it Fayetteville. You either build out or up. Or you don't build at all. If you want the tax revenue, make your choice and stop whining.
Grown-ups do that all the time.
If the antics at the pre-trial hearing are any indication, this trial is going to be very bizarre.
One of the witnesses refused to answer questions, invoking his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself. Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Dan Shue told the judge he could not think of any way the witness could incriminate himself.
So now there's going to be a separate hearing on whether the witness can invoke the 5th if there's no crime with which he can be charged. And it got weirder.
One witness said he saw Bobo sitting with her legs apart while wearing a skirt and no underwear.
Defense attorney Shannon Foster sat in a chair facing the 17-year-old witness, moved her legs apart and asked, “Can you tell if I’m wearing underwear or not?”
“No,” the witness said.
Foster asked the boy to describe exactly what he saw under Bobo’s skirt, but he did not answer. Foster stopped her cross-examination when the boy appeared to be starting to cry.
Another reporter had a little different take.
The courtroom was stunned by an unusual demonstration by defense attorney Shannon Foster. She was cross-examining a former student who had just testified about an incident where Mrs. Bobo sat in a classroom chair with her legs spread where he could see she wasn't wearing any underwear. The incident allegedly occurred during class. He also testified that Mrs. Bobo never touched him at any time.
Foster pulled a chair directly in front of the witness stand and proceeded to assume different seated positions in the chair, asking him if she "sat this way." At one point Foster asked him if he could see up her skirt. Clearly shocked, he replied no, that he was seated in the witness stand at an elevated level and that when the alleged incident occurred he was seated eye-to-eye with his former teacher.
Foster continued to aggressively press him, and at one point the witness simply stopped responding to her questions. There was a long, awkward silence as the young man tried to keep his composure before finally breaking down. The female bailiff went over to console the witness, at which point Foster said, "No further questions," and the judge released the young man.
Funny, guess I missed that class on the Sharon Stone defense tactic. I believe in a vigorous defense of a client, but *ahem* that might be a little much.
Whatever happened to 'hurricanes never hit Key West'? After y'all get done with blowing the roofs off y'all's houses, could you send Chris on up our way? We need the rain.
Why, this is the hottest, driest summer I can remember since....last year. It's global warming I tell you.
Or as I like to call it: summertime in the South.
My neurosurgeon told me this morning that I was recovering so well, I should be a poster child for back surgery. The x-rays showed new bone growth all over, and everything is exactly where it should be. So. One more month of being good and I get to start getting rid of the brace & doing more stuff.
Yay me!
Just show up at the Powerhouse, 6 pm tonight, for a get-together with "an informal, inclusive progressive social group for like-minded, left-leaning individuals." These guys will be there, maybe even our former neighbor, and prolly that one radio guy. No telling who else will show up. (Definitely not us, but you figured that right?)
Drop by if you're in the 'hood.
--Paul Eells, the Voice of the Razorbacks, has been killed in a car wreck. Our sympathies to his family.
--Fidel Castro is not dead yet, but we're all hoping for better news soon.
--New Dickson St. controversy: powers-that-be want to block power line upgrade because the "new steel 85 foot towers" will be ugly or block the view of Old Main or something like that. Instead, SWEPCO should bury the 161,000 volt new lines....which would likely give a whole new meaning to doing the electric boogaloo down on Dickson wouldn't it? Why do the upgrade anyway? After all, everyone has become accustomed to the alleged Dickson St. brown-out every time the football stadium turns on its humongous screen right?
--Finally, Matt might want to consider using this for posting instead of his current voice recognition software. Or maybe not.
