Carlos Mencia

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If you like crude humor you need to check this guy out. East LA Chicano comedy. Really great!
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Link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q_n8z3auC4

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His take on Brokeback Mountain called Wetback Mountain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTpvdiM0aGo

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Time

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It is really amazing how much people change over time. This is a picture of Bill and Hillary.

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Climate Crisis

Al Gore's DVD "An Inconvenient Truth" came in yesterday. Anyone who hasn't seen this yet really does need to.

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LINK: http://www.climatecrisis.net/

Old Graves

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I went in the Cathedral in Tongeren, Belgium this morning. I have been several times before and it always gives me a really special feeling being inside of this church, all alone. Really. I've been there 3 or 4 times and each time I was the only person there. These graves from the 1600's make me sense the historical imprtance of the place.

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(click on the pictures and they will enlarge)

Eygelshoven Church Gregorian Chants

The 1,000 year old historic church here in the center of Eygelshoven, The Netherlands has a rather famous choir that does Gregorian Chants. Every Sunday.

http://hpgarland.blogspot.com/2006/09/eygelshoven-church.html

Benedictine Abbey in Lemiers near Vaals

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Today I went to the Mount St. Benedict Abbey in Lemiers, The Netherlands. It is up in the Ardennes mountains near to Vaals.
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http://www.benedictusberg.nl/
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The Benedictine monks are really quite interesting. They are completely independent, not reporting to the Catholic church in Rome or anyone else. Some of them are even Anglicans. This is what Wikipedia has to say about them http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedictine_abbey
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Teddy Roosevelt on Immigration

Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN in 1907

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"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin.

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But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and NOTHING but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here.

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Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

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Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Roz Chast

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Roz Chast is a cartoonist. She has been drawing funny cartoons for the New Yorker magazine for years. She is fantastic. Her new book is called "Theories of Everything"

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The Mighty Boosh

These guys are without a doubt one of the funniest groups out in Great Britain at the moment. If you get to see their DVD you will enjoy it for sure.

Tenacious D

The CD and the DVD both came in yesterday from Amazon. I couldn't believe it, the mailman came three different times yesterday.

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Wikipedia says, "They are known for their upbeat classic rock style and vulgar comedy." Yes, well (embearassed clearing of throat). I would have to say that this does pretty well describe them.

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If you need a good laugh then go buy this CD. It is outrageous and wonderful!

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Aachen Christmas Fair

(click on the picture to enlarge)

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Over here in Western Europe almost every city of any size has an annual Christmas fair in the center of the city. Aachen, Germany is no exception.

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I was over there yesterday and they are in the middle of building up all the temporary buildings for it. Looks like it is going to be a nice one this year.

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European Sunrise

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It is overcast a lot here in Europe. So we normally don't get the beautiful sunrises and sunsets that people in the Southwestern part of America take completely for granted.

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But here is how beautiful the sky looked in Holland this morning at 7:30 a.m looking out my upstairs window.

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Diana Gabaldon

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Autumn is almost over. The winter is coming.

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And today I finished "Drums of Autumn." I wish I were more articulate so that I could properly praise Diana Gabaldon's skill as a writer.

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All I can say is that I consider myself to be a very strong man and certainly as macho as the next guy. Maybe more so. And as the book drew to an end I have found myself softly sobbing more and more. I don't think anyone noticed today in Starbucks. I'm pretty sure I hid it.

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And next I begin "The Fiery Cross." Life really is wonderful.

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My Horoscope

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I'm really not sure what I am supposed to do in order to follow this advice.

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Hugh Laurie

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Borat got his ass solidly kicked on a NY subway today. Thank heavens his friend Hugh Laurie was there to stop the attacker. True...honest. Google the news.
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Here is a cute video of Hugh Laurie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ridzYYNFO6I&NR

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Link to News Story: http://www.playfuls.com/news_0003273_Borats_Face_Punched_in_NY_by_Joke_Victim.html
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New Orleans

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I was doing some research on the London sewers when I came across the following bit of information: "The streets of London lie 30 feet below the surface of the Thames at high tide."

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I don't hear people talking about deserting London, and we should stop talking about deserting the poorer parts (read black) of New Orleans. The Dutch have managed to build a system of dikes to protect their country from the ocean. We should get to work and do the same for New Orleans.

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Best Cars

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Recently the list of the most fuel effecient cars came out, and very high on the list were the 5 speed manual transmission Toyota(s) Corolla and Yaris.

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Now the list of the most reliable cars has come out. Most of the cars on the list were based upon one-year "projections" but the only one shown which is based upon absolute pure reality is the Toyota Corolla. Also listed as the most popular car of all time.

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Happiness Is All In Your Mind

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Many times I don't even read e-mails like the following one. As soon as I realize what it is I just clik on the "delete" button. The only reason I did read this one is because it came from my friend Loyad. He grows green chile up near Hatch. A crazy bastard for sure, but also one of the greatest guys I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Please do read this...it really does have a valuable message:
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A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.
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His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.
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As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window. "I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. "Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait."
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"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it.
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"It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up.
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I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life.
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Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.
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So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing."
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Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.
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Muslim Veiled Women

In most Arabic countries the majority of women do not cover their faces with a veil. Islam only says that women must dress modestly. These obnoxious British and American chicks that wear the veil only do so to get attention and to be pushy and aggressive.

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I really like to eat dates. The ones I usually get are from Tunisia. My good friend Mustafa is from Tunisia. He is really one of the kindest gentlemen I have ever met. I first ate Tunisian dates at his house. If makes me have good thoughts of him when I get dates from Tunisia.

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Today I bought some and I noticed afterwards that they are from Iran. Clearly Iran is a devoutly Islamic country. "W" would say they are part of the axis of evil. And here in a super religious country, the pretty woman on the packaging does not have her face covered up like a common criminal trying to hide his identity. She only has her head covered, just like traditional modesty requires when entering a Catholic or even an Episcopal church.

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Link: http://www.signandsight.com/features/1041.html

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Strigilis

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For several years I have been looking for a strigilis to add to my collection of antiquities. I found a beautiful one today. It was owned by a collector in Brussels. It is Roman and is from the 1st or 2nd century A.D.
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The picture of the coin is one of Taras in Southern Italy minted about 500 years earlier. There were many versions of this coin minted over the years showing Phalantus being saved from drowning by the dolphins.

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That in itself is really neat mythology, but what makes this coin superbly special is that on the back it shows him sitting in a bath house in the steam room sweating. In his left hand is a jar containing the scented oil and his strigilis.

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I bought this coin several years ago. At the time I could have bought a strigil from the same antiquities dealer for about $4,000- but this was way outside my budget. I have seen many of these strigili in museums, and finally today I finally found one for sale at a price that I could live with.
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This is a link to some of my pictures of Roman bathouses and things associated with them (including strigilis and bath oil containers) from various Roman museums here in Western Europe: http://tinyurl.com/y7d7rp

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This is a Wikipedia LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strigil

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And this is what the Encyclopedia Britannica has to say on the subject:

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Thermae refers to a complex of rooms designed for public bathing, relaxation, and social activity that was developed to a high degree of sophistication by the ancient Romans. Although public baths are known to have existed in early Egyptian palaces, remains are too fragmentary to permit complete analysis of Egyptian types.

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Bathing occupied an important place in the life of the Greeks, as indicated by the remains of bathing rooms in the palace of Knossos (begun c. 1700 BC). The standardized architectural type of the thermae, however, was not developed until the Romans designed the great imperial thermae--Baths of Titus (AD 81), Baths of Domitian (95), Trajan's Baths (c. 100), Baths of Caracalla (217), and the Thermae of Diocletian (c. 302).

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The general scheme consisted of a large open garden surrounded by subsidiary club rooms and a block of bath chambers either in the centre of the garden, as in the Baths of Caracalla, or at its rear, as in the Baths of Titus. The main block contained three large bath chambers--the frigidarium, calidarium (caldarium), and tepidarium--smaller bathrooms, and courts. Service was furnished by means of underground passageways, through which slaves could move swiftly without being seen.

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For lighting and for the roofing of the enormous rooms, the Romans developed an ingenious system of clerestory windows (windows in or near the roof or vault).
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Modern discoveries of ancient sculpture in the Roman baths, such as the Laocoon group from the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, indicate the richness of the furnishings. Floors were marble or mosaic; walls were apparently sheathed with marble to a considerable height and decorated above with stucco reliefs and mosaic. Gilt bronze was used freely for doors, capitals (the crowning member of a classical column), and window screens. This type of imperial bathing establishment was repeated in its essential form, but on a smaller scale, throughout the Roman Empire.
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Although there is disagreement among scholars about the exact order of bathing activities, the Roman technique of bathing is thought to have followed a somewhat standardized pattern. The bather probably first entered the apodyterium, where he undressed. He was then anointed with oil in the elaeothesium, or unctuarium, before entering a room or court, where he indulged in rigourous exercise.

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After this activity, he proceeded to the calidarium (hot room) and to the sudatorium, or laconicum (steam room), where his body was probably scraped of its accumulation of oil and perspiration with a curved metal implement called a strigil. The bather then moved to the tepidarium (warm room) and afterward to the frigidarium (cold room), where there was frequently a swimming pool. The bathing process was completed after the body was once more anointed with oil.
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Roman baths varied in size from those in the larger, private houses to the great public thermae. The essential features present in all types of thermae were an adequate system of furnishing hot, tepid, and cold water; the heating of the hot portions of the bath, and sometimes also the tepidarium, by the circulation of smoke and heated air from a fire under the floor through the hollow walls (see also hypocaust); and adequate basins for warm and cold water in the hot bath.
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As a rule, men and women bathed separately. Mixed bathing is first recorded in the 1st century AD, by the Roman scholar Pliny the Elder. The practice, which seems to have been largely restricted to courtesans, was condemned by respectable citizens and prohibited by the emperors Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius.

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Copyright 1994-1999 Encyclopædia Britannica

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IH8U LOSER

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You have to give credit where it is due.

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Britney Spears wins the prize for the most unambiguous and economical usage of the English language telling her husband and the father of her two children via text message that she feels that the relationship is now far past the point of no return and that she intends to divorce him.

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Good Louisiana lady that she is, she is well educated certainly has an excellent command of the written language.

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Dog Frisbee Competition

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If you've got a couple of minutes, take the time to watch these dogs competing in the official frisbee competitions.

LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnsOORuRB-M
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Another One Bites The Dust

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Veteran journalist Edward R. Bradley has died from CLL.
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LINK: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6463420-

Democrats In - Republicans Out

Ok, the supposedly fiscally responsible Republicans once again have run the national debt way up...almost out of sight. They did it once before when Ray Guns was in office and now they have done it again.

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So the Democrats again need to clean up their mess. The Republicans really do talk a good game, but in practice it is bullshit. They borrow more and just reduce taxation on the rich people. So they increase the distance between the rich and the poor.

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And these asshole Republicans are corrupt. That is probably the worst indictment. While thumping their bibles they are violating all the rules of honor and dignity. They are so arrogant that they think these rules are only for other less important people.

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Nancy Pelosi has been quite arrogant and abrasive in the past. I sure hope she can now start being polite and getting something done rather than just complaining. Hillary too. Maybe there is hope. But maybe not too.

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Democrats, the war is a problem. Now you can help solve the problem.

But your biggest challenge is that more and more people in America don't have any health insurance at all. The trend line is going in the wrong direction. Things are getting worse for more and more people. You will need to make sure that every American has some very basic and reasonable level of health care (including medicines) whether they are working or not, and even if they are poor or unemployed.

Then you need to raise the minimum wage and increase social security retirement benefits for old folks. And instead of building another Berlin wall, you need to set up an effective and reasonable guest worker program.

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So Long Rummie

Donald Rumsfeld is very smart, and he is a gracious gentleman. And he has been a lot of fun to watch. He has been descrbied as "Irresistibly Charming". At the same time it is a good thing that he is no longer Secretary of Defense.

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Now Mr. S. Hussein needs to receive his punishment. Maybe then we can begin to turn this thing around and perhaps begin heading in the right direction.

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The government of Iraq really is in a state of denial. They seem to think we will keep putting up with this shit forever. We intend to try and do the right thing, but we won't stick around forever. They need to pick up the ball and run with it, or it is going to be fumbled.

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So far America has been the "nice guys" but this won't last forever. They need to get their act together or there is going to end up being real carnage.

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But first the worst war criminal stince Stalin and Hitler needs to be hanged. Then maybe we can begin to move on.

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LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmLToYe8nRo

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Mt. Vesuvius

"The ground south of Mt. Vesuvius has been shaken by tremors 52 times during the last 24 hours, Italy's leading volcanologist explains. Three hundred tons of sulfur dioxide have spewed out of the crater. Other ominous signs of an impending catastrophe are mounting: The coast guard has sighted gaseous bubbles in the sea, and dead fish are floating on the waves.

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The water in the boroughs of Ercolano and Torre del Greco tastes sourer and sourer. And, as if that weren't enough, GPS stations have observed that the ground in the region is rising -- by no less than 20 centimetres (8 inches) in a single day."

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The quote above is from the news today. This picture is one I took of Mt. Vesuvius looking over the ancient city of Pompei. It looks like two hills, but that is an illusion. The area in the middle that looks like a valley is really the part of the mountain that was blown away and is no longer there! Kind of like Mt. St. Helens.

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LINK: http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,445941,00.html
http://www.pompeiisites.org/database/pompei/pompei2.nsf?OpenDatabase
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The Death Penalty

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If there is any chance that the person did not commit the crime I find capital punishment to be an incorrect sentence. So if a black guy is accused of killing someone, but it is only his word against someone else, for sure we should not risk executing a person that might be innocent.

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But where the person 100% totally clearly did commit the crime, and it was a really horrible one, then I think it is foolish and a waste of money to keep the guilty party alive and in jail. Not only is it a waste of money but more important it is a spineless cop-out.

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In the case of S. Hussein, he is clearly the worst and most evil war criminal since Stalin and Hitler. Every effort has been made to give him a fair trial. He and his bozo lawyers have made a mockery of the trial. Just like Hussein mocked the UN and pretended that he did have a program of weapons of mass destruction. Well his lying ended up screwing up his country big time. He is not just evil. But a dumb ass too.

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No civilized society has any reasonable choice other than to execute an animal like this guy. It really is necessary. Does it prevent or discourage others from doing the same thing in the future? Probably not, but keeping a guy like this alive would actively encourage others to do the same sort of things.

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I'd Love To Change The World

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LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI7-aTt462M&mode=related&search=
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Ten Years After
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Everywhere is freaks and hairies
Dykes and fairies,
tell me where is sanity
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Tax the rich,
feed the poor
Till there are no rich no more
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I'd love to change the world
But I don't know what to do
So I'll leave it up to you
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Population keeps on breeding
Nation bleeding, still more feeding economy
Life is funny, skies are sunny
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Bees make honey,
who needs money,
monopoly
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I'd love to change the world
But I don't know what to do
So I'll leave it up to you
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World pollution, there's no solution
Institution, electrocution
Just black and white, rich or poor
Them and us, stop the war
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I'd love to change the world
But I don't know what to do
So I'll leave it up to you

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Billie Piper

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Billie Piper being interviewed by Jonathan Ross: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVF28xbpkV0&mode=related&search=

part 2 of the Jonathan Ross interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKEvaPU6PrU&mode=related&search=
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I'm Going Home: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKTB3BbxdA4

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My best friend: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1u6ENPbaNI&mode=related&search=

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiFpdcDhawc&mode=related&search=

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Speed Trap

I really love high performance cars. The feeling of torque that you get with a big V8 is hard to beat.

My best friend over here in Holland just bought a BMW sports car. Convertible, two-person, the high performance M version. Little tiny thing with a nice engine in it. When he and his wife came over to visit I looked outside and saw it for the first tme. Top down, custom wheels with wide tires.

I just about shit myself when he handed me the keys and told me to go take a drive! Holy Jesus. Absolute religious experience. Praise God and the Krauts with their high performance cars.

I've owned a Corvette Stingray. And I've many many times cruised (cruise control) on the German freeways at 22o kph = 136 miles per hour. Really, mile after mile, and not just once either. Regularly.

Here in the neighborhood I only got it up to 170 kph = 105 mph, but that was not even in 5th gear. That was in 4th gear and not at the red line either. Even though it does not have a V8, it is still one of the strongest cars I have ever driven. Maybe the strongest.

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Borat

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This British comedian is super. His paradories of anti-semitism, racism, and everything else socially unacceptable is great. Clearly not PC!
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This is a link to You Tube when Borat was on Friday Night Live with Jonathan Ross.
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LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aawh_RMAZic
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Tenacious D

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These guys are great. They are really funny.

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If you want a bit of a laugh, then check out their website about their latest movie. This really has to be one of the best done websites I have seen: http://tenaciousdmovie.com/

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Health Insurance

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This is a quote from Wikipedia: "The most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that 45.8 million Americans (about 15% of the total population) had no health insurance coverage during 2004. This constituted a rise of about 850,000 from the previous year. "

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Now that I am no longer working (Retired? The correct phrase after 25 years of dedication and loyalty once they found out out that I have leukemia is Run-off!) I have joined AARP. And so far I am a little disappointed with them. AARP seems to be your typical large organization, most interested in self perpetuation. I have been trying to find out from them if there is a group of people involved in greass-roots organizing in favor of universal health coverage. They are so big (read arrogant) that they don't even answer e-mails.

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Ancient Fire Feast of Samhain

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November 1 was the end of summer and a very special day to the ancient Celts.

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Samhain marks one of the two great doorways of the Celtic year, for the Celts divided the year into two seasons: the light and the dark, at Beltane on May 1st and Samhain on November 1st.

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Some believe that Samhain was the more important festival, marking the beginning of a whole new cycle, just as the Celtic day began at night. For it was understood that in dark silence comes whisperings of new beginnings, the stirring of the seed below the ground.

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LINK: http://www.celticspirit.org/samhain.htm