Thursday, May 10, 2007
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Wonkette Etiquette
The Wonkette is a politically savvy blog slightly filled with sarcasm....ok so maybe it's pretty much all sarcasm. There are always funny pictures, quotes, titles, and sometimes even videos. Like Jon Stewart, the Wonkette is mostly poking fun at the administration that runs our country so well, while also, almost accidentally, providing their readers with well informed, somewhat slanted, news.
One of my favorite entires is from May, 9th 2007
"News Alerts: Cheney is Not At That One Place in Baghdad"
This piece makes a mockery of Vice President Cheney...
Due to everyone in Iraq wanting to kill him, the White House is demanding that the news networks stop saying where Dick Cheney is staying in Baghdad...One way to not have everyone in Iraq trying to kill you would be, say, for example, not invading and occupying and destroying their country. And if you can’t refrain from invading and occupying and destroying their country, it’s probably best not to personally go there with a bunch of TV reporters who immediately broadcast news of your present location to the whole world — including the people of Iraq, if the power is working at the moment.
Honestly they do have a point. Why IS he in Baghdad anyway?
The coverage continues with a memo from CNN saying that the vice president had requested that his exact location not be exposed.
They realize his location has already been reported, but are asking nonetheless that we discontinue reporting the exact location.
Hm...intellegent
Best part of this entire entry...
The White House is requesting that we limit our Cheney locator on screen and in copy to ‘Bagdhad’ while he is in the city. Do not say that he is at the [REDACTED] or in the [REDACTED].
Please make all shows and networks aware.
Thanks
Also notice that whoever at CNN can’t spell “Baghdad” or “locater.” Good thing you chose a career in TV!
The Wonkette has no shame.
And that is why I will continue to check their blog on a weekly, if not daily basis. They tell it like it is and cover not only Presidential idiocy but all political morons. For example check out this entry entitled..."The Wolfucker Demands Your Respect"
Shaha Ali RZA, the woman just to the side of the center of the current World Bank scandal, would like you to know that just because her boyfriend Paul Wolfowitz got her a promotion and raise, she’s no bimbo. No, as he dating Paul Wolfowitz proves, she’s actually just an idiot. Someone can know 50 languages and still be a complete moron, that’s the magical thing about Washington.
WOW...The Wonkette are like the Mean Girls of Washington. Another reason why I love this site.
They people who write these entries are incredibly witty as they make the issues they discuss to the level of humor. In the Wolfucker story, further into the entry they have a quote from Riza herself, instead of just introducing the quote...
Her only real problem, of course, is that she cares too much.
They have to add in after...
And she has fucked-up arms or something.
CRUEL! But absolutely HILARIOUS. I can almost picture the girls of the Wonkette sitting in the back of these political events dressed to a TEE perfect hair makeup and style, whispering, giggling, and pointing at their victims or the future spectacles of their jokes. Criticizing every move they make or thing they say. As mean as they are, I really feel someone has to do it, especially to those higher ups in Washington. It almost evens out the playing field.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Parkour what?
Raise your hand if you know what Parkour is....
Yea that's what I thought. Funny because I'm sure everyone reading this...which is about 10 people-my convergence class and well my mom- have seen parkour and were probably like..."Dude That's SWEET!"
Ever watch James Bond fly across roof tops or Spiderman flip over buildings? That's what parkour is they like to classify it more as an art which enables one to move from point A to point B in the quickest way possible. So say it's a sport, but definitely not an extreme one...others classify it with martial arts and self defense. So where did this clearly unique way of running from the cops come from?
Well the answer to that is a collaberation of all different areas.
A man by the name of Georges Hebert in the twentieth created what was called "Natural Method of Physical Culture" which greatly influence the French Soldiers in Vietnam who decided to develop "parcours du cambattant. From here they made obstacle courses where one could practice getting from point A to point B as fast as possible. Combine a little martial arts and a little gymnastics experience and you'll probably be a parkour expert.
Parkour is now shown in tons of movies, music videos and even video games. So if you're sick of watching it on your TV and want to get out and try it for yourself. In fact we have a Parkour group right here at UMass so put down the beer and check it out!
Still don't know what I'm talking about...check this out
Yea that's what I thought. Funny because I'm sure everyone reading this...which is about 10 people-my convergence class and well my mom- have seen parkour and were probably like..."Dude That's SWEET!"
Ever watch James Bond fly across roof tops or Spiderman flip over buildings? That's what parkour is they like to classify it more as an art which enables one to move from point A to point B in the quickest way possible. So say it's a sport, but definitely not an extreme one...others classify it with martial arts and self defense. So where did this clearly unique way of running from the cops come from?
Well the answer to that is a collaberation of all different areas.
A man by the name of Georges Hebert in the twentieth created what was called "Natural Method of Physical Culture" which greatly influence the French Soldiers in Vietnam who decided to develop "parcours du cambattant. From here they made obstacle courses where one could practice getting from point A to point B as fast as possible. Combine a little martial arts and a little gymnastics experience and you'll probably be a parkour expert.
Parkour is now shown in tons of movies, music videos and even video games. So if you're sick of watching it on your TV and want to get out and try it for yourself. In fact we have a Parkour group right here at UMass so put down the beer and check it out!
Still don't know what I'm talking about...check this out
Monday, April 30, 2007
Suspect Allegedy Shot N.Y. Trooper, but Apparently the Trooper was Killed by "Friendly Fire"
HUH? Yes my thoughts exactly.
On April 26th The New York Times had an article titled "Suspect in N.Y. Trooper’s Death Is Presumed Dead". After briefly skimming the story I saw there was a related piece with a more personal view of the shooter, Travis Trim, 23. "A Young Man’s Troubled Path From Pride of His Family to Murder Suspect."
Immediately following my consumption of these two pieces were thoughts of the Virginia Tech shooting, the accessibility of guns, and how these two shooters were on opposite sides of the "mental" spectrum, yet still capable of taking lives. Or at least shooting at people in the case of Travis Trim.
I add this last sentence in because although the New York Time's article accuses Trim of killing a Trooper, he did no such thing. Yes he did shoot and injure trooper Matthew Gombosi, the previous day when he was pulled over in a stolen vehicle however the statement "The authorities said Mr. Trim then shot Trooper Brinkerhoff in the head..." is false.
In fact check out these other articles:
Newsday-
"Friendly fire apparently killed a New York state trooper as he searched a Catskill-area farmhouse for a suspect in the shooting of a colleague, officials said Friday. "
Daily News in the Globe-
"Friendly fire apparently killed a New York state trooper as he searched a farmhouse for a suspect in the shooting of a colleague, officials said yesterday."
Notice a trend?
Can someone please tell me why in these two leads it was "apparently" friendly fire that killed Trooper Brinkerhoff, but in the New York Times' article it was clearly factual that Trim did the slaying..."Mr. Trim then shot Trooper Brinkerhoff" Perhaps the authorities should get their facts straight before they go pointing fingers. No one seems to want to own up and say..."Oops my bad" there always has to be a scapegoat.
One example that comes to mind is the unfortunate death of ex-NFL star Pat Tillman. Tillman who left pro football to join the army was killed in Afghanistan in 2004. Then in 2005 it was released that the cause of his death was friendly fire as well. In fact his family is still fighting to find the truth to their son's honorable death.
This excerpt is from the San Francisco Chronicle"FAMILY DEMANDS THE TRUTH-New inquiry may expose events that led to Pat Tillman’s death"
Granted officials are probably ashamed of the mistakes they've made. However,they should be freer about owning up to these accidents. How are we, the people, supposed to trust that they, the authority, are there to protect us when they hide imperative facts from us?
A lot of issues seem to tie into the story of this one gun man, as previously stated how did this guy get a gun? Some articles say he found it in the house he was charred in. Others say he stole it. Also in an interview on youtube.com with Trim's friends they state that they have never seen Trim with a gun, so how? Also, why did Trim have possession of this weapon? And finally...are guns too easily available to the common public?
I've heard different verisons on how to get a gun, but apparently it isn't too hard.
They supposidely do background checks but do they have mental background checks? In the Virginia Tech case that shooter got a gun in a matter of hours...
Is it really THAT easy?!
Here's Katelyn Whitcher, a senior at UMass, with her opinion on gun laws and just guns in general.
On April 26th The New York Times had an article titled "Suspect in N.Y. Trooper’s Death Is Presumed Dead". After briefly skimming the story I saw there was a related piece with a more personal view of the shooter, Travis Trim, 23. "A Young Man’s Troubled Path From Pride of His Family to Murder Suspect."
Immediately following my consumption of these two pieces were thoughts of the Virginia Tech shooting, the accessibility of guns, and how these two shooters were on opposite sides of the "mental" spectrum, yet still capable of taking lives. Or at least shooting at people in the case of Travis Trim.
I add this last sentence in because although the New York Time's article accuses Trim of killing a Trooper, he did no such thing. Yes he did shoot and injure trooper Matthew Gombosi, the previous day when he was pulled over in a stolen vehicle however the statement "The authorities said Mr. Trim then shot Trooper Brinkerhoff in the head..." is false. In fact check out these other articles:
Newsday-
"Friendly fire apparently killed a New York state trooper as he searched a Catskill-area farmhouse for a suspect in the shooting of a colleague, officials said Friday. "
Daily News in the Globe-
"Friendly fire apparently killed a New York state trooper as he searched a farmhouse for a suspect in the shooting of a colleague, officials said yesterday."
Notice a trend?
Can someone please tell me why in these two leads it was "apparently" friendly fire that killed Trooper Brinkerhoff, but in the New York Times' article it was clearly factual that Trim did the slaying..."Mr. Trim then shot Trooper Brinkerhoff" Perhaps the authorities should get their facts straight before they go pointing fingers. No one seems to want to own up and say..."Oops my bad" there always has to be a scapegoat.
One example that comes to mind is the unfortunate death of ex-NFL star Pat Tillman. Tillman who left pro football to join the army was killed in Afghanistan in 2004. Then in 2005 it was released that the cause of his death was friendly fire as well. In fact his family is still fighting to find the truth to their son's honorable death.
This excerpt is from the San Francisco Chronicle"FAMILY DEMANDS THE TRUTH-New inquiry may expose events that led to Pat Tillman’s death"
According to testimony, Tillman, who along with others on the hill waved his arms and yelled “cease fire,” set off a smoke grenade to identify his group as fellow soldiers. There was a momentary lull in the firing, and he and the soldier next to him, thinking themselves safe, relaxed, stood up and started talking. But the shooting resumed. Tillman was hit in the wrist with shrapnel and in his body armor with numerous bullets.
The soldier next to him testified: “I could hear the pain in his voice as he called out, ‘Cease fire, friendlies, I am Pat f—ing Tillman, dammit.” He said this over and over until he stopped,” having been hit by three bullets in the forehead, killing him.
Granted officials are probably ashamed of the mistakes they've made. However,they should be freer about owning up to these accidents. How are we, the people, supposed to trust that they, the authority, are there to protect us when they hide imperative facts from us?
A lot of issues seem to tie into the story of this one gun man, as previously stated how did this guy get a gun? Some articles say he found it in the house he was charred in. Others say he stole it. Also in an interview on youtube.com with Trim's friends they state that they have never seen Trim with a gun, so how? Also, why did Trim have possession of this weapon? And finally...are guns too easily available to the common public?
I've heard different verisons on how to get a gun, but apparently it isn't too hard.
They supposidely do background checks but do they have mental background checks? In the Virginia Tech case that shooter got a gun in a matter of hours...
"Markell said he was not in the shop when Cho bought the gun but said nothing stood out about the purchase. Cho produced a Virginia driver’s license, a checkbook with a matching address and an immigration card. Cho was a resident alien from South Korea."
Is it really THAT easy?!
Here's Katelyn Whitcher, a senior at UMass, with her opinion on gun laws and just guns in general.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
What Bush does in his Spare time...
Instead of strategizing a plan to get our troops out of Iraq and not completely demolish the entire country Bush likes to dance around and bang some drums. Bouncing Bush
The name of the Web site with this video is "This Progress" yes progress is what we need, to un-do everything the last administration has done and progress.
In the meantime, you can laugh at some of these...
Thanks Wonkette.com
The name of the Web site with this video is "This Progress" yes progress is what we need, to un-do everything the last administration has done and progress.
In the meantime, you can laugh at some of these...
Thanks Wonkette.com
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
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