Blog Storm

“If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a money lender; charge him no interest.” -Exodus 22:25

Unless of course the rate is a CRAZY 5-year fixed 4.32% per annum! How exactly does one refinance the house the Christian Way? I suppose the Polonius method of mortgage lending is far more unequivocally self-defeating. And less attractive as a cheap, knee-jerk brand name.

Meanwhile, James Carroll of the Boston Globe writes a rather succinct article summing up the whole Iraq adventure. Just in case the aftermath of the flag-waving, god-thanking, nationalistic orgy of the Republican National Convention has caused a few of you to, you know, lose touch with sobering reality.

Apart from their shared adventure in Iraq, George Bush and Tony Blair don’t have much in common. When the two leaders emerged into the bright lights of a press conference after spending two days together in the log cabins of Camp David in 2001, a reporter wanted to know whether they had discovered any shared interests. The leaders - the conservative, tax-cutting, bring-’em-on President and the Third Way, tax-raising, internationalist Prime Minister - struggled. Bush offered this breakthrough in personal diplomacy: “Well, we both use Colgate toothpaste.”

from the Melbourne Herald Sun

The Greens manifesto backs official supply of the dangerous drug ecstasy as well as state-sanctioned heroin and marijuana sales at what it calls appropriate venues.

The ecstasy policy suggests distributing the drug to users while providing official information detailing the dangers of the drug.

About 15 people have died from ecstasy use since it hit Australia in the 1990s. The drug can cause severe psychological side-effects in some people.

Green critic Mike Nahan, of the Institute of Public Affairs, a Right-wing think tank, said the party was the most radical Australia had seen.

“The Greens are loopier than any party I’ve seen, and will be much worse than the Australian Democrats ever were,” he said.

We would currently have 1045 Gold, 845 Silver & 1040 Bronze.

Now get breeding so we can earn more.

from The Sunday Mail, 8th August 2004.

A massive two-page spread, emblazoned with two large photos; one of a WTC tower being struck, and the other a still from the notorious footage of Mohammed Atta going through the Boston airport metal detectors.

Can We Stop Them?

As Annie Jacobsen took her seat on a plane she noticed a group of Middle Eastern men. At first she tried to ignore them. Then they started to act suspiciously…

Annie Jacobson… Annie Jacobson… why does that name sound so familiar? Nevermind, keep reading.

from that keystone of journalistic excellence

Madonna has been using a medieval-style wooden ‘rack’ to tone her physique - and it’s given her bigger boobs.

The Daily Star says she pays £60 an hour for private sessions on the Gyrotonic Expansion System.

The newspaper reckons it is responsible for her new muscular look - and says her breasts have also grown.

The device - nicknamed “The Rack” - is designed to stretch and strengthen muscles all over the body.

It was invented by Romanian ballet dancer Juliu Horvath to prepare dancers for the stage.

Madonna has reportedly been working out for up to 90 minutes at a time on the machine at a studio in London’s St John’s Wood.

Courtesy of Pharyngula

Burial planned for man who failed to rise from the dead

South African authorities will bury a 77-year-old man who has been dead for seven weeks, despite his family saying a “prophet” had promised them he would be resurrected, according to police.

Paul Meintjes’s body was returned to his family late last week after the local mortuary refused to store it any longer.

The body was kept in his widow’s bedroom at their Free State home for three days before officials said it was a health risk and ordered it taken to the state morgue.

I always thought that blog entries raving on about being smitten by celebrities were rather gratuitous and kinda pathetic, but I don’t care…

Love makes you do crazy things…

Don’t ever attempt html or search engine optimization late at night on 2 hours of shut eye. It’s not good for stress levels. Instead, consult the experts.

The ABC’s Media Watch does a good job (as usual) at debunking the bullshit surrounding Opposition Leader Mark Latham’s alleged raunchy alleged bucks night alleged video sprung onto a voracious press by Howard’s cadre of muckrakers. As expected, the pious drivel came thick and fast from a wide range of media sources (the Murdoch News Ltd. press was automatically a given, but the Sydney Morning Herald should know better (Miranda Devine’s continued employment notwithstanding)), yet it started to become strangely apparent that nobody could actually lay claim to having seen this video. All sources of information regarding the contents of the sleazy tool of political career destruction seemed oddly sketchy and ephemeral. David Marr succinctly outlines the rest.

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I recall a few years ago that there was a kerfuffle surrounding this game. Conservative mouth-breathing types were upset at the content, and demanded that it be banned it from sale, citing that it would send kids yearning to carjack hotrods and speed around with no regard for road laws, dropping bullet-riddled gang members and mowing down hapless police officers with gleeful, cackling abandon. Luckily, sanity prevailed, and the call for censorship was dismissed on the grounds that a stupid little video game could not arouse such anarchic bloodlust in any sensible, articulate individual. My personal opinion? OH YES IT FUCKING DOES!!!!!!!!!!!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!

*hurls self through nearest window and disappears into the night*