Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Terror in America via England

Ever wonder how some of these terrorists slip past our security to embed themselves in America? Read further -

New concerns about how easily terrorists can enter Britain were raised yesterday after it emerged that more than 10,000 fraudulent passports are issued each year.
An official study by the Passport Service showed it received 11,700 false applications a year.
The service identified 1,497 fraudulent cases last year - indicating that more than 10,000 may have slipped through the net.
Overall, fraud levels were thought to run at 0.18 per cent of the 6.5million applications received annually.
A Home Office spokesman said steps were being taken to strengthen passport security.


Generally if you have a passport from a friendly nation it is cake to get into America. Just buy a ticket, flash your passport (remember these are legitimate passports, not a fake) and, viola, your in. Some of you are asking "When are we going to stop these people from getting in?" The real question we should be asking is "How can we stop them from getting in?" The answer - we can't. It is just as easy to get a "friendly" passport and fly into south or central america and drive up through the border. We can't do a background check on every person flying or driving into America or the flights and border checkpoints would back up for miles.

Mind of a suicide bomber

Young Muslims are lured to become suicide bombers by the promise of endless sex sessions in heaven.

They are brainwashed into believing that they will go to straight to paradise.
Last night a senior British Government security adviser said: “This is the nightmare scenario we always dreaded. If we have had four men prepared to sacrifice their lives, how many more of them are out there?

“The big thing about the IRA was that their bombers made saving their own lives their No 1 priority.

“But if you have scores of people willing to give up their lives for their cause, it makes providing total security an impossibility.”

Security expert Chris Dobson has studied why young Muslims are prepared to become suicide bombers.

He said: “What could possibly induce a young well-educated Muslim to blow himself into bloody smithereens, taking with him to a ghastly death innocent people who have done neither him nor his religion any harm?

"They die with the name of Allah on their lips, certain that they will go directly to paradise where cool fountains and 75 virgins await their pleasure.

“Some of them are ardent Islamists who feel shame that the Arab states, once so powerful, have lost their power to the West.

“They accuse the ‘Satanic’ countries, Great Britain and the United States, of mounting a modern Crusade against Islam.

“They regard their suicides as legitimate acts in a Jihad, a Holy War against the evil infidels.”

New London bomber info

Apparently the new info is this - the terrorists that were responsible for the bombing were British citizens. Not just British citizens but natural born British citizens. Their ages were 19, 22, 30 and the forth is believed to be a teenager. Shehzad Tanweer, the 22 year old, Hasib Hussain, 19, Mohammed Sadique Khan, 30, and the yet unidentified teen (his body was too badly charred to be identified yet) were spotted on CCTV cameras "smiling and chatting at King’s Cross station just 30 minutes before Thursday’s devastating attacks." They then split up and got on their various modes of transportation with backpacks filled with 10 pounds of explosives and a timing device. All four have been referred to as "fresh-skins" a term used to identify terrorist suspects that are not known to security services. They were all British-born and came from families who emigrated from Pakistan.

In addition, Egyptian-born scholar Tariq Ramadan yesterday denied justifying suicide bombings. Professor Ramadan said he abhorred violence and his statements were on understanding terrorists, not condoning them. He insisted: “I never justified suicide bombings. To kill innocent people is to be condemned. We must understand why people are using these ways to resist. To explain is not to justify. I condemn the terror attacks in London. I called upon Muslims to condemn the attacks and collaborate with British authorities to find the perpetrators.” He also claimed not to be banned from France - but admitted the US had revoked his visa. And he denied a Spanish judge’s claims in 1999 that he had contact with an Algerian al-Qaeda operative. He said: “Some allegations were made, this was all wrong. I didn’t know this man.”

Tony Blair has been warned that 200 more home-grown terrorists trained to carry out suicide attacks are living in Britain and that as many as 50 of the fanatics are ready to act now. Many of the British citizens have been trained in Osama Bin Laden’s terror camps in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria and most worryingly of all, they are virtually impossible to identify and round up because they are all British born citizens that have stayed under the radar of the local security services. Around 200 fanatics are known to have trained in Osama Bin Laden’s camps and they are all British-born or British passport holders. Mr Blair is planning a new offence of Encouragement of Terrorism to clamp down on hate-preachers. Another offence of Preparation for Terrorism is also being lined up. But the Premier is determined not to rush into new laws in case they backfire. Measures are unlikely to go through Parliament before the present session ends next week.

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Bombings in London

I was originally going to talk about this as it was happening (I listen to British radio at night when I work so I was getting news about it before it hit the AP) but I decided against it. I thought it would be like jumping the gun since they were still unsure of a lot of the facts and I didn't want to be accused of being another New York Times by reporting false information. It has now been 5 days and I feel it is safe to talk about this subject since I have been informed by my crack research team of new developments in England. I am sure they are feeling much of the same feelings we had when 9/11 happened and I am very sure it will go in the books as being a devastating day in England's history.

It has hit the magical "one week after" and Terry was right when he said that that is usually when the "fit hits the shan." There have been groups gathering together and firebombing middle-eastern shops and religious group's buildings. Unfortunately the local police don't like it when the mob mentality actually acts on their feelings.

The local US military base has banned military personnel from entering London. The local newspapers are saying that "this is sending the wrong message to the local people of London." I'm not saying that this might be the wrong thing to do but this is SOP (standard operating procedure) in this type of situation. My father told me of when he was in Israel and there was a problem in a certain area. His unit was told to not enter that area because they were not absolutely necessary to the situation. That is just the way it works.

The last subject I want to touch on is this guy. His name is Tariq Ramadan and he is running around free to do what he wants in London. Granted this is not anything new but he is also on the banned persons list for USA and France (that's right Mikey, France has also banned him, so he must be a bad dude.) He is currently banned from the USA for "endorsing terrorism." He will soon preach to young Muslims in London at a conference funded by British taxpayers and his main message, suicide bombings are justified! Ramadan’s grandfather founded the Muslim Brotherhood. It was set up in Egypt in 1928 it is the world’s oldest Islamic fundamentalist organization. You may have heard of some of the members of this club, Osama Bin Laden’s deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and cleric Sheik Omar Bakri Mohammed. They say they are non-violent but it has spawned radical off-shoots, including al-Qaeda. Its leader in Egypt, Mohammed Mahdi Akef has even warned of continuing violence until all Westerners leave the Middle East. Last year he declared “There can be no life for Americans and Zionists in the region.” Gee, I sure hope we put more whack jobs like this on the banned list. Maybe everyone will get the hint, kick them out, and they can go home and fight their little "holy war" among themselves.

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

PETA does it again!

I was taking a little trip down to (what the tree hugging PETA monkeys call) my local "shopping dictatorship" (aka WalMart) and as I drove down the road I saw this rather comical billboard. As I got closer I realized it is one of those wonderful PETA billboards that pretty much just annoy all of us to the point that we wait for the days that we can hear stories of PETA "humanely" disposing of dog bodies. Being a graphic designer I thought it was kind of a cute billboard (who doesn't like seeing a dog with a fishing hook through it's mouth) but rather inappropriate considering most of the fishers I know either catch-and-release or eat what they catch. Last time I checked most of the population (I'm betting about 99%) in America doesn't eat dogs but a large amount eats fish. Perhaps we should go back to using nets to catch our fish. I haven't truly enjoyed a tuna fish sandwich since they went "dolphin free" anyway. Besides, why would I use a hook to catch a dog since all I have to do is whistle and that meal comes running right to me!

Saturday, May 14, 2005

Trump says Freedom is Junk!

I love seeing headlines like this. What Mr. Trump actually said was "It's a terrible design, and not only the Freedom Tower - the buildings around it - they all have roofs at all different angles. It looks like a junkyard... and I'd rather see nothing than see that pile of junk." God, I love that man and I wholeheartedly agree with him. Who the heck chose that design and why. It looks like a mismash of buildings that don't belong together and the actual Freedom Tower is a 60 story tower that has an exoskeleton on top that goes another 50 stories. That's right kids, 50 stories of useless, wasted space. Now I realize that this is supposed to be more of a memorial that an office building but for pete's sake. this is prime realestate. Let's use some of this space to rebuild what we had before the cowardly act also know as "9/11." I would love to see two building that look very similar to the World Trade Center, reenforced outside structure. reenforced inside pylons, about 10 - 20 stories taller and a wall in between the two buildings that are inscribed with the names of every person that died on 9/11 in the WTC buildings. Also, around the building we should have a brickwalk (I know it sounds hokey but wait for it) with the names of every police officer, fireman, EMT person, etc that helped with the 9/11 trajedy.
Ok, I hear you out there screaming "What about the current plans, they say they are on schedule for having it completed." My reply to that, BS! They are currently redrawing the plans, again, due to design flaws. Design Flaws!!! We are almost halfway the time distance from the time that the towers fell and the new Freedom Tower is to be completed. Who are these people kidding. All I have to say is that if Governor Pataki doesn't pull his head out of where it doesn't belong he will probably be looking for a new job after this next election. Currently his Lower Manhattan Development Corporation spokesman is resigning, the freedom tower plan is back to the drawing board because of design flaws and the polls consistently show the public hates the freedom tower. WHat does this tell you when the Governor says things like, "The construction of the freedom tower will proceed undeterred and all other key elements of the rebuilding will continue on schedule." The Department of Defense rebuilt the Pentagon less than 1 year after the 9/11 attack. We are now 3 1/2 years after 9/11 and nobody has any idea what the Freedom Tower might look like. We should have gone with the Gardner/Belton Twin Tower plan which is ready to go. But, hey, what do I know? I'm not a Governor. Keep up the good work Pataki.

Friday, May 13, 2005

Welcome to earth, learn to speak english.

Just kidding. I'm not one of those people that think, just because I'm an American, the whole world should speak english. But, I do expect that if you move to America you should speak english. When I go to order at the local burger joint I shouldn't have to order a "hamburguesa." Heck, I lived in Germany for 7 years when I was a kid and guess what I learned to speak. That's right, German. If I moved to Mexico I would learn Spanish but I don't live in Mexico so I don't know Spanish. I can hear the bleeding-heart people out there right now saying "You're just being mean and trying to stifle their culture." No, I think we should hold onto our culture all that we can but if we move to another country to live with the local people, then we should learn the freakin language at the very least. I'm not sure why this isn't a requirement already to become a citizen but apparently it's not because we have a ton of people in America that have no English speaking ability whatsoever. Well, maybe some day someone in government will notice this and do something about it. Until then, Washington will keep looking the other way and keep collecting those votes. Enjoy, goce, appréciez, genießen Sie and goda.

Monday, April 25, 2005

If I'm a veg, pull the plug!

Got this from my buddy Mike the other day and I thought I would give my personal thoughts about it. I have also included Mike's thoughts (in case he doesn't remember what he put in the email to me) in blue.

Template for a Living Will I, _________________________ (fill in the blank), being of sound mind and body, do not wish to be kept alive indefinitely by artificial means. Under no circumstances should my fate be put in the hands of peckerwood politicians who couldn't pass ninth-grade biology if their lives depended on it. If a reasonable amount of time passes and I fail to sit up and ask for a cold beer, it should be presumed that I won't ever get better. When such a determination is reached, I hereby instruct my spouse, children and attending physicians to pull the plug, reel in the tubes and call it a day. Under no circumstances shall the members of the Legislature enact a special law to keep me on life-support machinery. It is my wish that these boneheads mind their own damn business, and pay attention instead to the health, education and future of the millions of Americans who aren't in a permanent coma. Under no circumstances shall any politicians butt into this case. I don't care how many fundamentalist votes they're trying to scrounge for their run for the presidency in 2008, it is my wish that they play politics with someone else's life and leave me alone to die in peace. I couldn't care less if a hundred religious zealots send e-mails to legislators in which they pretend to care about me. I don't know these people, and I certainly haven't authorized them to preach and crusade on my behalf. They should mind their own business, too. If any of my family goes against my wishes and turns my case into a political cause, I hereby promise to come back from the grave and make his or her existence a living hell.

My Living Will I don't wish to be kept alive indefinitely by artificial means either. However, please make sure I'm really brain dead before you kill me. Ok? If I am not on a respirator, but rather, am being fed by IV or feeding tube, then chances are I've still got brain function. Someone please ask my doctor to do a routine CAT scan, rather than just an inconclusive MRI that does not measure brain activity. Ask him to report the results of my CAT scan to the judge overseeing my conservatorship. I don't think that's too much to ask. If I can move my arms and legs a little, then it's a safe bet that I'm not a brain dead vegetable. If I can utter sounds in response to questions, then the lights are probably still on to some degree. If I can recognize visitors, or demonstrate a capacity to respond to stimulus, you might think twice before pulling my feeding tube. If I show some signs of intelligent life, please arrange to get me some physical therapy so that I might have a chance to recover. Please don't let me lay on my death bed for 15 years without at least trying to rehabilitate me. If you cannot find my duly-executed, written authorization to terminate my life, then please assume that I wish to go on living. If I have not expressed my desire to die to at least two people, as required by law in many states, then please refrain from starving me to death. Please don't just brush aside the law in an effort to waste me quickly. If a majority in the United States Congress decides to interrupt their vacations to pass legislation to protect my life, please don't treat them like ogres. If they pass a law designed to give my case federal judicial review--the same review granted ad nauseum to convicted murderers--then you might just want to cut them some slack for standing up to protect me. On the other hand, if a Congressional committee issues me a subpoena, and that subpoena is ignored by a state court judge who then orders my death in defiance of the law, then feel free to bring that judge up for a judicial conduct review. However, if it has been determined that it is my time to die, please kill me humanely. Give me the same shot they use to put dogs and cats to sleep. Or, in the alternative, give me the shot they used to execute death row criminals. For that matter, I'd rather you just put a pillow over my face than to starve and dehydrate me in a lingering death. I'd rather die by lethal injection, which the liberals assure us is a horrible way to die, than to dehydrate until I die, which the liberals assure us is a wonderful, humane, euphoric experience. Lastly, if the media and the left wing a-holes they represent decide to exploit my death as a cheap way to attack those who err on the side of life, then tell them I'm going to come back from the dead and haunt the halls of the ACLU until they start working to protect the rights of ordinary people like me.

My thoughts on this subject are very simple, "If I'm a veg, pull the plug." I don't want to be on a respirator, feeding tube, etc. I realize this all stems from the Terry Shivo case but I have to say that the mainstream media really worked to make the husband out to be an evil guy and the parents to be saints. The fact the parents brought 10 minutes of tape to court that showed Terry "responding" to them has pretty much been proven wrong since it was found that they recorded for several hours to get that 10 minutes. Then there were the people that said "He's just doing it for the money." What freakin money?!? He burned his entire life savings, including what there was from the lawsuit after the layers got their cut, taking care of his wife.
I do have to say that I don't want to go the way she did. Dehydration and starvation is not very pleasant at all. I just want all my buddies to kick the doors to the hospital in, run down the hall, grab my limp butt, take me out to a field, pour a beer in my lap and shoot me in the head. Like I want my wife sitting over my near lifeless body, burning money on me on the very remote chances that God will pop up and say "Jason, you've been a pretty good guy in your life so I'm gonna pull you out of this extremely deep coma and give you a second chance." Guess what, ain't gonna happen. If the doctors run a CAT scan and it looks like the Oklahoma countryside (flat for those of you that have never been to Oklahoma) then lets just call my ticket punched and have a freaking party. `Nuff said.