Fireworks Restrictions Take Excitement Out Of Having Facial Hair
First, the good news.
According to the National Council on Fireworks Safety, fireworks-related injuries have dropped by 75 percent in the last decade.
First, the good news.
According to the National Council on Fireworks Safety, fireworks-related injuries have dropped by 75 percent in the last decade.
The bad news, as anyone over the age of 30 can tell you, is that today’s fireworks are about as exciting to watch as a pile of smoldering pencil shavings.
For example: It used to be that “sparklers” actually sparkled. They showered the air with tiny crackling embers so bright you could see them through your eyelids. The bravest kids would spin them like propellers, knowing full well their eyebrows would grow back by mid summer.
My kids don’t believe me when I tell them this. That’s because, each July Fourth, they are handed “sparklers” that are basically sticks of incense that smell like sulfur. No crackle. No shower of sparks. Just a momentary flame as the paper wick ignites then — upon reaching its climactic flash point — fizzles into a puff of flatulent-smelling smoke.
Note: In the event you happen to purchase a defective sparkler, and find yourself the unwitting victim of actual spark-spitting action, DO NOT PANIC. Call the NCFS hotline immediately so your rogue sparkler can be safely deposited in a special, undisclosed location three miles beneath the Mojave Desert. If there’s no time to drive to the desert because, say, you live in Michigan, you will be instructed on how to disarm the sparkler yourself. This will mean transporting it to an unpopulated area and, utilizing protective gear and the most extreme caution, dipping it into a glass of water.
Several times if necessary.
Those of you who live in Alabama or Tennessee have no idea what I’m talking about. That’s because you have real fireworks. The kind that childhood memories (and a good portion of our nation’s first-strike capabilities) are made of. In addition, the only real restrictions you have are as follows:
1) If a skyrocket is longer than your boat trailer, it must be flagged during transport.
2) You must, by law, inform neighbors when using any fireworks that require a dynamite plunger.
3) Though there is no limit to the number of M-80s you can join together with a single fuse, the Department of Homeland Security warns it can’t be held responsible should your area, as a precautionary measure, be swept with heat-seeking missiles.
4) If you have studded tires, you must remove them. This has nothing to do with fireworks; it’s just a friendly reminder from the folks at the Highway Department.
And lastly,
5) Any and all skyrockets capable of leaving southern air space must be pointed north.
The fact is, even though I whine about having wimpy fireworks here in Oregon, at least we have them. In Georgia, they are illegal. This means watching public fireworks displays, or, as many Georgians do, going outside and facing Alabama. Even though these displays are beautiful, it’s still not the same as being knocked unconscious by a runaway ground flower. Being as I lived in Atlanta for six years, I can tell you illegal fireworks do make their way across the Alabama border.
This, of course, is a huge problem.
Especially if your boat trailer isn’t big enough.
(You can write to Ned Hickson at nhickson@thesiuslawnews.com, or at the Siuslaw News at P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR. 97439)
Islamic Terrorists: Creating A Frankenstein Monster
Back in approximately 1528, when the very first black man was snatched from a village in Africa and shoved onto a slave ship, somehow a ball got rolling that has consequences even down to this day. That single act of brutality began a long, slow process that eventually resulted in the proliferation of violence and crime in America’s inner cities four centuries later.
Back in approximately 1528, when the very first black man was snatched from a village in Africa and shoved onto a slave ship, somehow a ball got rolling that has consequences even down to this day. That single act of brutality began a long, slow process that eventually resulted in the proliferation of violence and crime in America’s inner cities four centuries later.
Cruelty always gets the ball rolling, gets the party started — but in a bad way.
So. What cruelties, exactly, got the Islamic terrorist ball rolling? Was it when Mohammad (PBUH) wrote the Qu’ran? And if it was, then why aren’t most American Muslims terrorists now too? And why don’t their teenagers run in violent gangs like so many Christian teenagers here do? Dearborn, in Michigan, for instance, has a very large Muslim population and the largest mosque in America. So why aren’t the Muslims of Dearborn all terrorists? Obviously it’s not their religion per se that is turning Muslims into terrorists. So it must be something else.
“But what could it be?” you might ask. I think you could get an answer to that question from any competent psychologist since Freud. Terrorists aren’t shaped by their religion. And terrorist aren’t just born that way either. Terrorists are created by their childhood experiences. Terrorists are created by cruelty.
Take Afghanistan for instance — a country that’s known for its terrorists. Those terrorists didn’t just suddenly spring full-grown from the head of Zeus. No, they were systematically created by centuries of systematic cruelty.
First the Brits brutally invaded Afghanistan. Then the Russians brutally invaded Afghanistan. Then the Americans brutally invaded Afghanistan. Brutality. Cruelty. Injustice. And now we wonder why that poor country is overrun with terrorists? Duh.
And then there’s Iraq. The Brits systematically destroyed democracy in Iraq. And Americans gave Iraq three gifts that kept on giving: Saddam Hussein, Shock and Awe and Abu Ghraib. In Iraq, Brits, Americans and their European allies created a Frankenstein monster — step by step, day by day.
And during approximately the last 90 years, Palestine has been systematically invaded by various forms of Europeans — not to mention the Crusades. Whether it was Lord Balfour, King Richard or David Ben Gurion who invaded the Holy Land, these Europeans have all worked really hard to create Frankenstein monsters in Palestine too — and America to this day still keeps footing these invaders’ bills.
Sure, a few Palestinians have hijacked some airplanes in protest — but Europeans and Americans have hijacked their entire region.
And remember how British Petroleum and the CIA worked in tandem to violently destroy democracy in Iran and to replace it with the West’s own bloody Shah, king of torture?
Face it, guys. The whole Middle East has been under the jackboots of American and European colonialism, imperialism and cruelty for a long, long, long time. And, keeping that thought in mind, you might also consider the suggestion that perhaps we are looking at Islamic terrorists from the wrong perspective. Perhaps if it hadn’t been for the calming and civilizing influences of Islam, all these Frankenstein monsters that the West has cheerfully created in the Middle East might have turned out even worse.
Consider what happened when Europe and America unleashed their cruelty on the Congo, Rwanda and Zimbabwe. At least the Middle East didn’t turn out as badly as all that. Maybe Islam actually helped give Muslims something hopeful to cling to in the face of all that Shock and Awe.
PS: As you may have already noticed unless you’re brain-dead or watch Fox News, the military-corporatist structure that brought us Rwanda, Afghanistan and Abu Ghraib is still in the driver’s seat in Washington now and still happily doing all its usual cruel nasty stuff. Which can only make me wonder — as our democracy dies and so does our economy — what kind of Frankenstein monsters are they happily creating here at home too?
PPS: And what, exactly, is the justification for all this cruelty? Apparently the justification is greed. Geez Louise! Just how many extra yachts do you guys need? Is it true that Dick Cheney is the world’s first trillionaire? And has all this endless supply of big bucks flowing seamlessly into his coffers from faulty oil platforms and endless wars made HIM happy? Yeah right.
PPPS: I am assuming that you do know that the oil spill in the Gulf could be worse than anything even the most fiendish terrorists could ever have done to us, right?
I just read somewhere that there are billions of teeny-tiny little crustaceans in our oceans and they are using all that excess carbon dioxide in sea water (which would otherwise be harmful to us) to build their sweet little teeny-tiny shells. And if they didn’t build these shells, there would be too much carbon dioxide in the oceans, it would be released into the air and we would all die. So if the oil spill kills off all these cute little guys in the same way that it is now killing off dolphins and turtles, we will be doomed.
To quote Wilbur the talking pig, “I don’t wanna die!”
And speaking of pigs at county fairs, me and my family are going off to the Alameda County Fair next Wednesday. Joe and Ashley are going to buy me a chicken — to eat all the snails in my postage-stamp-sized yard so that I can plant a victory garden. I’ll let you know how that goes.
Did Israel Have A Right To Declare Palestine As Its Statehood For All Jewish People?
Perhaps the real question is whether Israel had ownership rights to the Palestine land it currently occupies. Zionism had been created as a nationalistic organization and/or political movement that aggressively proposed a home state for all Jewish people and it focused on the Middle East lands of Palestine. Zionists persuaded various Western nations to support its efforts towards that end.
One of the chief supporters of the Zionist objective was Great Britain and perhaps the most documented acknowledgement of that effort is the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which basically supported and approved the right of Zionists to inhabit Palestine and create a statehood for all Jewish people. In 1948 the State of Israel was etched-out in Palestine.
However, did the Zionists have a legal claim to the land in Palestine? Furthermore, did Great Britain at the time have a legal right to approve Zionist claims to Palestine? These two questions are contested every day as the battle for Palestine occupation continues.
Perhaps no other event in history prompted the consideration of a Jewish statehood than Adolf Hitler’s rise to power and his plans to exterminate races and cultures other than German that caused the emigration of Jews and other peoples to alternate countries. Many nations, e.g., the U.S., Great Britain, Canada, etc., offered to accept Jews to come live and work in their respective countries; however, the Zionists were determined to claim Palestine as the new home for all Jewish people because this was the area where Jews had lived centuries earlier and the political movement wanted to house all Jews “under one roof.” The Zionist movement did NOT want Jewish people scattered throughout the world, rather, it pushed for the Palestine region rather than accept the offers provided by various nations.
Thus began the exodus of Jews from around the world to Palestine. Great Britain’s Balfour Declaration had no real legal substance because most of Palestine had been settled and owned by Palestinians for 1200 years. While the Jews did attempt to purchase land in Palestine and were partially successful, the Zionists believed that whatever land could not be purchased would be taken by military force. In this “declaration” of the settlement imperative and with the support of many Western nations 500,000 Palestinians were forced from their land and homes so that Jews could establish their settlements in Palestine.
In addition, the new State of Israel did not permit the indigenous Palestinians to live and maintain their civil rights within Israeli borders. In fact, Zionist Israel continues to push Palestinians further towards the borders of neighboring countries in the hopes to eliminate Palestinians completely from the region.
Consequently, the fighting for Jewish settlements and the desire to contain and/or eliminate Palestinians continues. Many historians point out the similarity of the Jewish settlement and takeover of Palestine to that of the settling of the United States. Certainly there is a case for the comparison when we consider our own western expansion at the expense of the Native Americans who had lived here centuries earlier before the white expansion forced them from their lands.
In truth, the Balfour Declaration had no legal ground to stand on and the Zionists had no legal right to claim all Palestine lands for their settlement and for founding the State of Israel on Palestinian owned property. Furthermore, the Zionists claimed the homes and properties of the Palestinians they scared away, but the rules and laws of the Geneva Convention, which Israel signed in agreement, states that those forced physically from their property still maintain a legal claim to the property.
The battle continues today as Israel pushes Palestinians towards the borders of neighboring countries and Zionists continue to subdivide Palestinians into smaller group settlements, restricting their movement and ability to live and work as free citizens. Israel refuses to allow Palestinians to live in harmony with Jews, which is the primary cause of the ongoing hostility and violence in the Middle East. Palestinians have the right to live and prosper in Palestine, but they cannot do so because of Israel’s ongoing drive to create more Jewish settlements and to force Palestinians from the region. Israel aggressively boycotts goods and services being sent to Palestinians in the Gaza region. World nations have not held Israel accountable for its aggressive and illegal actions against the Palestinian people and Palestine remains in constant turmoil because of World negligence.
Peter Stern, a former director of information services, university professor and public school administrator, is a disabled Vietnam veteran who lives in Driftwood, Texas.
American Alert, 7/7/10 — J-Post Says U.S. Will Fight Iran
BREAKING — “‘US will attack Iran if it must'” Jerusalem Post, 7/7/10, http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=180695
[As the article above both supercedes and supports my analysis of Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister Netanyahu, I encourage the enlightened reader to read it first, and me afterwards. — CM]
BREAKING — “‘US will attack Iran if it must'” Jerusalem Post, 7/7/10, http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=180695
[As the article above both supercedes and supports my analysis of Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister Netanyahu, I encourage the enlightened reader to read it first, and me afterwards. — CM]
* * * * * * *
HOUSTON, 7/7/10 — Queen Elizabeth has returned to the UK after appearances yesterday in New York, first before the UN General Assembly, then at Ground Zero. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent the day with Barrack Obama, and remains in the U.S. tonight after an interview with CNN’s Larry King. [Given the breaking news above, that interview must be seen. — CM]
HRM’s Independence Day visit was highly significant, and highly symbolic. As she addressed the UN, most of the English-speaking world prepared for an Iran war that might spin out of control. Her presence at the 9/11 crime scene was a reinforcement of the 9/11 cover-up, before returning home to sell the 7/7 cover-up.
In 2005, Prince Charles visited both Ground Zero in New York and the Ninth Ward in New Orleans. The future British monarch stood over the prostrate city that, in the War of 1812, humbled British pride. Many citizens swore before Congress that their levees were demolished with explosives. Shades of 9/11 — were they all lying?
Bush Boyz gloated over the disaster capitalist gold mine they saw before them. King George did a flyover and quipped that it was as if someone had attacked the place with the most devastating weapon ever invented. Mayor Ray Nagin said that if he were suddenly to die, it would be CIA assassination. CNN weathermen and the newsbunnies chattered about “Hurricane 9/11.”
To target a more black population in the Americas you would have to fire your devasting super-weapon into a former slave colony like Haiti… [Breaking news interrupted the rest. More later. — CM]
For more geostrategy, see “Military Analysis by Captain Eric H. May,” The Lone Star Iconoclast, 2010, http://iconoclastnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=46&Itemid=95
* * * * * * *
Captain May, a former army general staff officer and later NBC editorial writer, is the founder and commander of Ghost Troop Cyber Militia, an all American group of veterans and activists. CNN did a widely read “hit” story against them this year, which helped the unit to recruit more Internet activists:
“Some suspect conspiracy in Holocaust Museum case,” CNN, 6/16/2009, http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/16/museum.shooting/
To join Ghost Troop contact the unit executive officer, 1LT Patti Woodard ghosttroop@spiritone.com.
ICON EXTRA — Bibi and Rudy in London on 7/7/05!
HOUSTON, 7/7/10 — Bibi knows all about the 7/7 shenanigans of five years ago. He should, since he was within a mile of the scene of the crime when it happened. He had just arrived in London for a three-day stay to be the keynote speaker for an Israeli investment conference, according to USA Today. “9/11 Mayor” Rudy Giuliani was in town on business, too, reported The New York Times, a mere block away from the first explosion. World leaders were meeting in Scotland for the annual G-8 summit. Unbelievable.
“When adders assemble, the wise will tremble”
Under “Beelzebibi” Israel is living up to the European Union poll of 2002, which by a wide margin voted it the most dangerous country on Earth. They are attacking the Palestinian problem, with devastating military power. They are settling the thorny issue of Jerusalem, with extensive illegal settlement. They have three nuclear-armed submarines prowling the Persian Gulf, with three of our nuclear aircraft carriers. The media is silent about the perilous path we are following.
