Ipod- Cult of dead crap

Surfing through Blog land I have come to the conclusion that the Ipod is a cool object that costs way to much and breaks way to quick. In other words it is a high tech piece of crap.

134 dead

The last clear official count of US soldiers that have died in Iraq was given on Nov 24 th. Why are clear official updated numbers given out so infrequently? On November 24 th the official death toll was 1,251.

At the start of the invasion in March 2003-- 134 or 135 American died. This month with only one day left we stand at 134 dead. What do these near record numbers represent?

Brainstorming I come up with the following list:

We did have one major offensive this month.
Bush won the election in America. (probably not the cause but who knows)
The other side is learning new bomb making techniques.
Not enough troops
Not enough equipment
Under trained troops.
Poor planing.
Shit happens.
Our killing innocent civilians during the bombing campaign does not help our cause.
The American backed puppet government is not all that popular.
This type of Violence usually precedes an election.
The other side is finding that conventional warfare did not work well for them and has modified its method of attack.
US soldiers that execute wounded Iraqi soldiers tend to enrage the Iraqi people and hurt our cause. Some may think it was justified but we must think of how this event plays in the middle east.
We have tried to win a war with pure military might and ignored diplomacy.
We should attempt some form of cultural understanding.. What do these near record numbers represent?

What alse can we add?

Optimists Club Calls It Quits

This makes me happy.

Urine may lead to collapse of major bridge in Indonesia's Sumatra

An official at the public works department in Palembang, Azmi Lakoni, was quoted as saying the bridge had deteriorated because people often took a leak on one of its piers, corroding the structure.

Power to the people.

Father arrested after attempt to discipline daughter backfires

Kevin Winston, 46, called police at 2:45 a.m. Friday after his 16-year-old daughter came home drunk and unruly. When police arrived, however, the girl told them she feared for her safety because her father stored drugs and weapons in the home.

Family values.

Loophole would let messages penetrate Do Not Call list

The Electronic Privacy Information Center, a Washington-based privacy watchdog, says the change could result in the 64 million people on the list being bombarded by ''answering-machine spam'' and other unwanted voices on voice mail.

Leave me alone.

Vandals Glue Store Locks on 'Black Friday'

Gasoline and matches work better.

UK troops in Iraq face new court threat

The Government has suffered a legal setback after a European court ruling that could see British soldiers taken to court over the deaths of Iraqi civilians in Basra. In a landmark judgment, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that European troops who are in control of a foreign country can be prosecuted under human rights law for breaching the civil rights of local people. In a further embarrassment for ministers, it emerged yesterday that the United Nations Committee against Torture has accused Britain of failing to properly apply the UN Convention against Torture in its operations in Iraq.

Paralyzed woman walks again after stem cell therapy

A South Korean woman paralyzed for 20 years is walking again after scientists say they repaired her damaged spine using stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood. They said it was the world's first published case in which a patient with spinal cord injuries had been successfully treated with stem cells from umbilical cord blood.

It is still to early to tell if this is a major breakthrough or just a fluke. But, What happens when foreign companies and governments make breakthroughs like this while we sit back and let fear rule science. Will our pharmaceutical companies and medical research schools lose dominance in the world market? It should be noted that these were NOT embryonic stem cells- But, the negitive stigma still hangs on.

Martha Stewart's spiced breasts

A second prisoner confirmed this story. She also said Stewart, since being caught, now smuggles condiments and small portions of food out of the kitchen by "stuffing them in her bra." (link)

If she can keep up with this type of publicity her post prison memoirs will be a hit.

Poor Table Manners Lead to Stabbings

A man was charged with stabbing two relatives after they allegedly criticized his table manners during Thanksgiving dinner.

Nothing brings a family together like the holidays.

Santa Banned From Skydiving by Disneyland

Disney officials say the flight restrictions are needed to thwart terrorists who could target the park. Managers of the 50-store shopping center don't buy it.

Yet, they are not afraid that some one may launch a missile attack disguised as one of the 500 trillion fireworks Disney launches into the air every holiday and summer night.

Audit: Halliburton lost track of property--Investigators can't locate a third of inventory in Iraq

A third or more of the government property Halliburton Co. was paid to manage for the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq could not be located by auditors, investigative reports to Congress show.

Iraq seems to be a black hole of lost things such as WMD, our tax dollars and life. It is nice to know that Dick's former company can find so much profit in my tax dollars

Suspect was sharpshooter in the Guard

At least he used his training to his advantage after leaving the military.

Guardsmen Say They're Facing Iraq Ill-Trained

More troubling, a number of the soldiers said, is that the training they have received is so poor and equipment shortages so prevalent that they fear their casualty rate will be needlessly high when they arrive in Iraq early next year. "We are going to pay for this in blood," one soldier said

The lack of equipment part is understandable. The military is preparing them for the realities of what they the will face in Iraq.

Porn star comic is no laughing matter

Festival chairman Robb Hartlen says sponsors pulled out of the event when they learned Ron Jeremy would be among 30 international comedians on the bill."He's a porn star, for lack of a better term. A lot of people get a little uneasy and they don't want to be part of that."

The sponsors are sending a strong message. Stay in porn and never switch careers.
Original link found at Pete's Blog

Girl survives rabies without jab

A teenage girl has become the first known person to survive rabies without a vaccination, say doctors.

This is interesting.

A Thanksgiving Prayer

A Thanksgiving Prayer
By William S. Burroughs

Thanks for the wild turkey and
the passenger pigeons, destined
to be shit out through wholesome
American guts.


Thanks for a continent to despoil
and poison.
Thanks for Indians to provide a
modicum of challenge and
danger.

Thanks for vast herds of bison to
kill and skin leaving the
carcasses to rot.
Thanks for bounties on wolves
and coyotes.

Thanks for the American dream,
To vulgarize and to falsify until
the bare lies shine through.

Thanks for the KKK.

For nigger-killin' lawmen,
feelin' their notches.

For decent church-goin' women,
with their mean, pinched, bitter,
evil faces.

Thanks for "Kill a Queer for
Christ" stickers.

Thanks for laboratory AIDS.

Thanks for Prohibition and the
war against drugs.

Thanks for a country where
nobody's allowed to mind the
own business.

Thanks for a nation of finks.

Yes, thanks for all the
memories-- all right let's see
your arms!

You always were a headache and
you always were a bore.

Thanks for the last and greatest
betrayal of the last and greatest
of human dreams.

Arena Won't Be Named for Wal-Mart Heiress

The University of Missouri is removing the name of a 22-year-old Wal-Mart heiress from its brand-new sports arena, a week after she was accused by a classmate of cheating her way through another college. . . (Snip)given the naming rights after donating $25 million toward the building campaign. . . (Snip) One alumnus, Chris Cary, called it "Dad buying the biggest dollhouse." Nancy Laurie is the daughter of the late Bud Walton, co-founder of Wal-Mart.
Then, last week, Paige Laurie's freshman roommate at the University of Southern California, Elena Martinez, said in an interview on ABC's "20/20" that Laurie paid her about $20,000 over 3 1/2 years to write papers and complete other assignments for her

I am glad the owners of Wal-Mart still reflect the values of middle America. Her family must be real proud today.

Jesse Ventura

Jesse Ventura is doing political commercials in California for the Indian gaming industry. He has a new look. Slimy hair with bloated face. I am not sure who his fashion consultant is- But, he looks like a stereotypical child molester on the night of their arrest. I tried to pull up a picture of his new look using goggle image search but it seems that he has become such a has been that no one is taking his picture any more.

In Memphis, a Battle Won, the Paddle Lost

sometimes using paddling as punishment for untucked uniforms or athletic underperformance. . . . . (SNIP) Statistics from the 2003-2004 school year showed that teachers and staff had administered 27,918 paddlings among the district's more than 118,000 students. Use of the paddle varied widely in each school — with Airways Middle School accounting for 9% of paddlings. Thirty-eight of the district's 192 schools did not use paddling.

They still paddle children? This in School not Guantanamo Bay.

First-Class Stamp May Cost 41 Cents

It may soon cost more to mail a letter. A published report says the U.S. Postal Service is expected to seek approval for an increase in postage rates of at least ten percent early next year.

First we must make the direct marketers pay more for the crap they send out. If we can make them pay more they will be more selective in what the send out. Then we would all be winners. My solution wont make the post office richer but will make me happier.

SinFest on Diebold voting machines

twitching testicles

Someone found my Blog with a Google search for “twitching testicles”. Wow.
I must admit that I have never put those two words together but this is what they found (link) Can someone please give me a guess as to what they were looking for?

Five Killed in Hunting Incident in Wisconsin

A trespassing deer hunter in Wisconsin opened fire without warning on other hunters when they asked him to leave, killing five and wounding three, police said on Monday.

A red state?

Three Wives Attempt Suicide After Argument

All over a pair of shoes.

New Video Game Recreates Kennedy Assassination

Traffic Games said the objective was for a player to fire three shots at Kennedy's motorcade from assassin Lee Harvey Oswald's digitally recreated sixth-floor perch in the Texas School Book Depository.
Points are awarded or subtracted based on how accurately the shots match the official version of events as documented in by the Warren Commission, which investigated Kennedy's assassination.
Shooting the image of Kennedy in the right spots in the right sequence adds to the score, while "errors" like shooting first lady Jacqueline Kennedy lead to deductions.

What is next? The Kennedy drinking and driving game? How about Kennedy down hill skiing while playing football game. Kennedy flight simulator? They could make a franchise out of this.

Experts Fear Price Pressures Could Worsen

Now that the elections are over, Scott Peterson has been convicted, and the swift vets have crawled back into their holes. Can we please focus on our country?

This makes me smile-

Found at This is Broken

Bush Pulls Top Bodyguard From Scuffle

Several Chilean and American agents got into a pushing and shoving match outside the cultural center where the dinner was held. The incident happened after Bush and his wife, Laura, had just posed for pictures on a red carpet with the host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Chilean President Ricardo Lagos and his wife, Luisa Duran.

Just like a NBA game.

The Joys of Children AKA I am not a handyman

Someone put two toothbrushes and the cap from the toothpaste down the bathroom sink. I fixed the problem. But, in the process I bloodied my knuckles and bashed my head under the sink.

DVD Time

Watched the new release of The Grateful Dead Movie.
It just keeps getting better with time

Farc kidnap saga marks 1,000 days and more opium is coming to a town near you.

Former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt marks her 1,000th day in captivity on Saturday, held hostage by Marxist guerrillas

It has been so long that I forgot this was still going on. We used to care about Colombia-- What happened? Are we running a drug for cash exchange to finance this war like with the Iran Contra Scandal? In happier news:

“The United Nations reports that opium production is booming in Afghanistan. The country accounts for 87 percent of global opium production, up from 76 percent last year.” Swords into Plowshares

All those soldiers patrolling everywhere in that country and opium production is up. Hmmm- there must be some nice cash kickbacks going to our government.

I am not the only one-

I have got two search engine hits about Margaret Hassan. Both give me the feeling that I am not alone in my opinion that the abduction of Margaret Hassan is/was fishy.
The search phrases:
Margaret Hassan something is fishy
margaret hassan fishy

I am special today

I found out that someone has plagiarized one of my posts word for word. (it was a sort post)

Rare Blood Infection Surfaces in Injured U.S. Soldiers

Are we going to ignore this like we have with “gulf war syndrome”?

Pizza Drivers Seek National Union

Unions are OK for skilled labor

Bill Gates Gets 4 Million E-Mails a Day

Bill Gates Gets 4 Million E-Mails a Day

"Bill literally receives 4 million pieces of e-mail per day, most of it spam,"

He deserves every piece of it. To bad he can not choke on it. I wonder how many of these e-mails come from machines that have been hacked into because of the trillion windows vulnerability that his company is slow in fixing?

Standing in front of a Street Car at ““Day Out With Thomas”
 

Taking a break at “Day Out With Thomas”
 

Great T-shirt idea

Great T-shirt idea
Not sure which one I want more. Shirts
(link Via verbatim)

U.S. Marines Rally Round Iraq Probe Comrade

"I would have shot the insurgent too. Two shots to the head," said Sergeant Nicholas Graham, 24, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "You can't trust these people. He should not be investigated. He did nothing wrong."

It is nice to know we have well trained troops that want to help build peace and trust in the Middle East.

Famed Rocker Roth Goes From No. 1 to 911

Roth, 50, has been riding for several weeks with a New York ambulance crew in training to become a paramedic, The New York Post reported Tuesday.

I am speechless. Please write me a punch line.

Report: U.S. Marine Kills Wounded Iraqi

Something like this has already happened in this war. (previous link)

Toward the end of the article: “The report said the Marine had returned to duty after being shot in the face a day earlier.“ I have no idea how badly this Marine was wounded the day before- But, I wonder if they do physiological test on wounded soldiers before sending them back into battle.

IRAQ'S SECURITY SYSTEM MELTDOWN

This is interesting.

Yet- I feel no guilt

NPR is having a pledge drive. Now I have nothing to listen to while I drive.

Derailment Spills 20,000 Gallons of Beer

Is God punishing America for the current administration?

General Praises Speed of Fallujah Success

Yet, they are not letting in the aid workers that are lined up with valuable supplies.

Day out with Thomas

Because my son is all about trains and Thomas the Tank Engine is his favorite-- Yesterday, the family and I headed out to see Thomas the Tank Engine at the local Train museum. (Link) We had a ton of fun. We rode on a train pulled by Thomas-. And, most importantly my son had a great time. The place was packed.

Right before we left the event my son ate about 10 strawberry's in about a minute. On the ride home he threw up twice. Because the strawberry's were the only thing in his stomach that came out-- the whole car smelled of warm strawberry's rather than the standard puke smell. It smelled like strawberry margaritas. Mmmmmmm.

?????

Troops have cut off all roads and bridges leading out of Fallujah and have turned back hundreds of men trying to flee the city during the assault. Only women, children and the elderly can leave.

????? What do you think?

Blair is nobody's poodle: Bush

Blair is a puppet not a poodle.

South Korean activist ends risky diet of junk food

A South Korean environmental activist who tried to live for 30 days on junk food has abandoned his diet after doctors said he was risking his life. Yoon Kwang-Yong, 31, began his diet on October 16 in an attempt to re-enact "Super Size Me," an US documentary showing the effects of fast food on the human body.

Why am I still alive? Seriously, Instead of having hunger strikes why don't we start having junk food strikes? I bet more protesters would participate. “If you do not give in to our demands we will eat Big Mac's until we die”

Ashcroft Condemns Judges Who Question Bush

What a asshole.

Festival Express-

After months of waiting I finally got to watch Festival Express. It rocked. I can not wait to see the bonus footage on the DVD. Never heard of this movie? During the summer of 1970 Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, The Band, Buddy Guy and a few other bands jump on a train and spend 5 days traveling across Canada. The cameras were rolling the whole time. They partied and played on the train and did a few festivals over a sleepless 5 days ride. It is an interesting document of a period that is long gone. I am just glad that they filmed it for me to enjoy. Janis puts up some great performances--- She died 3 months later.

New Cookbook Celebrates Cellblock Cuisine

This is a rather interesting article. A small part of it:

Donald Dunn's Jailhouse Pizza uses uncooked Top Ramen as the crust and tops it with pizza sauce, cheese spread, some pepperoni or summer sausage and corn chips.
"It's not delivery, it's jailhouse!" says the caption of the accompanying cartoon.

I do not think I will be trying this at home.

Nader calls for US election recounts

"Over 2,000 citizens including voting rights advocates are urging in writing the Nader Camejo campaign to help make sure every vote is counted and counted accurately. The Nader Camejo campaign does not view the election to be over merely because concession speeches, which have no legal effect, have been given. Rather they are over when every vote is counted and legally certified," Nader said.

Does this mean Nader is afraid he will be forgotten in 2008? What can he lose? All he can do is prove what a joke the process is.

Lotto Officer Charged With Disclosing Info

Foreman told an acquaintance, Chad Adkins, and Daniel Foltz in May that a winning scratch-off ticket had been sent to a store in Cross Plains in southeastern Indiana, said Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi.
One of the men then spent about $700 to buy the store's entire supply of tickets, including the winner, according to court documents.

So much for random luck. I would bet this happens a lot.

America land of the free where you can buy the location of a winning Lotto ticket or buy an election. The possibility's are endless

Come Back Tomorrow, Cops Tell Bank Robber

An Albany man turned himself into police after seeing himself on TV news robbing a bank but was turned away by officers who told him to come back the next day, police said on Tuesday.
Albany resident Darrell Lewis, 40, surrendered to police hours after his Nov. 1 holdup of a downtown bank but was told to come back the next day to be arrested.
Lewis went to a different station the following day and was charged with robbery, Albany police spokesman Jimmy Miller said.
The incident has prompted an internal investigation.

Someone better lose their job.

Arafat

Now everyone is saying Arafat is dead. Should I believe them this time?

Big News-

The other night my son slept through the night with a blanket in his bed. In the past every time we tried to put a blanket in his bed he would throw it to the floor. We even tried to put one in his bed while he slept but every time he would wake up screaming.
But now at 29 months of age he now has a blanket in his bed. Now all I need to do is get him to sleep under it rather than on top of it.

Who needs a draft? (indentured servitude)

Is there no need for a draft when the president can call back service men for 8 years after they leave the military?
Is there still no need for a draft when you start calling back servicemen after 13 years?
Is this not a form of indentured servitude?
What is going on? How thin can we spread ourselves?

Here are the Halloween pictures

Elmo hunting for candy. Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street. 

Elmo ate my son!  

Farmer Elmo rides to sugar land 

Elmo is checking the fluids in the trick or treat tractor 

Farmer Elmo getting ready to trick-or treat. cool shoes 

2 GIs defend their killing of wounded Iraqi

The newspaper said on Thursday that the two army staff sergeants had admitted that they had shot the Iraqi boy as he lay moaning on the ground but that they had said they did so out of mercy.

Looks as if they admitted to killing the boy. Is mercy killing sanctioned by the military? Or is this murder?

'Mystery Candidate' Wins Without Campaign

It is great to know that people have all the facts when they go to the polls.

Students at Colo. High School Protest Bush

About 85 high school students upset about the nation's direction were camping out in the school library, demanding an audience with Republican leaders. (SNIP)
. . . "We want them to reassure us that our fears are misguided and that the government is doing everything in its power to prevent our futures from being destroyed," said senior Brian Martens, who wore a hand-lettered T-shirt which said he was the "senior executive of the subcommittee on protesting stuff."

If they get get to talk to Republican leaders and share their fears I will be impressed. To bad they are young and stupid and will not be able to know to what degree they are being lied to.

Iraqis Say U.S. Should Talk More, Shoot Less

Iraq's Deputy Foreign Minister Hamid al-Bayati said the insurgency was partly due to mistakes Bush made earlier.
"Using force that kills civilians on a large scale is a mistake. The logic of occupation must end. Bush's main mistake was not to let an Iraqi provisional government take power after Saddam was toppled," he said.

America's puppet found his voice?

Stop the coffee cartel

My local coffee shop raised its prices. Now I am under-caffeinated and pissed. How could our President spend so much time on his War on Error and ignore the rising prices of coffee? Don't let Bush walk away from the real issues. Stop the coffee cartel.

Juan Valdez must be hunted down and brought to justice. It is time for a regime change in Colombia. Juan Valdez must be brought down.

Britons set fires ablaze for historic bomb plotter Guy Fawkes

Is this a celebration of his attempt or his failure?

Unbelievable...

A National Guard F-16 fighter plane mistakenly fired off 25 rounds of ammunition at the Little Egg Harbor Intermediate School in South New Jersey on Wednesday night.

The pilot must of thought he was in Iraq.

Change to editorial policy

We here at MQUEST Blog have decided to change our editorial policy to better fit the norms of society.

We have looked closely at how United States Politicians deal with facts and decided to use their standards as our own.

Effective immediately:

Opinions first facts second
Facts are bent to own needs
If it agrees with our view it is true.
If facts do not agree with our views it is false
God does speak directly through me
Name calling is OK
We will accept cash to look into differing views
If you disagree with us we reserve the right to blow up one square mile around anyplace we think you MIGHT be.

Thank you-
Mquest Blog MGMT

Sleep-Deprived Man Punishes Sadomasochism Club

Nobel Winner Ebadi Sues U.S. to Publish Memoirs

Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi has sued the United States because its economic embargo on Iran is blocking publication of her memoirs in America, a literary agency said on Wednesday.

"It's a crime for the American reading public to be denied access to the voices of citizens of countries which are under embargo," Strothman told Reuters.

Please interpret the following statement

A coup by Karl Rove

Reality Television-

Due to the popularity of this election--
The major news networks have decided to have Presidential elections every year.
No need to worry- the constitution has already been amended.

(Wait until they discover the joy of the impeachment process.)

Poor Kerry

It must be tough to wake up and learn you lost an election because you have no personality and are unlikeable.

Red hangover

Am I the only one that woke up this morning hating the color red?

A reprieve

I have 4 more years to be a selfish American.

What this election taught me #146789

Vietnam vets are officially worthless members of our population.
(That was the point of the 527's right?)

It looks as if-

The Nobel Peace Prize will not be going to Michael Moore.

Now what?

When does the impeachment process begin?

At the clown college- a collective sigh of relief

Across America-- The comedic impersonators and writers are all happy They can keep their jobs and reuse the same old tired jokes for the next four years.
(I was hoping for a new cast of impersonators.)

Dutch Filmmaker Theo Van Gogh Slain

A filmmaker who was the great-grandnephew of the painter Vincent van Gogh was shot and stabbed to death on an Amsterdam street Tuesday after receiving death threats over a movie he made criticizing the treatment of women under Islam . . .

I wonder how many bodyguards Michael Moore has?

Birthday

Over the last few days-
I turned 35. I got my first cavity filled.
For my Birthday My wife and son under my direction bought me:

For Music:
Dylan and the Dead
Postcards from the Hanging (The Dead do Dylan)
Garcia/Grisman Not for Kids only
A Thomas the Tank engine CD for my son
The DVD- Grateful Dawg

They took me to BJ'S Pizza. The place was loud but the Stout was great. It was so loud my son could of had a major melt down and no one would of noticed.