cbacon

South Park (downloaded a week after they air on Comedy Central since it takes months to air over here) A The Daily Show: B+

Yikes. GameFAQ boards are here

Have they even done the tapings yet? Seems strange that spoilers haven't been reported...

Yup, 3 or 4 with Conan O'Brien. I picked mine up tonight.

Nope. And that 'source' is clearly a tabloid. Next issue they'll be revealing the Bat Boy is highest bidder.

I lined up at 8 am outside Zellers this morning to get one for my brother for xmas. It was worth it with the 15% employee discount. Too bad I could only buy one.

You simply can't compare that to the tension and political instability between Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. Yes, because living in an occupied nation marred with US political influence is going to make the Iraqi's happy, especially the ones who lost their famalies during the onslaught. Did you know this is the sort of thing that fuels Islamic fundamentalism? This war has clearly shaken the hornet's nest, al Qaeda membership is rising and the fact that a Muslim majority is being manipluated by the West will certainly not be appealing. Yes, because those are the only two options right? Bomb them to death....or bomb many and set up permanent military bases? Except Saddam had the aid of the US during his rise to power. And when did I say that Saddam was the only other option? Hell, he wouldnt have gained as much power were it not for dealings with the US and the sanctions imposed that crippled the country. Why has it taken so long for the US to conveniently care about democracy in the Middle East while it still supports dictatorships? Hypocrisy, thy name is Bush. Incorrect. There's large members of Sunni and Shiiite groups alike that are boycotting these elections. 47 of them as of now. And they're protesting due to the extended use of force throughout the country. They're protesting because international law that regulate the relationship between occupier and occupied do not give occupying authorities the mandate to instigate a change in the country's social, economic and political structure. The main purpose of the election process is to secure a government that will facilitate long-lasting agreements with the US to keep its forces on Iraqi soil.

Applying a 'democracy' full of heavy political influence from the US is hardly a democracy. They told Iran and Syria to go to hell in terms of meddling in the creation of such a fictional notion of democracy, while the US does just that. You can't hold proper elections in a war torn nation, an occupied nation, a nation under marital law. Nevermind the fact there is huge resentment towards these faux pas elections from many groups in Iraq. A proper democracy won't be able to sustain itself in such a heterogenous climate anyway. The whole concept of these 'elections' are a good form of propoganda used to appeal to the gullible American who actually believes that things are getting better in Iraq to help justify the notion of invading.

That's so tragic. At least her parents are fully supportive. Reconstructice surgery has done wonders for burn victims....this seems a lot worse but who knows. There's a video here of the girl

Rogers Digital have a channel saved for it I believe, so it's only a matter of time. Most likely before WrestleMania

There goes my Christmas Eve plans

Hassan calling the troops 'cowards' and 'gutless' was a bit over the top. It further enforces the stereotype of all Muslims being evil anti-Americans, which i'm sure a large majority of wrestling fans believe already. But I guess this is wrestling after all.

Hopeless, according to the one that likes to claim that I believe that your country invades other countries for the sake of ‘death and gore’. Of course if I were to believe that, it would be easy to dimiss individuals such as myself for having any criticisms of US foreign policy for having that opinion. You know I don’t believe that, but you’d rather hammer down that point again and again, which is a pretty sad way to prove your point. Like I’ve said countless times, the US are invading on the basis of their own self interests and if a few thousand lives get in the way, so be it. Did Bush believe there were WMDs or not? I don’t know, but it’s irrelevant anyway since that wasn’t the reason for going to war. The WMD reason was used to justify it to the public. WMD or not, Iraq would have been invaded anyway, as seen by the ever changing reasons for going to war after it was found there were no WMDs found. Except the difference here is that Iraq posed no immediate threat to the United States. You cannot find a correlation between 9/11 and Iraq but if everyone is mis-led to believe that they are one in the same, then your little theory about pre-entive attack would sit well with many. 51% of your country to be exact. If one were to look at the causes over the formation of the Islamic Terrorism, it might be an easier way to help deter such actions. Foreign policy over the last 30 years has helped to breed further Islamic fundamentalism and waging war on them isn’t going to help stop that process as recruitment for Al Qaeda rises. How exactly does invading Iraq help deter another 9/11, for example? There’s a difference between ‘indiscrimnately bombing civilians’ because ‘they might be terrorists’ and the killing of civilians for the sake of doing so because they’re ‘dirty Arabs’. Except this problem wouldn’t have reached such levels had the US not supported a dictatorship in Iraq in the 80’s, nor the sanctions that led to such dependency on him. I didn’t refer to merely Ba’ath loyalists either, but it’s all groups Iraq that are being walked over, insurgents and innocents alike. Your undermining the US-Saddam relationship here. Yes, France and Germany are to blame, i’m not doubting that but for the US to aid Saddam during his worst atrocities and also supply him with weapons during his worst human rights crimes is quite hypocritical, given the situation now. After the attack on Kurds (which the US most certainly knew of) Bechtel won a contract to build massive petrochemical plants in Iraq, giving Saddam to produce chemical weapons Fun Factoids: link Also notable: Bechtel (who won a bid to build a massive petrochemical plant in Iraq that would give Hussein the ability to produce chemical weapons, right after gassing the Kurds)was awarded a contract to help rebuild postwar Iraq. Of course various members of the Regean administration are apart of Bechtel now. Without the Sandinista rebellion, the country would not have been liberated from the Somoza dictatorship. After his removal they did wonders in turning the country around. Of course them having ties with Cuba was enough for Reagan to aid the terrorist Contras (despite the fact that Nicaragua had yet to embrace communism). Now, I’m not going to act as an apologist for the atrocities committed by the Sandinistas, because they did. But I fail to see how this excuses the acts committed by the Reagan administration during this time. It should also be noted that many of the murders committed were not a result of a brutal tyranny, hell bent on surpressing the entire population, but rather against those suspected (and arguably wrongfully) of having ties to the Contras. This doesn’t excuse their actions, but the funding of the Contras and the military coup helped to present these situations. This was also mostly situated in the Atlantic Coast, and the indigenous peoples were also ones to suffer. The Sandanista government tried to rectify the situation and passed a law protecting indigenous peoples rights. Doesn’t erase their crimes, but it was a step in the right direction. The means for the US to fund Contras that murdered and raped civilians, including women and children is hardly acceptable, especially after the country was getting back on it’s feet. I can’t believe you keep using this argument. Exchanging one *potential* dictator for another is all well and good? Because the death toll *might* be lower if you install another tyrant? Seriously… Offend me? An interesting assumption, but no, inaccurate political satire doesn’t really irk me as much as you’d believe. What was the civilian casualty numbers pre-Pinochet? What about during his reign? Thank you. Allende was merely removed due to his left-leaning socialist tendencies and his relationship with Cuba. To say the coup was in the best interst of Chile or any other country in Latin America is a joke.

The death sentence should not be applied to such circumstantial evidence.,

If Owen were to be inducted, who would represent him at the ceremony? Bret? Martha?

Hawksley Workman's Almost a Full Moon

Yeah, still have to hear the new U2

Good call. Add Hoobastank's 'The Reason' and that sums up my most hated of the year

1. Matthew Good - White Light Rock and Roll Review Favorite tracks: We're So Heavy, Blue Skies Over Badlands, Alert Status Red, Empty Road, In Love With A Bad Idea 2.Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News Favorite tracks: Float On, The World at Large, Bury Me With It, Ocean Breathes Salty, Black Cadillacs 3. Green Day - American Idiot Favorite tracks: Jesus of Suburbia, Holiday, Are We The Waiting, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Homecoming 4. Limblifter - I/O Favorite Tracks: Get Money, Alarm Bells, Jumbo Jet Headache, On the Moon, Perfect Day to Disappear 5. Interpol - Antics Favorite Tracks: Next Exit, Take You on a Cruise, Slow Hands, Narc, Public Pervert 6. Auf der Maur - s/t Favorite Tracks: Lightning Is My Girl, Followed the Waves, Real A Lie, I Will Taste You, 7. Jimmy Eat World - Futures Favorite Tracks: Futures, The World You Love, Work, 23 , Pain, Drugs or Me 8. K-OS - Joyful Rebellion Favorite Tracks: The Man I Used To Be, Love Song, Babylon is Falling, Crabbuckit, Emcee Murdah 9 . Taking Back Sunday - Where You Want To Be Favorite Tracks:Phasers to Stun, A Decade Under the Influence , New American Classic, I Am Fred Astaire 10 . The Arcade Fire - Funeral Favorite Tracks: Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels), Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out), Crown of Love, Haiti, Wake Up 11. The Tea Party - Seven Circles Favorite Tracks: Stargazer, Seven Circles, Luxuria, Wishing You Would Stay, Writings on the Wall 12. Steve Earle - The Revolution Starts Now Favorite Tracks: The Revolution Starts Now, Rich Man's War, Fuck the FCC, Condi, Condi 13. Wilco - A Ghost is Born Favorite Tracks : At Least That's What You Said, Spiders (Kidsmoke), I Am A Wheel, Hell Is Chrome I know im forgetting at least 2 albums here...

It's been widely reported that he is indeed recieving profit from the company, nevermind his buddies will be reaping the benefits. Because the reasons for going to war don't add up, but rather the militaristic and imperialistic goals seem to be falling into place? Glad you agree. Hey, amongst other sources you can find the part where the PNAC declares that they needed 'an event like Pearl Harbour' to carry out the strategies they are now. Well, that's the jist of it really. Oil, partly. Access of it rather than control. Hegemony? Quite. Iraq is not in better shape, post-invasion. No one can honestly say that with a straight face. Of course some measure of aid is going to be supplied, otherwise the US would be seen literally as tyrants. I'm not saying all the soldiers there are maliciously targeting cilvians and shooting random people on the streets (although by some accounts, there have been such incidents). The intent isn't to totally wipe out as many people as possible, but to walk over as many as possible that get in the way to acheive a certain means is definetly in the cards. Sure, brush over Reagen's delivery of WMD's to Saddam. Brush over the fact they were supporting him after the gassing of the Kurds until 1990. Not that big of a deal really. But i'm strapped for time to go over the colorful US/Saddam relationship. But here's a couple of timeline's I posted before that undoubtly shows that the US didn't really help Saddam that much, heavens no. Of course if Europe does it too, than that rectifies everything though dosen't it? http://www.ithaca.edu/politics/gagnon/talks/us-iraq.htm[/url] http://www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/arming_iraq.php "If the shoe fits" Except the goals here, weren't to 'help' the citizens from those evil commies. Hell, they're too stupid to vote in a proper government so we have to think for them, which of course is totally contradictory to the democracy that the US values so much. If the security of the population was really the reason that the US had to interevene in Latin America, why did they carry out attacks against the civlian population? This isn't like Iraq where they're considered 'collateral damage' soft targets were specifically targeted by aiding Contras in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, etc. If that's not bad enough, the regiemes installed proved to be far worse. So if humanitarian needs were the goal why did they not intervene again and oust the dictators? Well, because it was for their best interests in the time, a communist regieme isn't going to play ball. No, the US didn't put dictators into place to watch countiries suffer, I didn't assume that. Rather, humanitarian needs were not a major concern in the long run and using the evil communist regimes excuse dosen't fly. Oh, and irony in that Cox and Forkum comic is quite interesting. Of course if they were at least funny, they'd have some merit. Instead the lame conservative commentary they incite is anything close to truth. In summary, activists or anyone anti-war = beatnik hippy. Good to know.

Most of this stuff gets regurgitated in any thread dealing with Bush, the 'War on Terror', Iraq, etc.

Apathy isn’t going to change anything. The point here is, the huge conflict of interest arising from an unjust war. Because they needed the 9/11 pretext to spur the ‘War on Terror (Islam)’ Has the US aided terrorists in the past? Yes. Have they participated in terrorism in the past? Again, yes. Are they now? By definition, of course. Except when they’re doing it, it’s conveniently labeled ‘counter-terrorism’. Boston Globe Basically, this whole mess is a result of a military occupation that establishes secure military bases at the heart of the energy producing region in the world, with oil being part of the equation. The puppet regieme has been installed the 'elections' slated for next month will be a farce should they happen given the current chaos of the country, but as long as democracy is installed, a democracy that the Bush Administration wants, then everything is kosher. There is no moral or humanitarian motive here, and it certainly not the official move. What about WMD’s? Why wasn’t this wasn’t true in 1988 when it was a much more serious threat? Humantarian reasons are certainly not believable given the US track record, specifically when you look at Iraq when Saddam was their favorite dictator and mass human rights violations were occuring and afterwards during the sanctions. So, to say that Bush is a terrorist, isn't really that far of a stretch. He's a far greater threat to global peace and security then Saddam ever was, and moreso than Osama bin Laden even. But unless you regard Western lives as the only ones that matter, then George Eastwood truly personifies our safety from those evil Iraqi terrotists hell bent on bombing America tomorrow. Cause you know, they 'hate our freedom' and all... Of course anyone with an opposing view to this is clearly one of those Moore-brainwashed lefty's poking and proding for things that aren't there. How silly to assume that the world's largest power would do ANYTHING that would be remotely unjust and free from self interest.

So much for international law. The US naval base in Guantanamo Bay has 550 "enemy combatants" (read POW) Some prisoners have tried to file lawsuits against the US government for being detained in Guantanamo Bay for as long as three years, based solely on evidence induced by torture, and without any charges being laid, or trial. Recently at a district court, a US military panel fought to have a 70-year old supreme court decision overturnerd and won. While the act of torture itself remains illegal, evidence gained from torture is admissible in militant courts, and can be used to decide to hold prisoners in Cuba indefinatly. Boyle (The Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General who fought for the american right to use torture evidence) said that the United States never would adopt a policy that would have barred it from acting on evidence that could have prevented the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks even if the data came from questionable practices like torture. Evidence Gained Through Using Torture OK, US Officials Say New photographs have arisen, depicting abuse in Iraq. Makes you wonder how what else has yet to be seen or what's going on right now... AP: Navy Probes New Iraq Prisoner Photos

Jesus, talk about battle royal over-kill. Surely there are more creative ways to determine title shots.

Home Alone has the more sentimental value for me. Which reminds me, I have to check when it's on this year. I have the DVD, but for some reason I get a nostalgia kick watching it on NBC with commercials and all. Although my favorite holiday movie would have to be It's A Wonderful Life which I traditionally watch with the family on Christmas eve. The last scene always gets to me *sniff*