Saddam Execution Video

Analysis of the video, apparently taken by cell phone, records his executioners chanting Shiite religious slogans.

There are five men in black face masks who are visible on the gallows platform around Saddam, acting as guards. As they guide him towards the trap door and put the noose over his head, they start chanting religious slogans with the names of Moqtada al Sadr (the head of the Mahdi army, accused of organizing death squads against Sunnis) and Baqr al Sadr (the father-in-law of Moqtada). Saddam, a Sunni, is outraged at this last-minute provocation, and tells them to “go to hell.”

This revelation, along with the fact that Saddam was executed on the first day of a major religious holiday, makes it more likely that there will be a Sunni backlash, according to some analysts.

CAIRO (AFP) - Images of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein being led to the gallows on one of Islam's most important feast days risk further alienating public opinion in an Arab world already bristling at perceived Western insensitivity, analysts have warned.

Even the West's leading Middle East allies, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, publicly spoke out against the choice of the first day of the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice to put Saddam to death. The ousted strongman was executed in Baghdad at dawn on Saturday as Muslims began celebrating the Eid al-Adha in which a sheep is traditionally slaughtered in memory of Abraham, who according to the Koran, was about to sacrifice his son Ismail on God's orders, but was sent a sheep instead.

Saddam: first an execution and now ... his resurrection?

In a most bizarre stories ever heard, some people in Baghdad are claiming that they are seeing Saddam’s ghost in Baghdad public areas. Sources say, this may be a plot by the Baathists to keep Saddam ‘alive’ among the Sunni communities.

Some claim he is seen in restaurants, markets and so on. It is possible many Saddam look-alikes are now more prominent and people are mistaking these look-alikes as possible Saddam. It is also possible that Saddam was such a threat that people just cannot believe he is dead and not coming back.

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Well, I am absolutely knackered. The gig went pretty well, not too many major stuff-ups and I nailed a couple of songs. The punters seemed to enjoy it. The cops closed us down because of a complaint by neighbours.
Surf on the 10ft board this morning at Muttonbird as it was closing out all around the bay. Really desparate to give Simon's 6' 8" board a good crack but conditions have conspired against me. At least I know I can get up on it as I had a crazy surf at Mids the other day and got up a couple of times but got closed out on in a barrel straight away. That's the nearest I have got to a full barrel.
A bit daunted by what I have to do in the next few weeks: re-submit candidacy for my Master's, do lesson plans etc for TAFE, get my tax done, get my passport (off to Bali in April), join a gym or brave the pissy local pool and get really fit for surfing in Bali. Reef-breaks scare the crap out of me so I don't know how we will go..

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Conventional wisdom attributes Gerald R. Ford’s presidency solely to the Watergate scandal of the 1970s. Yet it is no less accurate to say that but for the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, it is likely that Ford never would have become president. -- Historian Max Holland

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If you saw last night's game against the Bluejackets, you would agree that Pavel was on his game. The goal he scored behind the net off the goalie was spectacular. His passes were awesome too. He passed one behind him while falling face first perfectly.

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first blog

stay tuned

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Only $489 for a special edition of the Warren Commission report, signed and with an introduction by Gerald Ford. I'll pass.

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Via Raw Story this clip from CNN's American Morning. Outgoing Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, (R-CA) discusses the Oklahoma City bombing and John Doe 2.

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Another story on the threat to Kennedy in Ireland from the Irish Times

Sniper threat sparked alert during 1963 Kennedy visit

A tip-off about a plot to assassinate John F Kennedy with a sniper rifle during his visit as US president to Ireland in June 1963 sparked a massive security alert, with heavily armed Garda reinforcements escorting his motorcade after arrival at Dublin airport. Stephen Collins , Political Editor, reports.

The alert began in the early hours of June 22nd, five days before the US president was due to arrive, when a man rang Independent Newspapers claiming a sniper using a rifle fitted with a telescopic sight intended to kill him.

According to a Department of Justice file in the National Archives released today, gardaí arrived at a telephone kiosk at the junction of College Green and Westmoreland Street, from which the call had been made, within two to three minutes.

A Garda report said the caller must have left in a hurry because they saw nobody in the kiosk or in the vicinity. The man had sought payment for information about the claimed assassination plan.

He said the shot would be fired from a flat roof on the president's route between Dublin airport and the US ambassador's residence in the Phoenix Park.

Although gardaí suspected it could be a hoax, extra precautions were taken and a memo was sent to all stations, the Central Detective Unit and the Special Branch. "All roofs on the route to Dublin airport were scanned by members with binoculars travelling in the advance and escort cars," Garda commissioner Daniel Costigan reported.

"A rifle as well as Thompson guns and revolvers were carried for use against a possible sniper," he added.

President Kennedy was shot dead by a sniper in Dallas, Texas, five months later.

The newly released files, which have been withheld for well in excess of the normal 30 years, detail the extensive precautions that were taken in the weeks leading up to his visit. An advance party of US Secret Service agents, White House special detail agents and a CIA man from London took part in the planning.

They told Mr Costigan that they would not tolerate plans by NBC to put a television vehicle within 50 or 100 feet of the presidential car. All that was allowed was a motorised float travelling a reasonable distance ahead, carrying equipment for RTÉ and approved US TV companies.

The files also show that plans to make Mr Kennedy an honorary Irish citizen were scrapped after extensive behind-the-scenes consultations.

The awarding of the honour was to have been one of the high points of the president's four-day visit to Ireland but Irish and American officials raised so many legal difficulties that the plan was abandoned.

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Curiosity Isn't Always A Good Thing

While I HAVE inherited The Mother's nosiness, I am NOT quite as curious as she is. Case in point: While washing bedding the other day, I bent over to pick up the fabric softener bottle when I felt something drip on my head. Now, I was aware that it could have been water from an overhead pipe, or detergent dripping from the spigot on the container, OR something I would rather not know about. I felt the top of my head, looked at my fingers, kind of smelled them, and then moved on without determining exactly what dripped. And I was okay with that. (I figure it was detergent.) The Mother, however, would have gone to a mirror to see what was in her hair, rubbed the drip, smelled her fingers repeatedly, and, finally, tasted to see if she could determine what the substance was. (There was no smell because I use unscented laundry detergent because of my sensitive skin.) Believe me, that is EXACTLY how she would have acted--she has done this before: once with battery acid!

Now we will do a little "aside" here. As I mentioned, I have sensitive skin. This has lead me to MANY places on the internet in search of soaps, lotions, and other products I can use comfortably. My latest obsession is the company Lush. Lush is a cosmetic company which hand makes their products using fresh organic fruits and vegetables, essential oils and safe synthetics, and don't do any animal testing. The company was started in England and became a big hit in Europe before moving on to North America. While there are some stores here in the US, it is easiest to buy online. (I can't wait to go to Chicago--hopefully this spring--as there are TWO stores there!) The SMELL of some of the products is to die for--they have a soap called Sexy Peel which smells just like a lemon drop candy! Unbelievable! The other thing about some of their products is they put PLANT materials in some of them. In the Sexy Peel soap you will find bits of lemon peel. Other products--like the bar shampoo I like so much--will have dry flowers embedded in them. You can find seeds, ground nut shells, and what looks like pieces of twigs in some of the products--a lot of which is for exfoliation purposes. I know, it all sounds very weird, but you would understand if you actually SAW the stuff and was able to use it. Now, back to the curiosity thing.

I think The Mother's curiosity has skipped a generation and has found my oldest. Here is THAT story. C has rosacea and has a lot of trouble finding products she can use that won't irritate her face. I decided to buy a bar soap from Lush that should be calming enough for her skin. When I got the soap, I cut a chunk off and placed it in a Ziploc bag in anticipation of the next time someone went up north. While I thought the soap would get to her before Christmas, it--along with some other non-Christmas gifts--were still here when K was ready to deliver Christmas greetings to her family. Along with the gifts, I packed a grocery bag full of the extra stuff that was going to her, along with the soap in the Ziploc bag. The soap is pink in color--about the same as calamine lotion--and has some 'chunks' in it, which are visible. Here is a picture of the soap. (The bar I got doesn't have the 'hair' on top--it just is pink.) I didn't think anything of the fact that I didn't warn C about what I was sending--I figured she would remember when I had told her about everything the first time. Later that day, she called me. She wanted to know what that 'pink, fudgy, nougatty stuff in the Ziploc bag' was that I had sent for her. And immediately I knew: she had tasted it! And I was correct! She said it was the worst tasting candy she had ever eaten and why did I want her to try it? Once I told her what it REALLY was, she explained what she had done: she looked at it, she felt it, she smelled it, and then she tasted it. Just as The Mother would have done!

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Hockey Talk

The Wings played again tonight and won 7-4. While the score would indicate a run-away game, nothing could be further from the truth. First, the last goal was on an empty net, so it wasn't quite as lopsided as it would seem. The Wings had three goals--doing great!--and then Columbus scored 4 unanswered goals! Finally, the Wings got their heads out of their asses and started to play again and ended up winning. It seems as if they start to get lazy and sloppy when they are winning by three goals--as if they think they can't be beat. They have done this too much this year and it has to stop.

Cleary got his first-ever hat trick tonight. I really like him--he is a good player and I think he will just keep getting better. (It IS getting rather distracting to see him without his teeth, though. The two top ones were knocked out during a game a few weeks ago and he still hasn't had them fixed. But, then, he HAS been on fire ever since--maybe he should just go without them!:)) Datsyuk got two goals--he FINALLY is starting to earn the $3.9 million that he's getting paid this year. Lang is just doing an outstanding job and Lidstrom is still going strong with a +/- of 22 (as of the 27th)--the second highest in the league. They are playing decent hockey--NOT great--but that just may be to their advantage when playoffs come around: they won't have peaked too early.

My favorite player right now is Valtteri Filppula. He is the first ever Finn that the Wings have had as a player. He is only 22 years old and I saw him play his first game for Detroit at the end of last year. He can do some amazing things with the puck and I can see great things for him in the future. He has a play that is pure magic--at least when it works. As he is skating down the ice, he will pass the puck between an opponent's skates, skate around the guy, and pick up the puck on the other side--and then shoot it at the goal. Give him a few more years and that will be his signature play and he will do it as easily as I can walk down the street. I hope he will stay with Detroit--I don't want him to become dead to me, as Shanahan is! ;)

On Tuesday night the ceremony to retire Yzerman's number will be broadcast. What a sad night that will be. A great player AND a great gentleman--the likes of which we may never see again, at least in the same package.

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Kennedy Targeted on 1963 Ireland Trip (Washington Post)

The Associated Press
Thursday, December 28, 2006; 10:52 PM

DUBLIN, Ireland -- President John F. Kennedy was the subject of three separate death threats during his visit to Ireland in 1963, according to newly declassified police documents released Friday.

The documents released by the Irish Justice Department said police received two anonymous telephoned warnings in the weeks before the arrival of the United States' first Irish Catholic president. A third threat went to the newsroom of the Irish Independent newspaper.

Kennedy's June 26-29 visit went ahead trouble free as he was greeted by adoring crowds in Dublin, Cork, Galway and at his family homestead in County Wexford, in southeast Ireland.

He was assassinated in Dallas five months later.

One threat claimed a sniper would target Kennedy as his motorcade traveled from Dublin Airport to the residence of the Irish president at the start of his visit. The second warned a bomb at Shannon Airport, in southwest Ireland, would detonate as Air Force One was about to depart.

According to the documents the third threat, phoned to the newspaper, indicated that Kennedy would be attacked at Dublin Airport, although the method wasn't specified.

The documents detailed police security concerns --and also reflected officials' desire to impress both U.S. visitors and onlookers in Britain, Ireland's colonial master until 1922.

In a letter, Commissioner Daniel Costigan, the commander of Ireland's national police force in 1963, described the Kennedy tour as "the most important visit to this country since the establishment of the state, with worldwide publicity. British journalists are likely to be ready to criticize any fault in arrangements."

He wrote that although unlikely, "we cannot overlook the possibility" of an assassination attempt.

Costigan said his officers would use binoculars to monitor rooftops along the route of the presidential motorcade. He said an unspecified number of police would be armed with handguns, rifles and submachine guns --an exceptional measure in a country with a largely unarmed police force --to engage any would-be sniper.

The documents indicated that 6,404 police officers were on duty the night Kennedy arrived, and 2,690 lined the U.S. president's route from Dublin airport to the Phoenix Park mansion of Irish President Eamon de Valera.

I have more information on the third threat mentioned, the threat phoned into the Irish newspaper. I will try to post further information over the next few days.

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Talk show host Mike Gallagher expresses fascist views on Fox.

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Lawyer Ends Up Dead After Taking On Rove (from Kurt Nimmo)

Paul Sanford, a prominent Aptos, California, attorney, who accused Karl Rove of treason in the Plame outing case, took a leap from the Embassy Suites Hotel in Monterey Bay on Christmas Eve. Police describe it as “probable” suicide, even though it appears Sanford was not depressed.

From The Monterey County Herald:

Friends and associates expressed disbelief at the news of Sanford's death and that it was ruled a suicide, saying Sanford seemed happy and had made many plans for this week and in coming months. Mills said he and Sanford recently decided to open a shared law office to serve Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, something Sanford was looking forward to doing.

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According to an article in the scientific publication Geology, reported in the press, some of Australia's prehistoric creatures may have been wiped out by aboriginal settlers not climate change as previously thought. One story on this can be found here.

The article was reported straight by most news outlets. WorldNetDaily, however, reports it as Evolution's instability highlighted by new study. Their article subtitles the story "Expert says without reliable foundation, assumptions get wacky". Who is this expert? None other than creationist wingnut Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis, whose opinions are very revealing. He is quoted as saying:

"It's a good example of the fact that evolutionary ideas change all the time. They are reinterpreting their ideas as they look at the evidence," he told WND. "The result is that there's no real knowledge there."

Imagine that! "Reinterpreting their ideas as they look at the evidence." Can't have that in science. This is more proof that Creation Science is an oxymoron. The scary thing is that Ken Ham began his career as a science teacher. Today he teaches nonsense.

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Christmas, Gifts of Vinyl, Obits, and---Of Course--Hockey

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve with friends of ours, as we have for many years. It is always a nice time and has become a tradition. On Christmas day, our youngest and her husband came for dinner and surprised us by telling us they were spending the night! That meant more to me than any gift I could have gotten--I wasn't expecting it.

As for gifts, K replaced the necklace I lost with a new one. This one is different, though. The old one was the Red Wings logo in all gold and it was about 1 3/4 inches wide. The new one is a round circle about 3/4 inches wide and it has the logo in gold embedded in black onyx. Very pretty! I'm just happy to have a Wings' necklace again. My good friend got me a porcelain doll that I have wanted for years--she is dressed in a sailor dress and has blonde hair, blue eyes, dimples, and the same name as our youngest. The part that is REALLY freaky about the whole thing: we have a picture of our youngest in a sailor dress--and it looks very much like the doll. A and her husband got me two vintage Eric Clapton albums in vinyl. I was THRILLED! Now I have to get some frames so I can hang them.

A told me a story that I found absolutely fascinating. She is really into genealogy and asks people about their ancestors whenever she can. One day she was talking with a man who had a very Finnish last name--we are 100% Finn--and she asked him the story of his family. His grandmother and her five children were set to sail to the United States to start a new life. They had their tickets and were all set to go, but at the last minute they had to cancel because two of the children couldn't get passports in time. They were quite distraught because they had to wait to continue with their plans. It turned out okay, though: the ship they were supposed to sail on was the Titanic. This was another time that the saying 'everything happens for a reason' was proven so true in a good way!

I read the obituaries in our local paper AND the paper from where we were raised, every day. I am not understanding what is going on with the writers of these things. Now, I am sure the writers are members of the deceased's family, but, REALLY, they are going over the top. Here are some things that have been written in recent obits: "His mother wrote “such a precious baby, such a loving child, such a wonderful man, and such a gift from God”." and "He was a constant source of inspiration to his children and a constant source of humor and love to his wife and friends" and "fell asleep in death" and "loved to read and had a natural curiosity and interest in learning anything new." Well, I think you get my drift. Now, I understand wanting to remember your loved one, but isn't that what the eulogy is for? Some of these obituaries go on for two--and sometimes more!--newspaper columns! (I don't mean to speak ill of the dead--it is the ones left behind that have to get a grip!) I have already said that I want a closed casket for my wake--NO ONE is going to stand over my body and say: "Doesn't she look good." "She looks just like she's sleeping." "They did such a nice job on her." (All of these things I have heard people say at wakes I have attended!) AND I also don't want anyone shedding any crocodile tears--if The Brother appears to be even a little sad, I will rise up from my coffin and tell him to stop being a hypocrite! And, thank goodness, I DON'T have a nickname. This is another one of the newest things that have been showing up in obits: adding someone's nickname to the listing. So, you will see "John 'Yucky' James Doe" listed. This past week, a man was listed with his nickname of 'Goofy.' Oh, well.

I received an email today inviting me to join the NHL Bloggers group. I am sure that whoever sent this to me has NEVER read my blog. I probably was found by some search engine because I DO blog about the Red Wings at times, but I don't think I am exactly what they are looking for. It made me chuckle, though.

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We Have A Diagnosis

We got the call from the nephrologist today and there now is a name for what K is going through: IgA Nephropathy (IgAN) or Berger's Disease. And there really is nothing that can be done about it. Essentially, they don't know why or how you get this and there is no cure. It isn't an unknown disease, but it isn't that common, either--at least as far as they can tell. You can only be diagnosed with this by having a kidney biopsy and the only reason to do so is if there are other symptoms to begin with. So, many people may have this and not be at a point where they need to be seen by a doctor. The nephrologist will be seeing K every 4-6 months to make sure he isn't getting any worse, but other than that, he just has to start living a healthy life style--as we all need to do! Of course, his blood pressure needs to be kept under control and he may have to address his cholesterol, but other than those two things, it is a wait-and-see approach. There is so much that is unknown about this disease that they can't give any real answers to questions. We have no idea if things will get worse or how bad things could get. Obviously, if things deteriorate, there could be dialysis in the future, but that DEFINITELY is not a sure thing. From the research I did online, there seems to be differing opinions about this disease: some say there is NOT a hereditary factor, others say there is; some say omega-3 helps the condition, some say it doesn't; some say diet should be restricted, others say it isn't a real factor; etc. And these ALL are highly respected websites: WebMD, NIH, the Mayo Clinic, etc. The really strange part of the whole thing is the absence of 'normal' symptoms in K: the only thing he has/had as a symptom was the elevated protein in his urine. No blood in the urine, no edema, no pains, as some people have. He also seems to be older than when people are normally diagnosed with this: by the time a person is 40--and usually while in the 20s--a person has been diagnosed. All in all, the news could have been better, but it DEFINITELY could have been worse! So I guess we will just listen to his doctors (DUH!!!) and take it from here.

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Surge in Afghan Heroin (LA Times, registration required)

Supplies of highly potent Afghan heroin in the United States are growing so fast that the pure white powder is rapidly overtaking lower-quality Mexican heroin, prompting fears of increased addiction and overdoses.

According to a Drug Enforcement Administration report obtained by The Times, Afghanistan's poppy fields have become the fastest-growing source of heroin in the United States. Its share of the U.S. market doubled from 7% in 2001, the year U.S. forces overthrew the Taliban, to 14% in 2004, the latest year studied. Another DEA report, released in October, said the 14% actually could be significantly higher.According to a Drug Enforcement Administration report obtained by The Times, Afghanistan's poppy fields have become the fastest-growing source of heroin in the United States. Its share of the U.S. market doubled from 7% in 2001, the year U.S. forces overthrew the Taliban, to 14% in 2004, the latest year studied. Another DEA report, released in October, said the 14% actually could be significantly higher.

Have you ever noticed that there are occasional news stories about rising opium/heroin productin in Afghanistan and occasional news stories about more heroin reaching this country, but never any stories about how it gets here?

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Gerald Ford Dead at 93

Former President Gerald Ford, the last surviving member of the Warren Commission, died today. He was not eaten by wolves.

In 1964 Ford took part in covering up the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

A few years later he was urging a government investigation of UFOs.

I think the American people would feel better if there was a full-blown investigation of these mysterious flying objects, which some persons honestly believe that they have seen.

As a result of the Congressional pressure the Government set up the Condon Committee.

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I saw this on The Atheist Jew. What if atheists went door-t0-door pushing their non-religious beliefs? Funny as hell.

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12 penalty minutes

This year so far he has 7 goals,18 assists, and 25 points.

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Sidney Blumenthal reveals that George W. Bush is still listening to the neocons because, you know, they've gotten everything right so far.

Bush's touted but unexplained "new way forward" (his version of the ISG's "the way forward") may be the first order of battle, complete with details of units, maps and timetables, ever posted on the Web site of a think tank. "I will not be rushed," said Bush. But apparently he has already accepted the latest neoconservative program, artfully titled with catchphrases appealing to his desperation -- "Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq" -- and available for reading on the site of the American Enterprise Institute.

" Victory is still an option in Iraq," it states. "America, a country of 300 million people with a GDP of $12 trillion, and more than 1 million soldiers and marines can regain control of Iraq, a state the size of California with a population of 25 million and a GDP under $100 billion."

Basically what it amounts to is the Bush has bought into a PowerPoint solution to the Iraq mess. It won't work, of course, but what of it as long as he is having fun.

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Italian poet (and blogger) Piergiorgio Welby, a victim of advanced musclular dystrophy has died at age 60, after being taken off a respirator at his own request. According to this news story he had written this on his blog:

"Dying must be like falling asleep after making love, tired, tranquil with that sense of wonder that pervades everything."

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Idol Worship or "I Am Your Biggest Fan..."

Are you a very big fan of a celebrity, musician, actor, author, sports figure, etc? Would you ever want to meet your 'idol?' What would you do or say if you got to meet him/her? Well, here is my take on the whole situation.

I am a HUGE fan of Eric Clapton. Anyone who has read this blog for awhile knows this. And I have been a fan for many, many years. I don't have a 'crush' on him. I don't think he is the best looking man there is. (Although, while he SHOULD look like twenty miles of bad road because of all he has been through in his life, he DOES get better looking with age.) I don't think he has the solutions for all of the world's problems. What I DO feel about the man is he is the most amazing musician I can name. The things the man can do with a guitar are pure magic--he plays beautifully, he sings decently, and he writes good songs. He amazes me.

I love the Red Wings. I think most of the players are just as cute as a bug's ear--and most of them are young enough to be my kid! Their talent is awesome--the things they can do with a puck are simply breathtaking. While watching a game, I very rarely multi-task because I just want to bask in the pure beauty of what I am watching.

John Grisham is one of my favorite authors--among others. I am totally awestruck by the way he can tell a story and pull me into it. Losing myself in a well-told story is a passion of mine and anyone who can write well completely amazes me.

I think the model Giselle is one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. While I don't know that she has any particular talent other than being beautiful, I am a fan of hers simply because I couldn't imagine being that gorgeous. I would be soooooo grateful to have a fraction of her beauty.

I am a fan of quite a few actors and one I am particularly fond of is Kyra Sedgwick. I have seen her in a few things and she seems to play the 'Southern belle' quite often. I was truly amazed to find out that she actually was born and raised in New York! The woman has talent, for sure.

I have many famous people who truly amaze me because of their talents and abilities and I don't particularly want to meet any of them! My fear is that I would be so disappointed in what they REALLY are like--and not how they are portrayed by their PR people--that I could never truly enjoy their work again. If the actor was completely ego-centric, if the athlete was 'brain-damaged' from being hit too many times and couldn't form a cohesive sentence, if the author was a stuck-up snob, if the musician was stoned and could only slur his words, this would just be too much for me to take. So, I do not want to meet the celebrities that I truly admire. Does this mean I am not someone's biggest fan?

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John Lennon's FBI Files

The release of the document above, the government had claimed from 1983 to 2006, Release of the information on this page, the FBI claimed from 1983 until 2006, "can reasonably be expected to inter alia: lead to foreign diplomatic, economic and military retaliation against the United States."

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Iraq Special Forces Kill Defenseless Bunny

About 1,500 police officers, soldiers and security personnel staged a parade around an infield of stubby brown grass, in festivities complete with warriors on horseback.

At one point, a small group of soldiers stepped forward with a live rabbit and tore it to pieces. The leader bit out the heart with a yell, then passed around the blood-soaked remains to his comrades, each of whom took a bite. The group also bit the heads off frogs, as some of those in the crowd held their noses from the stench.

The Iraqi military may not realize that the American people can put up with hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties but we take a dim view of hurting cute furry creatures. The photo above is actually the least disturbing photo of this incident. For more bunny carnage click here.

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The Amazing Story of Who Stole Jesus' foreskin?

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While our armed forces are more than adequate to defend us, they are insufficient to defend an empire. Rather than bleed and bankrupt the nation endlessly, we should let go of the empire.

--Patrick Buchanan

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Available from BuzzFlash

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Moving Along...Ho, Ho, Ho

Today I had to go and get the boobs squeezed. Yes, It was time for the annual mammograms. I tell you, during the month that I have my annual GYN appointment and my mammograms, I get felt up more than I do the other 11 months combined! I'm just glad to have it over with for another year.

I was out and about anyway so I decided to finish my Christmas shopping. The only person I had left to buy for was K, but he is becoming the hardest one to get gifts for. I didn't have a clue what I was going to get--I so counted on him buying 'us' a flat-panel for the living room. Then it occurred to me: he REALLY could use some place to organize his tools and I decided to get him a rolling tool chest. Yes--a stroke of genius on my part. AND it is just as much a gift to myself as it is to him--this way, maybe the basement will FINALLY get cleaned up. I can only hope. Of course, I had to have someone bring the thing to the Jimmy and load it into the back--which COMPLETELY blocked the back window. I didn't like driving like that--it just feels so unsafe. And I KNEW I couldn't get the darn thing into the house, so I decided that K had to get the gift early. As soon as he got home from work--he was called in to do 4 hours of overtime--I had him look at the tool chest and decide if he liked it or not. I was going to make him take it back himself if he didn't like it! Long story even longer: he was very pleased and it is now sitting in the basement where it belongs. I got him a couple of other little things, also, so he will still have gifts to open on Christmas Eve. Have to save SOMETHING for then!

We still have to do some grocery shopping for the weekend. It would be nice to know if the youngest and her husband were going to be here for more than one day, but I don't think I will know till tomorrow night at the earliest. We have to do a Wal Mart run, too--can't run out of toilet paper on Christmas day!

K will have to run the gifts up to the oldest one's house on Wednesday. I would like to go, but I still have some gift-giving baking to do. And if I don't go, I won't have to go to The Parent's. If K goes there and gives them money for Christmas, I can't do a thing about it--if I am with him, we will have a fight. Not a good thing at this time of year. Such is my life.

Our weather has turned colder, but it doesn't seem as if we will get much snow. Looks like we might actually have a brown Christmas. So very strange for us. It doesn't seem like Christmas without the snow.

There is a good chance I will post again before Christmas, but many of you will be too busy to get online for awhile. To those people, I want to wish a very Merry and Blessed Christmas--may it be joyous and may all your wishes be fulfilled. To those who will be back: I offer the same sentiments, but I will probably do more as it gets closer to Christmas. You just never know.

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Newt Gringich Attacks Right of Free Speech

And he has every right to do so. He only wants to limit the free speech rights of the bad people.

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Famed lawyer Vincent Bugliosi has a new book, Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, due out in May. There is a web page for the book here. The book is 1632 pages (!) Mr. Bugliosi attempts to prove that Lee Harvey Oswald killed President Kennedy, and did it alone. No conspiracy. The book is being billed as "The book that lays all questions to rest." It will not.

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Ten More Days

Yes, people, only ten more days till Christmas. I'm chomping at the bit just waiting for it to be over! Then I only have to get through New Year's and K's birthday on the 4th and everything will be over for another year. YAY!

Part of my problem is the fact that I have no idea what to get K for Christmas OR his birthday. I thought everything was decided when he said we should get a flat-panel TV as a Christmas gift for 'us' this year. Now, the fact that I very nearly NEVER sit in the living room to watch TV matters very little to me--if HE was happy with that, I was happy. As if I really NEED anything that I just don't go out and get for myself, anyway. I have no idea what I would like as a Christmas gift this year, so a flat-panel TV to keep him happy was good enough for me. ( I DO want a Nintendo Wii, but K NEVER buys me the tech gadgets I want--and I'm happy with that. I know tech gadgets better than he does and would rather just get them myself.) Now all of a sudden it seems as if he is backing off from getting the TV before Christmas--I think he feels as if the prices will drop drastically in January, so he will wait. I suppose he is right. And he also is making 'jewelry' noises at me--I just can't imagine what he will buy this year. Maybe he will just replace the necklace that I lost. Hmmm.

Talked to the youngest daughter and it seems as if we won't see them till Christmas Day. Now, I am happy that they will be around, it just would be nice to have them here on Christmas Eve--that is when we actually DO things. I guess The Family will have them--I'm sure they are absolutely delighted that she picked THEM over us. I can't fault her too much: defying The Mother takes a lot of living and self control--something that doesn't come at her early age. I'll be happy to have them whenever they get here.

Watched the Wings and Blackhawks play last night and the Wings won. YAY!! I don't know if it's my imagination or not, but there seems to be something special, different, BETTER when two of the original six teams play each other. Unfortunately, we don't get to see too many games where Detroit plays an original six team--they are in different conferences. Another Detroit player was hurt last night--Kopecky. He got checked, got tangled up in the other player's stick, and went shoulder-first into the boards. He broke his collarbone, but it could have been much worse if he went in head-first. I don't even want to think about how bad of an injury THAT could have been. It seems as if losing a couple of teeth during a game--which a Wing did a couple of weeks ago--are the 'good' games! Don't know WHY all of the serious injuries. A tough game to play.

Cindi has finally been able to post comments--YAY! I don't have any idea what was wrong. Maybe there was some kind of bug in Blogger and they fixed it. I sure hope it STAYS fixed.

I have something going on with my desktop and PDA. I can't figure out WHAT the problem is, but it seems to center around my Documents To Go program. When I try to synch, the PDA freezes. So, I decided to delete the program and reinstall, thinking this would help. WRONG! I am able to delete it from the PDA, but I can't from the computer. Actually, when I try to delete using install/uninstall programs, it freezes. When I try to uninstall using the Documents To Go uninstall utility, I'm told it is already uninstalled. Great. I looked online for a solution, but didn't find anything too helpful. The only thing I could find for the error message I have gotten is that spyware, malware, a bug, Trojan horse, or other kind of nasty is on my computer. I used numerous programs to scan my system and nothing showed up. I guess I have more searching to do. I COULD try synching by using my laptop, but I don't want to cause problems there, too. I love using the computer, but I am so over the love of trying to fix problems! Maybe I'll just hire someone to clean this machine up.


I want to thank Cindi and Burg for the compliments on our Christmas tree. I has taken me many, many, many years to get it to look the way it does--and it doesn't change from year to year. I guess if it works... :)

Throughout this post I have put close-up pics of some of the ornaments on the tree--as per requests from Cindi and Burg. (Sorry some of them are a TOUCH out of focus. I guess I SHOULD have used the tripod after all.) Anyway, the 'stained glass' ornaments have become the focus of some interest, so here is their story. I made these 23 years ago. I was pregnant for my youngest and I remember sitting at the breakfast nook table putting them together. I purchased these as kits and haven't seen them anywhere since. The kits consisted of metal frames (aluminum or something equally as lightweight) and different colored plastic beads. The beads were quite small, so they wouldn't have been too good for very young children. It was almost like a paint-by-number kit--the different colored beads were placed in the designated areas of the frames and then the ornaments were put in the oven to 'bake' which caused the beads to melt and become smooth and 'glass-like.' I had bought the kits from a local chain-store and I don't believe they ever had the kits after that one year. Now, we don't have any hobby stores such as Hobby Lobby here locally, so I don't know if the kits or the materials would be available in places like that. If anyone finds these, I would love to know--I would make some for my girls. The main reason my tree is decorated the way it is was because of our kids: I wanted unbreakable ornaments so they couldn't hurt themselves.

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Many researchers believe that the document above, linking Jack Ruby to Richard Nixon is a fake. They note that the document includes a zip code which did not exist in 1947.


But a researcher who posts under the name tomnln at alt.assassination.jfk has challenged that opinion. He wrote:

The one-page xerox obviously is really a composite of 2 different documents. At the top is a half-page undated FBI note STAPLED TO THE TOP OF A FULL PAGE UNDERNEATH. Only the bottom half of the full sheet is seen. The note, on the letterhead of the Office of the Director, is signed by LS. It does have an illegible zip code.

The cover sheet says...

QUOTE: NOTE: Extra copy. Inclosure not verified by official report. Return to file. This is sensitive.

Obviously, a note of transmittal has been attached years later to an extra copy of a document found in the HUAC files. THEN THERE IS A VERY OBVIOUS SHADOW OF THE EDGE OF THE HALF-PAGE COVER SHEET SLANTING ACROSS THE XEROXED PAGE

Under the shadow the LOWER HALF OF THE HUAC DOCUMENT IS SEEN. Here is what the HUAC document says:

It is my sworn statement that one Jack Rubenstein of Chicago noted as a potential witness for hearings of the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities is performing information functions for the staff of Cong. Richard M. Nixon, Rep. or California. It is requested Rubenstein not be called for open testimony in those aforementioned hearings.

Sworn on this day 24 November 1947

SIGNATURE REDACTED

Staff Assistant

I hope this accurate assessment of this dual document debunks the zip code myth. If it is a fake document, the ZIP code is obviously immaterial to such a conclusion, since it is on a transmittal cover sheet. The HUAC document and its FBI cover sheet seem genuine to me. On this basis, I believe Ruby was an informant for Nixon circa 1947.

It appears that tomnln is correct that what we have here are two documents, the FBI cover sheet likely stapled on top of the letter from the Staff Assistant to Congressman Nixon. Certainly a letter or memo from HUAC would not be on FBI letterhead. Nor would a letter sent by a Congressman's office contain a note at the top indicating that this is an "extra copy" that should be returned to the file.

So, the fact that the document as we have it contains a zip code would not seem, in itself, to prove fakery. This does not mean that the document is necessarily authentic. There is another apparent problem with the document. The zip code is illegible but would seem to begin with a "9"or an "8". Zip codes for Washington DC begin with "2" and, as far as I know, did so in 1947 as well.

Anthony Marsh, in a posting on alt.assassination.jfk on October 22, 1999 wrote:

"We have a few suspicions of who might have forged it and why. Some fringe researchers such as David Truby and Trowbridge Ford."

Trowbridge Ford, a former Professor at Holy Cross College, not only denies forging anything, but believes himself that the memo is a fake. He says that the source of the memo was a journalist by the name of J. David Truby. All quotations are from this website.

a leading investigator of the JFK assassination, Jim Marrs, published Crossfire in which he, unbeknownst to me, completely trashed all my work on the Dallas assassination by claiming that President Nixon had had a long covert relation with Jack Ruby, going all the way back to the late 1940s. According to another JFK assassination researcher, Jim DiEugenio, though I have not seen the book, Marrs wrote this about about my work: "By the early 1980's, Ford told this author he had studied literally thousands of genuine FBI documents, and had slowly come to the conclusion that the Nixon-Ruby memo was probably legitimate." (e-mail, Oct. 20, 2003)

As far as I remember - though my former college employer destroyed all my files on the JFK assassination shortly after my departure, and without any consultation with me when I had persmission from my replacement to keep them in my old office until I had found new storage facilities, so I cannot be sure - I have never talked with with Marrs. The reference to the early 1980s sounds completely bogus as I was overseas from May 1981 until August 1984. I certainly know that I have never studied "literally thousands of genuine FBI documents," probably a handful at most. I have never visited any Bureau facility where they are stored. More importantly, I never came to believe the memo genuine. I originally was willing to look into its authencity, though I had not discovered it, but I quickly came to the conclusion that it was a forgery.

Ultimately, after Truby had written a draft article, and provided 10 pages of documentation, The National Tattler agreed to publish it since one of the documents was a memo by a Bureau staff assistant to a House committee stating the following: "It is my sworn statement that one Jack Rubenstein of Chicago, noted as a potential witness for hearings of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, is performing information functions for the staff of Cong. Richard M. Nixon, Republican of California. It is requested Rubenstein not be called for open testimony in those aforementioned hearings." By this time, though, I had concluded the memo was a forgery, especially since it had a distinct line running across it, indicating that the FBI lettterhead had been pasted onto the memo's body, and I threatened Truby by Western Union telegram that I would sue him if he published the story.

My biggest complaint of the memo, though, was that it contradicted my research. I discovered a compilation of documents that HUAC had prepared in 1939 as background for dealing with the alleged communist menace, and among them was a document, stating that Miriam Silvis and Jack Rubenstein had been dropped from the leadership of America's Young Communist League as part of Stalin's takeover by William Z. Foster of the whole operation. (Exhibit No. 211, "A Compilation of Sources Used as Exhibits to Show the Nature and Aims of the Communist Party," Congressional Hearings, House Un-American Activities Committee, 76th Congress, 1939-40, Appendix 1, pp. 919-22) By tracing Rubenstein's subsequent career - joining the Mafia, moving to Dallas, and changing his name to Ruby - Nixon helped find the basis of the Nixon-Mundt Bill which was intended to make other communists change their lives in similar ways. In sum, Nixon knew all he needed to know about Rubenstein without ever meeting the former communist, or using him in any way.

After Ruby shot Oswald there were a number of stories about the "Communist" Jack Rubenstein. However, it is now clear that the Communist Jack Rubenstein was a different individual than the Jack Ruby (formerly Rubenstein) who shot Oswald. Yes, there were two Jack Rubensteins. More information about the Communist Jack Rubenstein can be found here.

The memo, while Truby had made it part of the documentation, was neither found nor supplied by me. The claim that Nixon had gotten Ruby out of a jam - what implied that he would be willing to do something for the Congressman in return - was completely false. Nixon had so turned up the heat on the former communist, and seller of Iskra in Chicago that he had become a runner for Sam Giancana in Dallas. Lutz did repeat, though, that "I'd be more than happy to explore our arguments in court" with all concerned, explaining why nothing resulted from them for fear that any action, and clarification would just compound Nixon's problems.

Seven months later, the respected Writer's Digest published two articles relating to my problems, one entitled "Tattling on The National Tattler," showing what a sleazy, fly-by-night publication it was, and another dealing directly with Truby and me, "Meanwhile at The Tattler: 'Dirty Tricks and Terror'." I was quite satisfied with it because it showed that Truby had learned of me through Tatro, had gotten the memo from a Justice Department source, had misunderstood its content in a way I never would have - claiming that Jack Rubenstein was an alias of Ruby when it was his real name - and had supplied the memo both to the tabloid and Writer's Digest. (January 1976 issue, p. 34) The rest of the article was more in keeping with the first one, Truby claiming that the Lutz article had been stolen from him, and demanding payment, though the WD one did repeat my challenge to Nixon, Connally, Helms, and other to sue me if they objected to my claims, and explained that I was not suing anyone in order not to ruin my contentions about the conspiracy over minor mistakes.

In fact, I was so confident that claims about the memo were dead that I never even mentioned its existence when I had a three-part article on the JKF assassination published in The National Exchange, only adding this to what was said before about the former President's knowledge of Ruby: "Nixon had come across this one-time member of the national bureau of the Young Communist League when he was researching his two monographs for HUAC on what to do about Communists in the wake of the House citing the 'Hollywood Ten' for contempt of Congress." (vol. 2, no. 9, April 1978, p. 8.

Trowbridge Ford's reasons for believing the document to be a fake were groundless. The line across the middle of the document appear to be the result of the second FBI document stapled to the HUAC letter and Ford was mistaken in thinking that Ruby was ever a member of the Young Communist League.

So which Rubenstein is the subject of the memo? The reference to him being from Chicago would indicate that it was the Jack Ruby.

I am going to look into this further and will hopefully update this post. If any of my readers live in Pennsylvania, perhaps some research into the J. David Truby Collection would shed some more light into the matter.

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My Christmas Tree

Here is a picture of our Christmas tree. As I said, I made all of the ornaments. The snowflakes--and other white ornaments--are crocheted and the 'stained glass' ornaments are actually made from plastic crystals and then baked. They are nicer looking than they sound--if you don't get too close, they look like real stained glass.

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A Christmas Meme

I will not tag anyone specifically with this meme--everyone reading this can consider themselves tagged!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Definitely hot chocolate—egg nog is ‘ewwie!’

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Presents are ALWAYS wrapped.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No

5. When do you put your decorations up? I have always tried to get them up on Thanksgiving weekend—that way I could take them down on December 26 without any guilt!

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? We never have had a traditional Christmas meal---not our thing.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child. I don’t have many Christmas memories from my childhood—so, no, there isn’t a favorite memory. My LEAST favorite memory goes like this: I ALWAYS searched for my Christmas presents. The Mother always hid them in their closet and I would look for them whenever they left the house. AND it didn’t matter if they were wrapped or not! I became an expert at unwrapping and rewrapping without anyone knowing the difference. So, anyway, this one year I found and unwrapped EVERY present that was mine, so that, on Christmas, there were NO surprises left. That was the last year I searched for my gifts.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? The year I couldn’t get to sleep and I heard The Parents putting the gifts under the tree. It had to have been when I was in fourth or fifth grade.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Ever since the girls were old enough to not believe anymore, we have opened all of our gifts on Christmas Eve.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Basically in white with white lights—everything on the tree (except for the lights and garland) I made.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Don’t really mind it—especially since I usually don’t HAVE to leave the house.

12. Can you ice skate? I used to—haven’t been for many, many years.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I think it was my three-stone diamond necklace from K. It was a hard holiday—on the outs with The Family as well as with at least one of the girls. The love it conveyed meant more to me than words can say.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?! I’m sorry to put it this way but, the most important thing to me is that they will be over soon and I can get on with my life. I HATE the holidays.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Cranberry bread—which I haven’t made in toooo long of a time.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? I always loved being in church on Christmas Eve for the candlelight service—something we haven’t done in far too long. My other favorite tradition is spending Christmas Eve at our friends’ house—we didn’t make it one year and it just didn’t seem as if the season was complete!

17. What tops your tree? An angel—which I made quite a few years ago.

18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving? I love to give and always wish I could give more. Nothing would make me happier than to be able to spend, without limit, on those I love. But it is also VERY much fun to receive!

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? I don’t believe I have a favorite—I love all of the Christmas hymns—especially sung during a candlelight service.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? ! I don’t particularly care one way or another.

21. Favorite Christmas Show? I DO enjoy ‘A Christmas Story.’ I have seen it so many times that I can quote lines from it and laugh! ‘Fragile! Must be Italian!’ ‘You’ll shoot your eye out!’ Funny, funny movie.

22. Saddest Christmas Song? Most Christmas songs that AREN’T ‘Jingle Bell Rock’—or anything like it—have the tendency to make me melancholy. So, any of the traditional ones can make me sad. But, then, that is what the holidays are about to me: sadness. (Sorry for being such a downer!) :)

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From Daniel Hopsicker:

Was Mohamed Atta 'close associate' in Florida a CIA pilot?

Wolfgang Bohringer, the German pilot who was one of Mohamed Atta’s closest associates in Florida as well as the subject of an FBI terror alert in the South Pacific, was apprehended two weeks ago and taken into custody, but then was almost immediately released after he told authorities responsible for his capture that he works for the CIA.

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The President of the Republic of Kalmykia, apparently a real country, claims that he was once abducted by aliens who abducted him during a 1997 trip to Moscow. He has told members of the international press that once aboard the mother ship he was flown to "some kind of star," after which the aliens, "put a spacesuit on me, told me many things, and showed me around."

According to The Guardian "They took me from my apartment and we went aboard their ship," he says, sitting in his office in Kalmykia's capital, Elista. "We flew to some kind of star. They put a spacesuit on me, told me many things and showed me around. They wanted to demonstrate that UFOs do exist."

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This is really brilliant analysis:

Defining Catastrophe Up

A rhetorical change I’m noticing since the ISG report came out is that we have to stay in Iraq “to prevent a wider regional war,” aka “the new thirty years’ war” and so on. That suggests that our mission is no longer preventing “full-blown civil war,” which used to be what we had to prevent, or “increased sectarian strife,” which is what we had to prevent before that, or “increasing insurgent violence” which is what we had to prevent before that. The pattern has always been:

1. Declare that we must stay in Iraq to prevent some Bad Thing from happening.

2. Bad Thing happens anyway.

3. Declare that we must stay in Iraq to prevent some Worse Thing from happening.

4. Worse Thing happens anyway.

5. Reiterate sequence.

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Wonkette sums up the War on Terror:

If we remember this whole 9/11 thing correctly, a bunch of privileged Saudis with U.S. Embassy ties led by a stripper-loving hard-partying Egyptian playboy bought first-class plane tickets with money from Pakistan’s secret service and crashed passenger jets into the WTC, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.

In retaliation, the Bush Administration attacked some fanatic goat herders in Afghanistan and then began an occupation of Iraq that’s already lasted four bloody years.

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And this is creepy:

Healthy new-born babies may have been killed in Ukraine to feed a flourishing international trade in stem cells, evidence obtained by the BBC suggests.

Disturbing video footage of post-mortem examinations on dismembered tiny bodies raises serious questions about what happened to them.

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I didn't cover yesterdays WorldNetDaily story that Soy is making kids 'gay'. WorldNetDaily is one of those "conservative" sites that pretend to be news sites, like Fox News.

The article in question doesn't actually present any evidence that there is a connection between soy products and homosexuality, although the author, James Rutz, claims that such evidence exists--somewhere. Rutz himself has done no scientific research given that he is the pastor of Open Church Ministries. But now it turns out that this is not the nuttiest idea he has. He also believes that God is reanimating corpses today, in at least 52 countries around the world (but always in out-of the-way third-world countries where the claims cannot be properly evaluated. ) Also, God only revives the recently dead for some reason, when he could just as easily, it seems to me, bring back John F. Kennedy, who would be eligible to run for another term.

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Blogger, JibJab, and Geico--and, Of Course, Hockey

I just found out from reading Cindi's blog (Somewhere Over The Rainbow) that she has been having some problems posting comments here. Hmm. Is anyone else having problems these days? I guess if you can't leave a comment, just email me at outofmymind.cmk@gmail.com. Don't know what could be wrong OR how to fix it. If it is a big problem maybe someone could let Blogger know?!?! This just may be my incentive to switch to Haloscan for my comments. I'll have to give it some more thought and probably change after the first of the year.

JibJab has put up their newest video--a review of the year 2006 (Nuckin' Futs). It is pretty good--I usually laugh at whatever they do. Their 'Deck the Halls' is good for a chuckle, too.

I'm sure everyone has (or is it 'have'?) seen the Geico commercials with the 'real' people and the celebrities--well, it turns out that the 'real' people ARE actually real! mental_floss commented on this today and here is the story.

The weather continues to be warm here--again it was in the 40s. It is so strange to have it be this warm AND have it rain. The temp won't be going down too much over the next five days or so. If we don't get any snow, Santa won't have a place to land his sleigh!

I have been watching as much hockey as I can--about three games a week. The Wings lost tonight, but they made a valiant effort: they were losing 3-0 and came back to end the game at 3-2. Not too bad--could have been better and definitely could have been worse. They now have a streak of 140 some odd games without being shut out--not too shabby. I think they finally are getting their act together and are being a bit more consistent with their play--I think they will do well in the standings at the end of the season.

On the hockey topic: I lost my 'hockey' necklace last week and can't figure out how or where. It was a gold chain with a Red Wing emblem/pendant on it. I am absolutely devastated--K gave them to me and I hate to lose anything he gives me--not to mention how much he spent on the darn things! I just keep hoping that, somehow, it will miraculously show up one of these days.

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“If he goes to Dallas they are going to kill him”.

So said anti-Castro activist John Martino, as related by his son, Edward R. Martino Ph.D. , who put his recollections together in this document posted on Larry Hancock's site.

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Moving On Along

Two weeks till Christmas and we continue with the doctor's appointments. K went in for the physical with the internist today and came out with an okay report. The doc said everything is looking pretty good, but he still will be doing a number of tests. I really think 2007 will be the year of medical appointments for K--and he only has himself to blame! (I hope that doesn't sound too harsh--I didn't mean it to!) Anyway, K will be having an ultrasound on Wednesday to look for peripheral artery disease--NOT because he has any symptoms but because two of his siblings have it. He also has to have a stress test next month--mostly as a follow-up to the LAST one he had eight years ago. He never had the second one like the doctor wanted, so he has to do it now. Also, the doc said a colonoscopy is on the list to be done--but probably won't happen for a few months, at least. Tomorrow he goes for the entire spectrum of usual blood tests and then gets to see the internist in a month to go over all of the results. Until all tests are completed and everything going on with him is stabilized, I think he will be having monthly appointments, if not more often.

I want to thank everyone for their well wishes--we appreciate all of the prayers and good thoughts. Leazwell asked if K will have to go on dialysis, but I don't think that is in consideration right now. The nephrologist seemed to be pretty certain that some of the kidney function will be able to be restored--just not all of it. And he still seemed to be thinking that the damage was done from high blood pressure--and now that K has that under control, no more damage should be done. At least, I HOPE this is the case. We just have to wait and see. And, really, the strangest thing about all of this is the fact that K never felt sick or bad in any way. I guess that just goes to show that high blood pressure really IS a silent killer!

On to other things. I finally got all of the Christmas decorating done. I put up the tree and decorated it tonight, so that is finished. I usually don't go this long before finishing, but this has been a strange year. I'll try to remember to take a picture of the tree and post it.

The weather has been really nice here for the past few days. The temps have been in the 40s and the snow is melting like crazy. I like having this weather when I have to go out and do shopping, but the ski hills and the people who depend on snowmobilers and other winter recreation tourists aren't very happy. I don't mind if it doesn't snow till Christmas Eve.

Today I was talking to C and she was telling me how she has to study up on how to use the remote control for the cable box. She has to set the parental controls because the 2-year-old ordered a movie the other day--AND he recorded it on the digital recorder! She doesn't know HOW he did it, because she said neither her nor her husband have a clue how to do it! I just don't know why she isn't gray and why she hasn't gone completely insane.

It seems as if a gray squirrel has decided to make our attic its home for the winter. We have been hearing the scratching for awhile and K finally went in the attic and saw it. We have to figure out how it got in, trap it, and then block off the entry. I wonder if this means I can't feed the squirrels anymore?

A couple of days ago one of the guys that K and I graduated with, died. Now, we hadn't seen him since we graduated, but it kind of affected us as he is the first of our class to die. (Actually, he is the SECOND--K's twin brother died as the result of a motorcycle/car accident when he was 21. A bit different than natural causes or age-related.) I'm not sure WHAT he died of (it WASN'T an accident), but it really brought our mortality to mind--this on top of all of the medical things happening. The doctor told K today, "I guess if you would have known you were going to live this long you would have taken better care of yourself, huh?" This he said with a smile. Of course, no truer words could have been spoken. (And, yes, it is an old joke.) :)

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I will let Orlando Letelier have the last word on Augusto Pinochet.

I was born a Chilean, I am a Chilean, I will die a Chilean. They, the fascists, were born traitors, live as traitors and will be remembered forever as fascist traitors.

ORLANDO LETELIER (1932-1976)

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Obviously news photographers in Lebanon are all men.

Update: more hot Lebanon babes

Hot Babe at Protest in Lebanon

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Holocaust Denier's Conference in Iran

TEHRAN, Dec. 11 — Holocaust deniers and skeptics from around the world gathered at a government-sponsored conference here today to discuss their theories about whether six million Jews were indeed killed by the Nazis during World War II and whether gas chambers existed.

In a speech opening the two-day conference, Rasoul Mousavi, head of the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s Institute for Political and International Studies, which organized the event, said it was an opportunity for scholars to discuss the subject “away from Western taboos and the restriction imposed on them in Europe.”

One of these "scholars" is rabid racist anti-semite David Duke. 'Nuff said.

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Crazy Tired

I know this is going to sound SOOOOOO selfish and self-centered, but K's stay in the hospital yesterday has made me absolutely exhausted! Sometimes I think a hospital visit is as hard on the family as it is on the person who actually is there for a reason! Anyway, here is the run-down of yesterday:

We got to the hospital before 5:30am, as we were told to. (Of course, this meant I had to get up by 4:00 in order to be ready in time!) We were sent to a room where blood was drawn and all of the preliminaries took place--all of which took about a half hour--and then we sat and waited beginning at about 6:00. Every so often--take that as reading 'once or twice'--a nurse would show up and do a blood pressure reading, but other than that, we sat and stared at the ceiling, the TV, out the window at the cold, dark world, or each other. FINALLY, at shortly after 9:00, they came to get K to go for his procedure. He was scheduled for the biopsy to be done at 8:30, but I don't think ANYONE knows how to tell time in that place! While I was expecting K to be brought into an operating room, we were, instead, brought to the ultrasound lab and put in a procedure room. (I keep using the word procedure because this illustrates just how trivial everyone seemed to think this biopsy was! And I don't mean to imply that anyone thought it wasn't serious, it's just that they seemed to feel, in the whole scheme of things, that a biopsy is quite routine and not to be considered a major thing.) Once he was settled into the room, we had to wait for them to find a nurse to assist the doctor! Unbelievable! Anyway, the doctor, nurse, and ultrasound technician--this was called an 'ultrasound guided biopsy'--came in and started to get things ready. All this time, I was standing there and NO ONE ASKED ME TO LEAVE THE ROOM! I believe I would have been allowed to stay, but I quickly removed myself--I don't need to see anyone stick a long needle into my husband's back--EVER! So, the procedure took less than thirty minutes, went well, and we were back in the hospital room shortly after 10:00. And then the LONG wait began! We finally left the hospital around 6:00pm--and THAT almost didn't happen because K's hemoglobin had gone down too much when they did his noontime blood work. Thankfully, the count was up slightly at 5:00 when they drew blood--otherwise, he would have wound up staying the night! He was more than thrilled to be able to sleep in his own house last night.

Now, for the results: NONE!!!! And we won't know anything for at least two weeks! The doctor is hoping the holidays won't interfere with getting results back, but he's not counting on it. What we DO know: K's kidneys are only working at 30%--not 70% as we thought. There definitely is damage and the doctor is pretty sure it is from uncontrolled high blood pressure. He also is sure there is permanent damage, although he thinks some of it CAN be reversed. As to how much might be able to be reversed, we won't know till POSSIBLY after the results come back. So, right now I'm going with the good thoughts: there is nothing other than high blood pressure that caused any damage and keeping the BP under control will keep any more damage from happening. I think K realizes that WE will have to undergo a drastic--though gradual--lifestyle change. I almost think this might be harder on me than it is on him, as I have to do the food prep, but it is something we have to do. We have our work cut out for us and the next few months will be very interesting.

Today, K is still doing a lot of sleeping. They only gave him a mild sedative and pain meds for the biopsy, but the emotional beating he took has him unbelievably tired. He also feels as if George Foreman punched him as hard as he could in the left kidney--it is quite difficult for him to get around very easily. But he should be fine by the time he has to go back to work on Thursday. He doesn't have to see the nephrologist on Monday as was scheduled, because there just won't be anything for him to tell. K does still have to go for his physical appointment with the internist on Monday and the nephrologist will be there in the office also, in case the internist needs to talk to him. It all just seems too complicated. I have a feeling K will be coming home with at least one more test scheduled: a colonoscopy! He is NOT going to be a happy camper.

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Video: Abu Ghraib Detainee Tells His Story

He saw eight detainees shot and killed during a demonstration. This is one of several videos from a new site Alive in Baghdad, founded by Brian Conley, an American journalist, featuring videos made by Iraqis.

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Report from Afghanistan

Something significant happened in Kabul on Sept. 8 when a Toyota station wagon packed with explosives rammed two U.S. Humvees at the gates of the American embassy, setting off a massive blast.

The Taliban claimed credit for the bombing, as if to say: We can now strike anywhere. When I interviewed eyewitnesses a few days after the blast, shreds of clothing and a shoe still hung from the branches of a nearby tree. Local shopkeepers described the suicide bomber as “very clean,” “dressed in white” and “wearing eyeliner.” They said he paid $100 for a cigarette just before parking in the spot from which he launched his attack against two American Humvees.

Wearing eyeliner?

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Photo of the Day (from Time's White House Photo Blog )

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The Foley Report is now out, so here are 104 pages of the Perverted Instant Messages

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Bush talks to the dead :

"Make no mistake about it, I understand how tough it is, sir. I talk to families who die."

A number of news outlets attempted to make Bush seem, well, less stupid and incoherent:

"I talk to the families” of those who have died.

" I talk to the families (of soldiers) who die."

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