An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Archive for 14 September 2008
The Difference
Swiped from Fred Fry International.
Painting a Vivid Picture
Galveston Is Transformed Into an Island of Second Thoughts
by Joel Achenbach
This island has been beaten to a pulp. There is debris everywhere: chunks of asphalt, sheet metal, roofing tiles, uprooted trees, unidentifiable flotsam. The ocean ripped heavy concrete benches from the seawall and threw them across the road as if they were made of Styrofoam.
The landmark Balinese Room used to sit on pilings just off the sea wall. It’s gone. The storm surge chewed it up and spit it out onto Seawall Boulevard. Souvenir seekers rummaged Saturday through the debris field.
The worst place to be in a hurricane is just on the right side of the eye wall as it spins onshore, the wind speed of the eye combining with the forward motion of the overall storm to deliver a roundhouse blow. Saturday, that worst place was Galveston.
The residents had ample warning. The city issued a mandatory evacuation order for the island. But thousands of people chose to stay, many of them fearing a repeat of the horrendous traffic jams in advance of Hurricane Rita three years ago. They stayed even as Ike grew to stunning dimensions, seemingly filling up much of the Gulf of Mexico.
Obamarama
Morning Coffee 09/14/08
Franklin pair claim Obama waffles satire
Values Voter Summit organizers cut off sales of Obama Waffles boxes on Saturday, saying they had not realized the boxes displayed “offensive material.” The summit and the exhibit hall where the boxes were sold had been open since Thursday afternoon.
The box was meant as political satire, said Mark Whitlock and Bob DeMoss, two writers from Franklin, Tenn., who created the mix. They sold it for $10 a box from a rented booth at the summit sponsored by the lobbying arm of the Family Research Council.
Looking at the picture, I can kind of see the satire….kind of. Kind of tacky though. In my opinion, the depiction looks more like an elf than anything else. But it was still in bad taste….ESPECIALLY in such a setting. $10 a box? Criminy!
Concept of ‘Greater Israel’ dead, Olmert says
The concept of an undivided, or greater, Israel is dead, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told his ministers Sunday, as the cabinet prepared to debate a plan to pay compensation to settlers willing to evacuate their West Bank homes. “‘Greater Israel’ is finished. There is no such thing as that any more. Whoever talks in those terms is only deluding himself,” media reports quoted Olmert as saying.
He said that while he did not always hold this opinion and that “dig anywhere (in historic Palestine) and you’ll find Jewish history,” he realized that “we have to share this land with the people who dwell here, that is if we don’t want to be a binational state.”
I was under the impression that they had been “sharing the land” for centuries, although the population has tipped a ‘bit’. And those that have been sharing have been murdering on a regular basis. I’d think the people themselves are fed up with such behavior and want to see an end to it. Hmm… Is Olmert a Palestinian ‘mole’? Odd thing for the head of a country to say. I’m starting to see him as Israel’s version of Jimmah Cahtah.
Pakistan backing off suggestions it might confront US
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar yesterday said that the nation would take a “pragmatic approach” to prevent missile attacks by the US inside Pakistan’s tribal regions. His statement indicated that Pakistan is backing off suggestions it might confront US troops making raids into its territory in search of militants. It also hinted that Islamabad would deal diplomatically with Washington over the stepped-up tactics.
Although officials are still unhappy over a recent surge in attacks aimed at Taleban and Al-Qaeda havens in the areas near the Afghan border, they also seem to realize there is not much they can do other than try to convince the US that the strategy is counterproductive because it is generating sympathy for the militants and public anger against both governments because of civilian casualties.
If Pakistan doesn’t want anyone dealing with THEIR problem, perhaps they should consider dealing with it themselves. They were suppose to be allies in this war against terrorists. Instead, they are protecting them. Not a real smart idea, so, they must deal with the consequences.
Severances assailed for Fannie, Freddie
The executives who managed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the past decade as the mortgage giants teetered toward collapse collected tens of millions of dollars in compensation, and some walked away with what critics now consider to be comparatively small punishments for leaving behind a mess for taxpayers.
As the fallout from the government’s emergency takeover of the two companies continues, lawmakers, presidential candidates and shareholders are now examining the large compensation and severance packages for the top executives and the allegations of abuse that led to what many expect to be the largest financial bailout in U.S. history.
The garbage takes both companies into ruin, and yet, are rewarded. Excuse me? None of ‘em get a flippin’ dime in severance! Instead, they should be giving back what salaries they got while running them into the ground. As should ever single politician who made the conscious effort to shield them! I’m getting REAL sick of D.C. playing footsie with OUR money.
‘Schalit being given parties with cake’
“He’s not being kept in a closed room all the time – this would not be healthy. He can go out and take fresh air,” Abu Katab Doghmush, one of the clan’s elders told the British newspaper. “Every year, a party is held to celebrate his birthday. Yes, there is a cake and candles, music, everything.”
According to the report, the Doghmush clan is largely seen to be in control of the Army of Islam, a group which is affiliated with al-Qaida, and participated in the joint raid which left two IDF soldiers dead, and put Schalit in captivity. The other two factions which were involved in the kidnapping were Izzadin Kassam [the military wing of Hamas] and the Popular Resistance Committees.
I’m amazed that such a statement would even be made. Is the world so stupid as to believe this poor kid is being treated like an honored guest? Some of it, perhaps, actually is that stupid. I’m not.
al Qaeda’s 9/11 Terror Tape Blocked
Hackers prevented Al Qaeda from releasing a videotape to mark the seventh anniversary of 9/11. Al Qaeda has traditionally issued a video or audiotape by either Osama bin Laden or Ayman al Zawahiri, the terror network’s two leaders, to mark their massive terrorist attack on the US.
As-Sahab, Al Qaeda’s media unit, had indicated earlier this week that it would post such a videotape on September 11. As-Sahab had banner images on the internet showing a silhouetted head with a question mark and the words, “Wait 11 September”.
Most excellent!
Unidentified foreign submarine spotted near Japan
Japan was searching Sunday for an unidentified foreign submarine detected in its territorial waters earlier in the day, the Defense Ministry said.
The Aegis destroyer Atago of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force spotted what it determined to be a periscope of an unknown submarine between Kyushu and Shikoku islands in western Japan, the ministry said.
By the time officials confirmed that the submarine was not a U.S. or Japanese vessel, it had left the area, it said.
Well, that can’t be good.
Verse of the Day
2 Corinthians 2:14-17
14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:
16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?
17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
Why Am I Still Up?
Why? Well, the Mr is a UW alumni, and the powers that be decided a good time for a football game is the middle of the flippin’ night! Who comes up with this nonsense? What happened to Saturday afternoon games? Jeeeez!
Gotta tell ya, I should have gone to bed at half time. What was that challenge? Looked pretty fumbled to me! But what do I know…..I’m just a giiiiirl!
If the Badgers keep running backwards (losing ground), I won’t be seeing the end of this game. And now the QB has cramps? Yeah…sounds funny to me too, but I’ve had those types of cramps. They are HELL! They had to tote him off. If I was there, I could show him a way to ease the pain, but…. oh well.
Who knows. Sometimes putting in the backup QB actually works out well. But I’m not gonna hold my breath. I’ll turn blue!
