Let the Right One In
Posted by
Markoni
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Låt Den Rätte Komma In is a Norwegian horror film directed by Tomas Alfredson. Set in the Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg in 1982, a bullied 12-year old boy named Oskar falls in love with a creepy girl name Eli. Things get complicated when he finds out that she's a vampire...
The Wilhelm Scream
Posted by
Markoni
Monday, October 20, 2008
Chances are you've heard the Wilhelm Scream dozens of times in movies and TV and never realized it. The Wilhelm is a sound effect cliche that goes back more than half a century and was originally recorded for the 1951 film Distant Drums. Legend has it that Sheb Wooley, best known for his 1958 novelty hit Purple People Eater, provided the scream during the post production work on Distant Drums (in which he had an uncredited bit part).
Nobody Fucks with John McCain
Posted by
Markoni
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Except the cheerleader chick from Heroes...
9
Posted by
Markoni
Saturday, October 11, 2008
After witnessing the death of his mentor "5" at the hands of the malevolent construct, the rag doll "9" must confront his fears. He must destroy the creature and steal the talisman of trapped souls it carries as a trophy.
9 is a 2004 short film by Shane Acker that has accumulated quite a collection of awards and accolades. Focus Features, the specialty arm of Universal Pictures, is backing a feature length version with Tim Burton (among others) producing. Voice talent for the feature includes Jennifer Connelly, Elijah Wood, Christopher Plummer, and Martin Landau. It currently has a release date of December 26, 2008 in the United States.
I Didn't Want to Talk Politics
Posted by
E
Thursday, October 9, 2008
I remember laying on the floor back in 1984, eyes glazed over by the relentless boredom that was being drilled into my head by the two men arguing on stage. Two ancient men, by my reckoning, droning on and on about politics and the economy and a host of other things that I couldn't possibly care less about. Just a bunch of stuffy old dudes blathering their platitudes. Where were the lightsabers? Where was the excitement? Seriously, who could possibly give a shit about this?
Flash forward to modern times and I find myself transfixed by the same displays, transfixed with that same glassy stare, but at last understanding what all the hullaballoo is about. I never thought I'd reach the day where politics was interesting, but hey, I guess we all grow up some time.
In all honesty, I've tried to avoid writing about politics on this site. Political opinion is just that, opinion. What I may think or believe is inherently personal and it's really not my place to stuff my thoughts down the throats of others.
Of course, when we're discussing politics in modern day America, there are only two thoughts of belief. (Apparently) You are either a red-blooded Republican patriot who loves our country, supports our troops and believes that America is the greatest country on Earth. Or you're a liberal, a moist and mucilagenous being that feeds on the energies of pure hatred: hatred of America, hatred of our troops, hatred of babies and peace and love and capitalism.
I used to find these divisions amusing. It was entertaining watching the right-wing element of this country rise to power. It began slowly enough, just a radio show here and there, feeding its listeners on a diet of hate and vitriol until they successfully demonized the other side.
Look, current politics dictates that we're primarily a two party system. (Though in reality they're just two sides of the same coin.) But the way it's portrayed in our media, there is only one side. Because one side stands for all that is good and the other apparently wants to destroy the world, enslave the American people and deny Christ.
Really? Have we been so mislead in this country that overly emotional sentiments like that can actually affect public discourse?
Have you watched ANY "news" in this country the last few years? It's nothing but talking heads arguing the same things ad nauseum with nothing useful ever coming from it. It's all a game of who can yell the loudest. We all know that the louder you are, the more truth you're telling.
It's fine to have differing opinions, that's one of the beauties of having free speech. We all have the right to disagree. But all of this sensationalism is terrible for the American people as a whole and our country and culture in general.
Don't take this as me pointing fingers at the right. The left is every bit as guilty of these tactics, only they don't have as strong a voice in the media, despite what the right would have you believe.
The right owns talk radio. They have columnists in every newspaper. The media in general tends to be centrist or at least slightly right of center. But anything that doesn't fall directly within the parameters set by these talking heads is considered "far left" and "dangerous".
Lines of division have been scored deeply into the flesh of America and our media pushes us all ever closer to a teetering point.
Life is not always about black and white. You cannot sum up the entire breadth and range of political thought with buzzwords like left and right.
Your side is not always right. NOBODY'S side is ALWAYS right.
Obama, to the best of my knowledge, does not actually feast on the blood of infants, nor does he have any plans to open a series of "McBortion" clinics offering coffee, fries and baby killing. I don't think he intends to declare himself Fuhrer and set the Constitution alight, either.
And for that matter, I don't believe that McCain has any intention of surviving his term, nor do I think that Sarah Palin "knocked it out of the park" at the debates or otherwise has the experience in the public arena to actually lead this country.
Sigh. I tried to stay away from personal politics, but I guess my seething hatred of the right at the moment shone through. But guess what? I'm NOT a "liberal"! (Shhh!!!) Just because I don't like McCain doesn't mean I love Obama, just that I don't like McCain.
But you know what? I'll listen to what anybody has to say about McCain, I'll take their information, process it, do some research and (gasp) FORM MY OWN OPINION about things instead of just basing my life on the talking points of the various talking heads that make up our modern media.
Okay, this really was nothing more than a rant, but like I said, I've tried to avoid going political, but with things as charged and heated as they are currently in the USA, it's hard to keep my mouth shut.
P.S. If you want to see just how horrifying American political discourse has become, check out either: Sean Hannity's forums or any of the talkback on Digg.
Truly scary stuff.
Keith Olbermann puts the smack down
Posted by
Markoni
So let's hurry up and send this stupid bitch back to her arctic wasteland and let McCain go home and fart dust instead of incessantly spewing nonsense to every gullible idiot that hasn't manage to see him for what he really is.
Look, it's just this simple. The democratic party was basically annihilated in the 2004 elections and George W. Bush and Dick Cheney had a republican congress all greased up to rip this country apart and rebuild it in their image. In the four years that followed, they've managed to line the pockets of themselves and all of their buddies, waste billions of dollars and kill millions of people in the middle east with no clear purpose or plan, devalue the dollar to near oblivion in the international markets, piss off half the world so that it's no longer safe for Americans to travel in many places, establish an unfettered domestic surveillance network, push us to the brink of outright socialism, and take a big steaming shit on the Constitution of the United States.
Fuck you and your flag pin patriotism. If you can honestly say that you are better off now than you were 2004, then you are part of the problem. Pull your head out of your ass and act like you've got a clue. This is not some stupid election for student body president or something. This is the REAL DEAL and your country is depending on you to make a good decision on November 4th. It already looks like the McCain/Palin ticket will lose by a comfortable margin. So why the rant?
I want to see the biggest landslide defeat in history and I want McCain's face to glow bright red just before he bursts into flames with his howls of pain echoing through the rotunda. I want to see Palin dragged away in chains and shipped off to Guantanamo where she can no longer embarrass us. Give Alaska to the Canucks and make Puerto Rico a state so we don't have to change the flag.
Oh yeah, and fuck you.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Keith Olbermann from MSNBC puts the smack down and tells it like it is.
So let's hurry up and send this stupid bitch back to her arctic wasteland and let McCain go home and fart dust instead of incessantly spewing nonsense to every gullible idiot that hasn't manage to see him for what he really is.
Look, it's just this simple. The democratic party was basically annihilated in the 2004 elections and George W. Bush and Dick Cheney had a republican congress all greased up to rip this country apart and rebuild it in their image. In the four years that followed, they've managed to line the pockets of themselves and all of their buddies, waste billions of dollars and kill millions of people in the middle east with no clear purpose or plan, devalue the dollar to near oblivion in the international markets, piss off half the world so that it's no longer safe for Americans to travel in many places, establish an unfettered domestic surveillance network, push us to the brink of outright socialism, and take a big steaming shit on the Constitution of the United States.
Fuck you and your flag pin patriotism. If you can honestly say that you are better off now than you were 2004, then you are part of the problem. Pull your head out of your ass and act like you've got a clue. This is not some stupid election for student body president or something. This is the REAL DEAL and your country is depending on you to make a good decision on November 4th. It already looks like the McCain/Palin ticket will lose by a comfortable margin. So why the rant?
I want to see the biggest landslide defeat in history and I want McCain's face to glow bright red just before he bursts into flames with his howls of pain echoing through the rotunda. I want to see Palin dragged away in chains and shipped off to Guantanamo where she can no longer embarrass us. Give Alaska to the Canucks and make Puerto Rico a state so we don't have to change the flag.
Oh yeah, and fuck you.
I Am Anti-Semantic
Posted by
E
Monday, October 6, 2008
If there is one thing in this world that I cannot stand, it would be semantics.
We all have to deal with them every day. Some jackass who thinks he's being clever by correcting your "mistake" when in fact you were right all along. It's something that's bugged the hell out of me for as far back as I can remember.
Who finds it necessary to be difficult just for the sake of it? Yeah, we all enjoy a good laugh now and then and sometimes arguing semantics can be fun, but doing it for no real reason does nothing but aggravate me and turn what should be a humdrum everyday conversation into an exercise wherein I'm doing my best not to tear somebody's throat out.
Let me give you an example:
I walked into a McDonald's shortly after the movie Supersize Me was released. Due to the bad publicity rained down upon their business, McDonald's opted to remove "Super Sizing" from their menu, instead substituting it with "Large Size".
No harm, no foul, right? I mean, they're just looking out for their best interests while still giving the porcine masses what they really want. (Greasy food and LOTS OF IT.)
In I walk, completely oblivious to this new direction the company is taking.
"I'd like a number four with no pickles or onions, super sized with a Coke," I say in my best monotone, as this is the exact same thing I've ordered from this restaurant for the last decade.
"Oh, we don't have super size anymore," the clerk says, "just large size."
Ahh...semantics.
Had I been the bloke behind the counter, I would have simply rung up the order as a large size and sent the customer on his merry way. Oh sure, I may have taken the time to point out our new "branding", but I would see no reason to interject any needless arguments into the conversation.
Dopey McAcneface apparently saw things differently than I did.
"You don't have super size anymore?"
"Right."
"But you do have a larger size available still?"
"Right."
"Wouldn't that basically mean that the larger size IS the super size?"
"Yeah."
I defy you to look at that exchange and side with the person behind the counter. Seriously, was it worth the effort to block the arrival of my order by 30 seconds? Nowadays whenever I go to a fast food restaurant I order "Giganto-Size, Enormo-Size or even Uber-Size". You'd be amazed how many times I end up with regular size.
The most egregious example of this comes from further back in time. Somewhere in the early to mid 1990's I called up Domino's to order a pizza for my girlfriend and I. Times were lean and we didn't have a whole lot of cash, so I opted for a more meager portion.
"I'd like to order a small pepperoni pizza, please."
"We don't have small pizzas."
"You don't?"
"No sir, we have medium, large and extra large."
I'd love to say that I took the high road, rolled my eyes and opted for the medium. Instead I launched into a scathing tirade about the inanity of the previous statement.
A) I said SMALL, which would obviously indicate the smallest pizza you sell.
B) How in the hell is the smallest pizza a medium? Wouldn't medium indicate that there was some sort of upper and lower measurement, ie the midpoint between the small and the large?
C) Did you REALLY just tell me that you didn't have a small pizza and then list off three sizes, from smallest to largest?
Ugh.
No doubt I enjoyed a pizza covered with all sorts of saliva and floor sweepings, but at least I made a point. I just can't stand people being needlessly nitpicky.
Dis MoFo Fed Layin' It To Da Bone...Jacking me up. TIGHT------LY!
Posted by
Arbitrage
Friday, October 3, 2008
"Arbitrage say he can't HANG!"
Angered, Speechless, Dumbfounded, Astonished, Pure Disbelief.
So a few days ago, you say no to giving someone a $700 billion line of credit.
Today you say ok, because of the following(which is only some of the things).
"Some of the goodies intended to attract the votes of individual members of Congress include $192 million for the rum producers of Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands, $128 million for car racing tracks, $33 million for corporations operating in American Samoa, and $10 million for small film and television productions. "
UNREAL.
Not too much more to say on the subject anymore.
If the above doesn't tell you who we are and what we've become then I don't know what else to say.
Cash $cam 101
Cash Scam 101...
Buy the rumor sell the fucking news. Below is the action from today during the passage of the bailout.
Open up in a new window.
See the blue arrow line, that was the point at which the vote count was still coming in, but there was enough Yeas to pass the bill. What happens next? 300 point drop ...bottom fell out.
Cash Scam 101 folks... buy the rumor sell the news.
"But wait, wasn't the bill suppose to be good for the economy?? ...I mean stock market was rising all day, so it passed, well where is the rally???"
"Well ummm yeah Mr. Sucker ..*cough* *cough* I mean Mr. Investor, the earlier prices reflect the passage of the bill, but we all know bill or no bill we're still up shit's creek without a paddle."
Cash Scam 101--
As a side note we just gave 700 Billion line of credit to Fed\Treas.. WOW.
**EDIT**
HAHAHAHA LMFAO
Just read the headline "DOW UP AFTER HOUSE OK's RESCUE"
Yeah ok, we just gave up 250+ points after it was passed.
HAHAHA.. no wonder why they steal 700 Billion from us.....
Shamisen Hero
Posted by
Markoni
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Yoshida Kyōdai are Japanese musicians who are known internationally as the Yoshida Brothers and have been recording and performing since 1999. Ryōichirō Yoshida and Ken'ichi Yoshida are the ones rocking out on the shamisen, a traditional Japanese instrument dating back to the 16th century. You've probably heard their music in the background of Nintendo Wii commercials (a track called 'Kodo' from their 'Yoshida Brothers II' album).
The track 'Rising' is from their 2008 CD "Best of Yoshida Brothers".
Last Call, The Bar is Closing...The Last Dance Is Not 10 cents, It's Free
Posted by
Arbitrage
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Yep this dance is not 10 cents, but free. Why? Cause it's the last dance for a long while, the party is over and we must now walk out and face the sunlight; knowing we stayed way too late, spent too much money, and disillusioned our selves to the best of our ability.
My sister emails me and says, let's cash out and get the hell out of here. Is she in panic mode or is she sane?
You won't hear much talk of the closed congress meetings earlier this year or even know that it existed. Should have been newsworthy considering it was the 4th time in 176 years it has happened. What was the big deal that had to be so secret that everyone had to take an oath of silence on? E told me the other day that they were bringing in troops in readiness for social unrest.
Well apparently what was discussed behind the close doors was this.
The IMMINENT collapse of the financial system by end of 2008
The IMMINENT collapse of the government finances by end 2009
Revolt by the people which causes civil war.
Finally the North American Union.
Perfect storm don't you think? I mean financial issues the likes most of us have never seen, the possibility of a Black President, and that 1 small problem of WE DON'T HAVE FUCKING CIVIL LIBERTIES ANYMORE. We have signed away our liberties to acquire "protection" from terrorists. Martial law can be executed at will now and nothing can save you. Revolt if you want, everything that protected us is now gone.
So that's why I saw those pictures of portable jail cells not too long ago. They look like leggo, they just snap in place.
So maybe you don't think martial law is possible, maybe just internet phobia.
Let's forget about the possibility of civil war, martial law, and the whole 9.
Ok, I'll buy that argument, but Big Sis is still right about packing up.
Let's deal in econ .00101.
I have been asked many times my thoughts on the situation and for me it's hard to explain unless I know the readers level of knowledge.
The following article eloquently explains better than I could:
http://www.financialsense.com/stormwatch/geo/pastanalysis/2008/0926.html
False Values, False Economy,and the Devil to Pay
by J. R. Nyquist
Weekly Column Published: 09.26.2008
Our wretched economy of false valuations cannot continue much longer. It is the domestic counterpart of President Bush’s past friendship with Vladimir Putin. It is the fantasy world of an everlasting bull market and “successful” government bailouts. The political leadership in America has demonstrated that it doesn’t understand economics. They cannot solve the present crisis unless they go back to school and consult the wisdom they have so long neglected. They have built their post- Cold War world on a false boom, on false “partnerships” with enemies. They have pe rmitted a policy of credit expansion without end.
“Credit expansion,” wrote the Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises, “is the governments’ foremost tool in their struggle against the market economy. In their hands it is the magic wand designed to conjure away the scarcity of capital goods … and to make everybody prosperous.” But everyone cannot be prosperous. The boom created by credit expansion cannot last. This is what the leaders of the United States have missed. “The inescapable consequences of credit expansion,” wrote Mises, “are shown by the theory of the trade cycle. Even those economists who still refuse to acknowledge the correctness of the … credit theory of the cyclical fluctuations of business have never dared to question the conclusiveness and irrefutability of what this theory asserts with regard to the necessary effects of credit expansion.”
And what are these effects?
According to Ludwig von Mises, an upswing occasioned by credit expansion can only be maintained by further credit expansion; and, in the long run, “it turns into depression when the further progress of credit expansion stops.” This outcome is absolutely certain and today’s financial crisis underscores the point. The economic boom of recent years has been propelled forward by an unprecedented credit expansion. At each turn, when the market was threatened with contraction, further credit expansion was urged.
The magic wand of credit expansion is like heroin addiction. The more you take, the more you want. The day inevitably comes when you cannot increase the dosage because you run short of supply. And so it is with credit expansion. The markets are accustomed to easy money. They now require easier and easier money. They are addicted. Eventually, however, they must suffer the symptoms of withdrawal.
Did we think this expansion could continue forever without consequence? Evidently we did not consider where we would end up. And now, at last, the United States Government believes it can fill the hunger for credit through a coordinated push – the last gasp of our insatiable credit addicts. President Bush offers a plan. Behind closed doors he reportedly said, “This sucker could go down.” Once again, the president’s grammar is in error. The sucker in question will go down.
Every dollar poured into the proposed rescue operation will be lost. Buying toxic debt is not a solution. The proposed mechanism for rescuing the economy represents a new falsification of values – and a new twisting of the market. The dollar cannot possibly survive this new initiative. A $700 billion bailout is only the beginning. It is merely a foretaste. What we see in Washington is an exercise in self deception. It is the self deception of a country that does not see danger, of a country that ignores the wisdom of ancestors and the ABCs of economics.
They want a booming economy. What they’ve failed to consider is the false nature of the boom thereby engendered. False values, false ideas and promises of false prosperity pepper the program of today’s politicians. They have no business at the helm of a great country. Their leadership consists in pitiful ignorance, and the republic may be in its last days. There has been a shocking willingness to destroy the country’s currency. “If the government does not care how far foreign exchange rates may rise, it can for some time continue to cling to credit expansion,” Mises explained. “But one day the crack-up boom will annihilate its monetary system.”
The proposed plan to save the markets will save nothing. The proposed solution is no solution. Improper investments have been made and massive losses must result. We have to take our medicine before we can get better. Debasing our already debased currency makes things worse. We have avoided economic pain by a continuous expansion of credit. The artificial boom must come to an end. False values must pass away so that real values can be brought to the fore.
Few realize how destructive the boom has been; for the real damage is done by the regime of false values and our collective investment in those values. “The boom is called good business,” noted Mises, “prosperity, and upswing. Its unavoidable aftermath, the readjustment of conditions to the real data of the market, is called crisis, slump, bad business, depression.” The latter, however, is the period of healing and correction.
The real magic of economics is learning to accept correction. This is what we refuse to do. The country’s financial managers set a terrible example. Traditionally, the captain goes down with his ship. As the Titanic sinks today our financiers don’t want to be rescued in a lifeboat. They want to be rescued in a yacht. They don’t want to accept that wars and depressions are necessary because human nature craves fantasy. The bubble of false peace and false prosperity necessarily bursts. In the end, reality must be confronted.
“People rebel against the insight that the disturbing element is to be seen in the malinvestment and overconsumption of the boom period,” wrote Mises. The curious fact is, noted the Austrian: “If we apply this yardstick to the various phases of the cyclical fluctuations of business, we must call the boom retrogression and the depression progress. The boom squanders through malinvestment scarce factors of production and reduces the stock available through overconsumption; its alleged blessings are paid for by impoverishment. The depression, on the other hand, is the way back to a state of affairs in which all factors of production are employed for the best possible satisfaction of the most urgent needs of the consumers.”
If the state is to do anything constructive during the “progressive” period of depression, it is to maintain the country’s nuclear deterrent and preserve national unity. There is no doubt that America will shortly be forced to call its troops home and close its overseas bases. The financial situation is going to dictate international withdrawal. It is going to dictate a more modest government. But the politicians in Washington cling to the notion that the boom can continue, that their false approach to the international situation is viable. The United States cannot save the world. It will be fortunate to save itself. President Bush’s proposed bailout is not simply a socialist measure. It is an attempt to avoid a return to correct valuations. It is an ignorant attempt, in effect, to extend the damage that has already been done.
Our politicians want to give us easy money, a furtherance of the shopping mall regime. They believe this will prevent millions from losing their jobs. They believe that their proposed measures will save ailing banks. Prosperity would then continue. “This reasoning seems plausible,” wrote Mises. “Nonetheless it is utterly wrong.” The boom has made prices and wages too high. Demand has lost all sense of supply. The consumer is accustomed to getting whatever he wants, even though he cannot afford it. In order to put matters right, wages must fall, consumption must be restricted, wasteful practices must come to an end.
“There is no use in interfering by means of a new credit expansion,” wrote Mises. “This would at best only interrupt, disturb, and prolong the curative process of the depression, if not bring about a new boom with all its inevitable consequences.” When Bill O’Reilly says that the disaster is too great, that despite his support for the free market he sees no alternative to the government bailout plan, he is denying the healing power of a depression. He is denying the fundamental lesson of economics. The damage to the economic system has already occurred during the period of false prosperity.
As strange as it seems, financial crash and depression are needful. We must pass through a time of troubles. There is no other way to correct the regime of false values. The problem, of course, has become political. The regime is a political system in which the economically ignorant call the tune. The magnitude of the disaster is thereby amplified. The political actors now put the political system at risk. Because there are national security implications, they now put our very lives at risk.
Copyright © 2008 Jeffrey R. Nyquist
You can't "FIX" this, it is broken. To employ a bailout only keeps the bar open and the band playing another few hours.
Eventually you have to go home.
WATCH THIS VIDEO. PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO
Meet your fellow McCain voters...
Posted by
Markoni
Saturday, September 27, 2008
If you intend to vote for Senator John McCain for President of the United States of America on November 4, 2008, I would like introduce you to some of the people that will no doubt also be supporting McCain on that day.
"We as a nation have to ask ourselves what the hell is going on."
"Man, this truck driver is insane!"
"And aren't you glad?"
"The whole of creation testifies..."
"John, are you ok?"
Pimpin Ain't Dead Part Deaux
Posted by
Arbitrage
Thursday, September 25, 2008
In Pimpin Ain't Dead I talked briefly about how all the FED has us all by the balls. Left, Right, Up, Down, Black, White, it doesn't matter. You can fight amongst yourselves all you want pointing and blaming but in the end the FED has us all.
Couple weeks later lo and behold, we're looking at a massive $700 BILLION bailout; which in it's drafted copy gives the FED unlimited authority to not be questioned by the government or COURT OF LAW about it's actions with the money, but also contains a section in which the FED can take ANY bank into it's control.
OK. If I'm across the poker table from the FED\CONGRESS etc.. I'm pushing all in because I'm calling bullshit. What I was taught and what I thought WE believed in was free markets period. PERIOD at any cost. Could things get MIGHTY UGLY if we don't do the bailout, of course, more so than any of us could imagine or prepare for, but guess what, FUCK IT.
Everything we've ever preached, flaunted, and prided ourselves in goes out the window with the bailout. To quote Dr. Ron Paul:
"Times like these have a way of telling us what kind of a people we are, and what kind of country we shall be."
Thus it's quite obvious what we will be-
The United States of Fake Ass Capitalists
Hooray for religion!!!
Posted by
Doodface
Friday, September 19, 2008
This is what religion can do when it is followed to the letter. Scary shit.
By DONNA ABU-NASR, Associated Press Writer
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Arabs across the ideological spectrum, from secular-minded liberals to Muslim hard-liners, are denouncing a top Saudi cleric's edict that it was permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV stations that show "immoral" content.
Many expressed worry the recent comments by Sheik Saleh al-Lihedan — chief of the kingdom's highest tribunal, the Supreme Judiciary Council — would fuel terrorism, encouraging attacks on station employees and owners.
The edict, or fatwa, has also focused the spotlight on Saudi Arabia's legal system because of al-Lihedan's senior position in the judiciary. The system is run by Islamic cleric-judges, many of them hard-liners, and has increasingly been criticized by some Saudis because of the wide discretion judges have in punishing criminals and the perception that many judges are out of touch with the realities of the world.
Even conservative clerics who agree that Arab satellite networks show too many "indecent" programs said al-Lihedan had gone too far.
"Our religion prevents Muslims from watching films that provide seduction, obscenity and vulgarity," said Sheik Hazim Awad, an Iraqi cleric, who, like al-Lihedan, is Sunni Muslim.
But "the real Muslim can just cancel (subscriptions to) these channels," he said.
Many conservatives frown on the Arab world's numerous satellite networks for airing music videos — often with scantily clad women singers — or Western movies and TV shows like "Sex and the City," from which nude scenes are sometimes but not always cut.
Obscenity isn't the only thing that disturbs some. On Tuesday, another Saudi cleric, Sheik Mohammed Munajjid, said the cartoon character Mickey Mouse should be killed. Munajjid said in an interview with a religious Web site that under Islamic law, rats and mice are considered "repulsive" and as "soldiers of Satan."
"For children they've become something great and beloved. Like this Mickey Mouse, who is seen as a great figure, even though under Islamic law, Mickey Mouse should be killed," said Munajjid, who is a well-known cleric but does not hold a government position.
The controversy over al-Lihedan's fatwa began a week ago, when the cleric was answering questions from callers to the daily "Light in the Path" religious program on Saudi state radio. One caller asked about Islam's view of the owners of satellite TV channels that show "bad programs" during the holy month of Ramadan, which began more than two weeks ago.
"I want to advise the owners of these channels, who broadcast calls for such indecency and impudence ... and I warn them of the consequences," al-Lihedan said in the program. "Those calling for corrupt beliefs, certainly it's permissible to kill them."
The remarks were especially surprising because many of the most popular Arab satellite networks are owned by Saudi princes and well-connected Saudi and Gulf businessmen.
On Sunday, reportedly under pressure from senior government figures, al-Lihedan appeared on Saudi state TV to explain his comments, apparently to prevent vigilante killings. He said owners should first be brought to trial and then sentenced to death if other penalties don't deter them.
He said his "advice" was aimed at owners who broadcast witchcraft, indecent programs, shows mocking Islamic scholars or religious police and comedies inappropriate for Ramadan.
The edict chilled managers of satellite networks. Several channels based in Dubai declined comment. One network representative said the staff was taking the fatwa very seriously, but he did not want his name or channel revealed. "Why select yourself as a target by commenting on it?" he said.
Saudi Arabia's judiciary is a bastion of hard-line clerics implementing Islamic law under the strict Wahhabi interpretation. Judges are appointed by the king on the recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council and have complete discretion to set sentences, except in cases where Islamic law outlines a punishment, such as capital crimes.
King Abdullah has said reforming the legal system is one of his priorities, but so far few changes have been announced — a sign of wariness in confronting the powerful clerics.
One Saudi cleric challenged al-Lihedan, telling the Saudi Al-Jazirah newspaper that the new edict would "lend support to terrorism."
Militants will "recruit our youths to take lives and blow up stations and the properties of the owners of the stations, all based on (al-Lihedan's) grave response," said Sheik Abdul-Mohsen al-Obaikan, an adviser at the Justice Ministry and a member of the appointed Consultative Council, which acts like a parliament.
In Jordan, hard-line cleric Ibrahim Zeid Kailani said although the networks are spreading "decay" among the youth, it's the responsibility of the government and not individuals to deal with the issue.
"Such edicts, which call for killing people, instigate sedition," said Kailani, who heads the Islamic Action Front's Scholars Committee, a hawkish group. "They could transform the countries into internal battlefields."
Around the Arab world, many said el-Lihedan was out of line.
"He shouldn't give such a judgment because he's not God," said Noora Baker, a 27-year-old folkloric dancer from the Palestinian city of Ramallah. "I am against religion interfering with the matters of society."
Top 10 "Hot because they are famous"
Posted by
Doodface
Thursday, September 18, 2008
To continue E's love for the top ten list, I must get this one out there. I constantly see very average looking girls referred to as "Hot" simply because they are famous. These women would not even be noticed if you passed them on the street, but because you saw them on TV, they magically become hot.
#10: Sarah "Hot for a Comic" Silverman
Sarah Silverman is very funny, but very hot she is not. She is a rarity in the comedy world by being female, but more so by being a female comic that doesnt make your penis invert. For this reason, she often gets a free "Hot" pass.
#9: Hillary Duff
Not much to say about this one. Just because someone is a "teen starlet" doesn't mean that they become hot the day they become "legal".
#8: Nicole Richie
Nicole Richie is famous by proxy. She is either raised by, or hangs out with famous people. She has no real talent or drive, and only came in to the spotlight after befriending Paris hilton (Who is only famous for being a rich slut).
#7: Ashley Simpson
We only know her name because her older sister is a talented singer, who actually IS attractive. She is also one of those "Famous Siblings" who tries to say that she did it on her own - without her sister's help. And as we have seen from her live performances, she is talentless.
#6: Kirsten Dunst
Ok, so the formula is; if she is a cute child actress she MUST turn out to be a hot adult, right? Wrong.
#5: Jessica Biel
I know a lot of you will disagree with me on this one, but I'm right. You know why? 2 words: Man Face
Nice body, but c'mon guys - Man face.
#4: Sarah Jessica Parker
Horse face.
#3: Fergie
Ok, now we are getting in to the Holy trinity of "Not Hot". This woman has a face of a botched transvestite plastic surgery. I am not at all interested in her "lady lumps" (since they probably have to be shaved daily).
#2: Tori Spelling
This is nepotism at it's finest! This talentless, alien-like brat would never have seen the light of day had she not been Aaron Spelling's daughter. But it's ok, at least Aaron was smart enough to cut her from the will!
#1: Jennifer Garner 
Come on.. She looks like a librarian, but because she got cast in a "cool, sexy role", you are tricked in to thinking that she is hot? I don't want to say too much here though, because with her satellite ears, she can hear me typing this.
Another One I Didn't Write
Posted by
E
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Heya folks. Back with another set of words that did not come from my mind. This time the political statement comes from a user on Digg.com named "darlenegray". I thought this was some amazingly well thought out and organized language that helps put a lot of the animosity of the current candidates into perspective.
Sorry I've been pegging you all with political stuff of late, but damnit, this election REALLY MATTERS.
Posted By: darlenegray (September 17, 2008 at 12:48 AM)
For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.
White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because 'every family has challenges,' even as black and Latino families with similar 'challenges' are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.
White privilege is when you can call yourself a '***' redneck,' like Bristol Palin's boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll 'kick their ***' ass,' and talk about how you like to 'shoot ***' for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.
White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.
White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don't all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you're 'untested.'
White privilege is being able to say that you support the words 'under God' in the pledge of allegiance because 'if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it's good enough for me,' and not be immediately disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the 'under God' part wasn't added until the 1950s--while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.
White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you. White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto was 'Alaska first,' and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she's being disrespectful.
White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor--and people think you're being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college--you're somehow being mean, or even sexist.
White privilege is being able to convince white women who don't even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a 'second look.'
White privilege is being able to fire people who didn't support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.
White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God's punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you're just a good church-going Christian, but if you're black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you're an extremist who probably hates America.
White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a 'trick question,' while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O'Reilly means you're dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.
White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has referred to it, a 'light' burden.
And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren't sure about that whole 'change' thing. Ya know, it's just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain.
White privilege is, in short, the problem.
Top 10 Commonly Mispronounced Celebrity Names
Posted by
Markoni
Monday, September 15, 2008
10. Dr. Seuss – Theodore Seuss Geisel, the author of dozens of children's books including Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat in the Hat, pronounced his middle name (his mother's maiden name) and pseudonym to rhyme with "voice", as in “Dok-tor Soy-ss”.
9. Zooey Deschanel – American actress, musician, and singer, you’ve probably seen her in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Bridge to Terabithia, Showtime’s Weeds, or the Sci-Fi Channel’s Tin Man. Although you can certainly be forgiven for thinking otherwise, her name is pronounced “Zoh-E” (not “Zoo-E”).
8. Berkeley Breathed – Creator of the long running comic strip Bloom County, B.B won a Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1987. Although Bloom County officially ended in 1989, the characters of Opus the Penguin and Bill the Cat have continued to live on in his other works. “Burk-lee Breh-thed” is his name, but his friends just call him “Burk”.
7. Randy Bachman – Lead guitarist for the classic rock bands The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, he finally gave up trying to correct the thousands of American DJ’s mispronouncing his name when BTO’s Let It Ride and Taking Care of Business were rocking the charts. Randy and brother Robbie’s last name is pronounced “Back-man” and not “Bock-man”. Seriously.
6. Maggie/Jake Gyllenhaal – Brother Jake was in the movie Brokeback Mountain playing pitcher/catcher with this guy Heath who would later play a grease-painted psychopath in a movie destined to become one of the highest grossing films of all time, during which he blows up Jake’s sister Maggie. Got all that? The last name of these Hollywood actor siblings is Swedish for “golden hall” and is properly pronounced “Jill-En-Hall” (not "Gill-En-Hall").
5. Neil Peart – Drummer and lyricist for Rush since 1974 (joining the band immediately after their self-titled debut album), Neil has been an inspiration for aspiring drummers for more than three decades. Readers of Modern Drummer magazine voted him “Best Rock Drummer” for seven straight years (1980-1986). Neil’s last name is pronounced "Peer-t" (not "Pair-t" or "Per-t").
4. Shia LaBeouf – He’s the kid from the Transformers movie and the son of Indy and Marion in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. He’s currently hard at work on Transformers II, and his name is pronounced “Shy-uh Luh-Buff”.
3. Björk – Björk Guðmundsdóttir was the lead singer of The Sugarcubes in the late 1980’s before going solo in the early 1990’s. Her most successful singles include Human Behaviour, Army of Me, and Violently Happy. Björk is actually a common name in her native Iceland where it is pronounced “B-yirk” (not “b-york”).
2. Matt Groening – Creator of both The Simpsons and Futurama, Matt “Gray-ning” (not “groaning” or “grow-ning”) continues to helm both franchises. The Simpsons will be celebrating their 20th season this year – the longest running American sitcom and the longest running American animated series. Futurama’s third direct-to-DVD movie is set to be released in November.
1. Ralph Fiennes – The award-winning actor from movies such as Schindler’s List, The English Patient, Red Dragon, and the Harry Potter films (as none other than Lord Voldemort, beginning with Goblet of Fire), poor Ray has probably been called “R-owl-f Fin-ess” more times than he can count. If you want to get that autograph, though, you’d better call him “Ray-f Fines” (to rhyme with "Waif Wines").
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