StumbleUpon | uriel1998's blog posts

http://uriel1998.stumbleupon.com/review/27161973/

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:09:29 -0800

http://uriel1998.stumbleupon.com/review/21331935/

Thu, 15 May 2008 18:55:19 -0700

Separated at birth?

http://uriel1998.stumbleupon.com/review/9226001/

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 16:35:26 -0700

Just got a "bulletin" from my sister-in-law. Take a looksee:

"Since "everyone" is under the impression that my daughter's birthday party this friday is something other than it is ... I feel the need to tell you all that IT IS NOT A WEED PARTY for 420!!!! It really ... really ... for real, REALLY is her birthday!!! *sheesh* ..."

Is it just me, or is having to specify that your daughter's birthday party is NOT a "weed party" a bad thing?

http://uriel1998.stumbleupon.com/review/5827880/

Sat, 30 Sep 2006 15:43:04 -0700

And so it begins.

Yesterday, the House essentially passed a bill eliminating habeas corpus.

As William Pitt put it

Underneath all this is the definition of "enemy combatant" that has been established by this legislation. An "enemy combatant" is now no longer just someone captured "during an armed conflict" against our forces. Thanks to this legislation, George W. Bush is now able to designate as an "enemy combatant" anyone who has "purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States."

Consider that language a moment. "Purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States" is in the eye of the beholder, and this administration has proven itself to be astonishingly impatient with criticism of any kind. The broad powers given to Bush by this legislation allow him to capture, indefinitely detain, and refuse a hearing to any American citizen who speaks out against Iraq or any other part of the so-called "War on Terror."

Still sound unlikely? Far-fetched? Dare I say - shrill?

Not at all. As the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reports:

President Bush asserted Friday that critics who claim the Iraq war has made America less safe embrace "the enemy's propaganda."

Whether meant that way or not, I'm afraid that 9/11 has become our Reichstag fire. Must the rest truly follow? What will you do when the gays, the browns, the blacks, the Catholics, the evangelicals, the Jews, the poor, the disabled start disappearing?

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot...

http://uriel1998.stumbleupon.com/review/5559767/

Sun, 10 Sep 2006 17:41:31 -0700

Adventures in Purple Space - by Steven Saus

She gasped as quad turbolasers streamed from the Zalar ship, fizzled our plasma shield into quantum oblivion, and struck magenta sparks from the control panels into my goatee. The blast's concussion shook her voluptuous form against the length of my arm. Her movements reignited my passion while I reignited the thrusters - both of which I'd thought long dead.

"Sally," I said in my most testosterone-laden voice, "I'll save you from those murderous slimy aliens." I said it with a faux confidence born of bravado; the putrescent orange Zalar ship had already mag-grappled the sleek lines of Venturer's hull, and they rarely left survivors. Sally shivered up against me, the lines and curves of her body molding against mine. Her fear palpably filled the air. I had to reassure her, even as the ship's airlock began to cycle.

"We'll make it through this together - and then we'll stay together," I said, my voice throbbing with restrained emotion as I drew the long form of my blaster, leveling it towards the doorway.

"Oh, Captain John," she husked in my ear, "Thank you... but I'm from the planet Lesbos."

"Nuts," I said, my blaster drooping as the chirping voices of the Zalar's rodent mercenaries echoed down the corridor.

http://uriel1998.stumbleupon.com/review/4340213/

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 13:50:59 -0700

Just gotta say - I completely, absolutely LOATHE the new "add page" dialog. Enough that I went back to an earlier version of the toolbar.

http://uriel1998.stumbleupon.com/review/3814851/

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 20:03:52 -0700

April 5, 2006
Op-Ed Contributor
Two Deadlines and an Exit
By JOHN F. KERRY

Washington

WE are now in the third war in Iraq in as many years. The first was against Saddam Hussein and his supposed weapons of mass destruction. The second was against terrorists whom, the administration said, it was better to fight over there than here. Now we find our troops in the middle of an escalating civil war.

Half of the service members listed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall died after America's leaders knew our strategy would not work. It was immoral then and it would be immoral now to engage in the same delusion. We want democracy in Iraq, but Iraqis must want it as much as we do. Our valiant soldiers can't bring democracy to Iraq if Iraq's leaders are unwilling themselves to make the compromises that democracy requires.

As our generals have said, the war cannot be won militarily. It must be won politically. No American soldier should be sacrificed because Iraqi politicians refuse to resolve their ethnic and political differences.

So far, Iraqi leaders have responded only to deadlines -- a deadline to transfer authority to a provisional government, and a deadline to hold three elections.

Now we must set another deadline to extricate our troops and get Iraq up on its own two feet.

Iraqi politicians should be told that they have until May 15 to put together an effective unity government or we will immediately withdraw our military. If Iraqis aren't willing to build a unity government in the five months since the election, they're probably not willing to build one at all. The civil war will only get worse, and we will have no choice anyway but to leave.

If Iraq's leaders succeed in putting together a government, then we must agree on another deadline: a schedule for withdrawing American combat forces by year's end. Doing so will empower the new Iraqi leadership, put Iraqis in the position of running their own country and undermine support for the insurgency, which is fueled in large measure by the majority of Iraqis who want us to leave their country. Only troops essential to finishing the job of training Iraqi forces should remain.

For this transition to work, we must finally begin to engage in genuine diplomacy. We must immediately bring the leaders of the Iraqi factions together at a Dayton Accords-like summit meeting. In a neutral setting, Iraqis, working with our allies, the Arab League and the United Nations, would be compelled to reach a political agreement that includes security guarantees, the dismantling of the militias and shared goals for reconstruction.

To increase the pressure on Iraq's leaders, we must redeploy American forces to garrisoned status. Troops should be used for security backup, training and emergency response; we should leave routine patrols to Iraqi forces. Special operations against Al Qaeda and other foreign terrorists in Iraq should be initiated only on hard intelligence leads.

We will defeat Al Qaeda faster when we stop serving as its best recruitment tool. Iraqis ultimately will not tolerate foreign jihadists on their soil, and the United States will be able to maintain an over-the-horizon troop presence with rapid response capacity. An exit from Iraq will also strengthen our hand in dealing with the Iranian nuclear threat and allow us to repair the damage of repeated deployments, which flag officers believe has strained military readiness and morale.

For three years now, the administration has told us that terrible things will happen if we get tough with the Iraqis. In fact, terrible things are happening now because we haven't gotten tough enough. With two deadlines, we can change all that. We can put the American leadership on the side of our soldiers and push the Iraqi leadership to do what only it can do: build a democracy.

John F. Kerry, a senator from Massachusetts, was the Democratic nominee for president in 2004.

http://uriel1998.stumbleupon.com/review/3535087/

Thu, 09 Mar 2006 03:29:51 -0800

http://uriel1998.stumbleupon.com/review/3511043/

Mon, 06 Mar 2006 16:03:20 -0800

Oh, SNAP! I got rated "R" for the picture of Michaelangelo's "David". OMG. I can't believe it. What silliness.

http://uriel1998.stumbleupon.com/review/3122941/

Tue, 24 Jan 2006 14:06:50 -0800

Three buzzes in one day! Dang!