My view of the world

Prensa Latina reports that the Bush family plans to buy 98,840 acres of land in Chaco, Paraguay, near the Triple Frontier (Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay).

Argentinean Adolfo Perez Esquivel warned that the real war will be fought not for oil, but for water, and recalled that Acuifero Guaraní is one of the largest underground water reserves in South America, running beneath Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay (larger than Texas and California together).
Guess what the new Bush homestead is sitting on.
Reportedly, their next door neighbor is Rev. Moon who just happens to own 1,482,600 acres in Chaco.

500 or so US special forces started arriving at Mariscal Estigarribia air base, and strangely, by law, these guys have been exempted from any war crime charges, courtesy of the government of Paraguay.
They were supposed to be there for a 3 month training exercise, anyone care to guess how many troups are there now.
The Pentagon said that there was no US buildup and that the base was of no importance, and now, surprise, surprise, they have a runway that can handle a B52 or a C5, this makes it something over a mile and a half long. They also have a large radar array, the base can house something on the order of 16,000 troops, and so-on.
In case you’re curious, this base is just a few clicks from where King George and company are buying land.

I wonder if W’s building a guest house for Rummy.

US authorities have uncovered a plot to set up a flight training school in the Pacific nation of Kiribati and suspect the man behind it may have had links to September 11 mastermind Mohammed Atta.
The man in question is Wolfgang Bohringer, whom the FBI says is a “person of interest” in the 911 case.
The island he chose is called Fanning, it has no phones, and the only airstrip is non functional.
Mr. Bohringer said he wanted to set up a flight school and resort.
The article in the Australian Harold Sun, basically concentrated on the man’s connection to 911 and the fact that the island is not under faa or caa jurisdiction.
If you look at the island, you’ll see that it does have some potential as a getaway resort, but as a flight school? Does he really expect anybody who doesn’t believe in the Easter Bunny, to buy that?

Victorian teens of voting age risk being fined $53.40 if they don’t vote in the state election on November 25.

Premier Steve Bracks is going to win his third term, in spite of his getting a road approved based in part on “no tolls.”
According to he opponents:
That road was meant to be free but we know Bracks then broke his promise.
The road’s builders have erected the toll gantries in the last days of the election campaign, which is hilarious, In another climate, the gantries would receive front-page coverage. Not now.

His primary opponent, Liberal leader Ted Baillieu, has been spotted singing at at least two events, and was spotted swimming in what were described by the press as “budgie-smuggler” Speedos. He has promised to give up both.

Former AWB chairman Trevor Flugge says he has been made a scapegoat in the bribes-for-wheat scandal, claiming his role has been exaggerated.
In giving evidence before the inquiry, Mr Flugge said he had never known AWB was funnelling $290 million worth of kickbacks to Saddam Hussein’s regime in breach of United Nations sanctions against Iraq.
Mr Flugge has told News Ltd newspapers that he has been set up “by every man and his dog”
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, it’s a conspiracy, and we’re all out to get him.

It would appear that politics is the same all over.

According to the Las Vegas Blog “Borat” is asking 3 million for an exclusive New Years Eve show here in Vegas.
This guy is a British comic who has taken self promotion to a new high.

Sacha Baron Cohen, the British comedian and creator of Borat, has secured a reported £22 million deal for a follow-up film featuring his alter ego Bruno, Cohen’s gay Austrian fashion fanatic.
Bruno is his third alter ego, along with Borat and Ali G, who is best known in this country for his appearance in the madonna video.

The Associated Press reported that, a top Kazakh official has an invitation for the British comedian whose depiction of a homophobic, misogynistic, English-mangling Kazakh journalist has outraged the Central Asian nation.
Come visit, Deputy Foreign Minister Rakhat Aliyev said in an interview that he understands why Kazakhs are unhappy about Sacha Baron Cohen’s character, Borat Sagdiyev.
“But we must have a sense of humor and respect other people’s freedom of creativity,” Aliyev was quoted as saying by Kazakhstan Today.

In the AsiaOne News it was reported that a man in New York City punched “Borat” in the face.
At least he didn’t hit him anywhere that was going to be damaged.

Here’s a shot of “Borat” from one of his “Ali G” segments

I’m told that he’s very popular in the UK, but, for a time, so were jellied eels.

I just read the Rag Hand blog, in which Rags asserts that world politics never change.
He’s right you know, Even after renaming the KGB (КГБ) to the FSB (ФСБ), you have the same people doing the same jobs.
The new and improved FSB, formerly know as the KGB, now has their own web site, and according to the Italian press, it comes complete with a section devoted to recruiting double agents.
My Russian isn’t good enough to do more than sound out a few words, so I can’t confirm this, but it sounds right.
Putin, who is ex-KGB, is starting to make Stalin look like Miss Congeniality.

Egypt has had an emergency law in place since 1981, that is being used to oppress anybody who dares to suggest that there may be something wrong with the government.
Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said the government would not use the legislation other than to protect “the citizen and the security of the nation and to combat terrorism” and President Hosni Mubarak had promised to abolish the law during his campaign for re-election last year. Guess who’s winning.
And if you’re an Egytion blogger, with an opinion that differs from the party line, this might be a good time to get the fuck outta Dodge.

King George and his court jesters, still see nothing wrong with destroying the constitution in the name of security, but the scary part is the sheer number of people who say they feel safer, and that W and company have done nothing wrong…….This is why civilized countrys make it illegal for first cousins to get married and have children.

Things never change, and all the shouting in the world is not going to make a damn bit of difference, but, from time to time it makes me feel better.

I’m writing this because I told Rich I would.
I started out the day with an absolutely brilliant idea for this blog, now I’m just sitting here wondering what I’m going to eat for lunch.
I knew I didn’t need to make notes to myself, because the concept was so simple. Now I’m having a day long senior moment, and I’ll be damned if I can remember what I was going to write about.

I’m on the wrong side of fifty and at the end of the day, my feet hurt, my back hurts, and my head hurts. When I get up in the middle of the night, I sound like a bowl of Rice Crispies that’s gone over to the dark side.
I no longer chase 20 year olds, because, sooner or later, you have to talk to them, besides which, the 20 year olds who are interested in a fifty year old are just looking for a sugar daddy.
Man are they looking at the wrong guy.

I have a dozen or so guitars that I refuse to get rid of. I no longer play, because of the arthritis in a couple of fingers, and yet I’m looking at an Ovation Legend 1867 ultra shallow.

I finally sold my old scooter, she’s a 64 panhead, I already miss her, but riding solo in this town is just too exciting for me.

I still look at sailboats, but I’m too far from the ocean and I don’t enjoy sailing this lake anymore, besides, the ones I want start at over $100k.

I’m living alone, but this means I can hog the covers, not do the dishes and leave my airless paint sprayer in the middle of the living room.

This is not really a bitch, it’s just a bit of rambling by a guy who still can’t remember WTF he was going to write.
My life would make a great country song, and I’d do it all over, mistakes and all, only the next time I wouldn’t open that damn door.

I’m growing older but not up
My metabolic rate is pleasantly stuck
So let the winds of change blow over my head
I’d rather die while I’m living then live while I’m dead
(Gowing older but not up, Jimmy Buffett)

Thursdays are once again free at the Club Rio, Club 3121 or whatever they call it now. They also got rid of the salsa.
It seems that all their regulars bitched and said they would be going elsewhere, proving that money talks.
If it’s free the ladies show up and therefore the guys show up, if it costs $20 to get thru the door, the ladies will go somewhere else and the guys will follow.

This is a short list of sites are among the many that give you a perspective you won’t get here.
Al-Jazeera is now available in english at english.aljazeera.net.
The BBC has been providing world news coverage for years.
For a Russian point of view try Pravda.
For the oddities there’s the Fun Reports.

Club Rio is now Club 3121 or some such, because of Prince.
As a result, on Latin Night they now expect everyone, including the ladies, to pay $20 to get in the door, and the joint is empty.
On advice of a friend, I recommend TAO, it’s reportedly still free on Thursdays,, at least for attractive women, and it’s always jumping.

VOTE.
I don’t care what you think about your vote counting or not, I don’t care what you think about the current political mess.
If you only go and vote for the weirdest candidate you can think of, you will get counted.
Maybe the outcome won’t change, it probably won’t, but the folks the politicians hire, will see those numbers, and since it’s a matter of which crook gets into office, and therefore gets the contracts for his friends, the big contributions, and the paid vacations, they will pay attention.

Crooked politician is redundant, major favors for friends, and backroom deals are a fact of life.
We can’t change that, but if we all vote, we can make a difference in the smaller elections and maybe we can scare those Honorless, Lying, Bastards, just a little and maybe they won’t fuck with us quite so much.

So, go ahead and vote, if nothing else, it will mess with their demographics when 70 or 80 percent of the voters actually turn out.

Here’s an old article on Jerry Airola.
There’s more over at the Las Vegas Business and Politics blog.
And Rags’ opinion over on raghand.com.
I’ve read a bit about Airola and I would a lot rather take the bus, than buy a used car from this guy.
He gave Merced county a helicopter in exchange for a badge, which was pulled just as soon as they found out he wasn’t a California resident.
He was a cop for two or three years, before he got fired and yet he claims many years experience.
He claimed to be a chemical engineer, and he’s being sued for cheating his students at Silver State Helicopters.
I’m not sure if he’s a Scientologist, I doubt it, since they have a tendancy to shout it from the roof tops, ala Tom Cruise, but I know W.I.S.E. is owned by the church and that he fit right in.
I think this guy’s a snake, who would tell any lie if it would get him what he wants.

Doug Gillespie isn’t as photogenic and he represents the status quo in a time when I think we need change, but he seems to be an honest cop, and as far as I’m concerned the operative and only important word in this campaign is Honest.