Out of town

I'll be gone for a few weeks and might not have access to a computer, so, it's pretty likely that you won't see any updates for a while.

And yes, I know I promised to update more often before, but you know, I'm busy n' stuff.

Take care

Hate to say I told you so

Ms. Carroll in a horrible jacket

Ha! I knew it... although you didn't need to be a brain surgeon to have figured it out. Carroll was being coached and forced to make the statements she made in the videos we've all seen over the weekend, as I sarcastically said in yesterday's post:

"Well, she certainly wasn't being coached..."

Now I expect an apology from all those people who got pissed at me for saying it. Come on, all I want is an acknowledgement of your mistake, not to get on your knees and kiss my feet begging for mercy in the presence on my glorious insight and keen intellect. A kind email or comment will be enough.

Look at some of her statements from today:

"During my last night in captivity, my captors forced me to participate in a propaganda video. They told me I would be released if I cooperated. I was living in a threatening environment, under their control, and wanted to go home alive. So I agreed,"

Yeah, I guess that kills the fantasy of all those who wanted to think that everyone fighting in Iraq are noble warriors of peace simply defending themselves from an evil occupation. Truth is, they're bloody, vicious soldiers who will kill at the tip of a hat and would carry out any sort of merciless violence upon anyone they perceived as a threat. This is WAR if you haven't forgotten.

Things that I was forced to say while captive are now being taken by some as an accurate reflection of my personal views. They are not.

At any rate, fearing retribution from my captors, I did not speak freely. Out of fear, I said I wasn't threatened. In fact, I was threatened many times. Also, at least two false statements about me have been widely aired: One - that I refused to travel and cooperate with the U.S. military, and two - that I refused to discuss my captivity with U.S. officials. Again, neither statement is true."

Yep. So, there you go. She was being forced to say those things under threat of death, just like I had said.

Now this brings up the issue of the pro-War, Neo-Con blogs who had oh so kind words like:

"I wish they had just killed you."

or

"She should be arrested and charged with treason if and when she returns to the US."

What a group of fucking tools. Because she didn't say exactly what they wanted her to say at the moment she was released, she, in their estimation, was guilty of treason and deserving of death.

If anything, THESE people should be put to death for exchanging their freedom for a false sense of security and placing all their trust in a witless, shit of a man.

Supporting fascists is the same as being a fascist. No one has any sympathy for the followers of Hitler or Mussolini, so, do you honestly believe history will have any on you?

Anyways, once she is well adjusted and comfortable, she should write a book about her ordeal. She's writes for a living, so it shouldn't be that big of a stretch for her, plus she could get a huge advance from interested publishers which will make her recuperation oh the so much better.

But I think it will be odd to see her on the talk show circuit speaking about everything that happened to her with John Stewart, Matt Lauer and Bill Maher 8 months from now.

But, I'll probably be reading it...

Sub-Sahara African spammers - the only true heroes of the entire continent

I know these things are as common as ink and posting one of these scams on your blog is probably the most cliché thing you can write about besides how the girl in Starbucks mixed your order, but, I just had to share this brilliant piece of work I found today in my inbox.

FROM: Gina & Matin.
kindly send you reply to gina_solomon00@yahoo.fr

CONFIDENTIAL
Dearest,

I am Matin solomon the only son of late former director of finance,Chief Williams solomon of Sierra-Leone diamond and mining corporation.
I must confess my agitation is real,and my words is my bond in this proposal.

My late father diverted this fund acquired from the over estimation of price of purchasing raw materials,now he deposited this money with a security company here in Abidjan ,and he attached a strict clause to the deposit .he made the deposit as family valuables, the security company does not know the real content of the deposit made in a metalic box. I am now residing under political assylum with my younger sister Gina who is 17 years old.

Now the war in my country is over with the help of ECOMOG soldiers, the present government of Sierra Leone has revoked the passport of all officers who served under the former regime and now ask countries to expel such person at the same time freeze their account and confiscate their asset, it is on this note that I am contacting you, all I need is your assistance to retrive this box from the security company to your country.

I amwilling to compensate you with 15% of the total money amount, now I am counting on you to help me invest this money in your country,where there is stability of Government, political and economic welfare.All the Money is close to ¨$6m (6mUsd)

Honestly I want you to believe that this transaction is risk free.My late father Chief Williams solomon gave me the original copy of the certificate of deposit issued to him by the security company on the day of deposit,and he called me closer to his bed side before his call to glory(R.I.P)that i should pray to God first, before contacting any foreginer and he warned me strictly that I should avoid african men with their greedy and evil mind since this is the only legacy we are inheriting from him.

Moreso I & Gina my Younger Sister still need to further our Education.We will be counting on you to advice us on suitables Institution & Investments that will be Profitable.

We are expecting to hear from you favourably.

Best regards
Matin & Gina.

tee-hee

Of all the ones I've read, this is probably the best one. I remember the first one I got like it was yesterday. Good times.

But seriously, I absolutly love these things. I wish I got more of them. How about I post one of every one I get?

Jill Carroll update - they let her go!

Jill Carroll looking less like Anne Hathaway then before ----------------->

heh.... I was wrong. Yes, I admit it, I was wrong.

The insurgents have released American journalist Jill Carroll from captivity Thursday on the street in front of a Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party office.

Before she was let go, they got her to record this little video which I will comment on in a second:



Did you see the whole thing? Be honest now...

Besides Ms. Carroll herself, I had a bit of trouble understanding everything that was being said. Thankfully ABC News has a transcript of the whole thing which I will happily post on my unread blog and highlight parts I find interesting:

Voice in tape: How did the Mujahedeen treat you?

Jill Carroll: They treated me very well. They treated me very well, like a guest. I was given very good food, kept very safe, treated very, very well.

Voice in tape: Did you think the American Army or the CIA would save you in any time?

Carroll: I thought maybe they might. Sometimes I thought that they might come, that they might find me. They might (sic) a way to know where I am and come get me. I did think maybe they might.

Voice: Why didn't they save you?

Carroll: Well, I think the Mujahedeen are very smart and even with all the technology and all the people the American Army has here, they still are better at knowing how to live and work here and more clever, despite all the technology of the American Army, still more clever and better at being here than the American Army, still better at what they do.

Voice: Does this mean anything?

Carroll: I think it makes it very clear, it makes very clear that the Mujahedeen are the ones who will win in the end in this war, I think it makes very clear that even with thousands of troops and airplanes and tanks and guns that that doesn't mean anything here on the ground in Iraq as it shows over time, maybe how many months over time or however (sic) months are left in the occupation that it's pretty clear that the Mujahedeen are the ones that will have the victory left at the end of the day. It shows that no matter no matter what Americans try to say is happening here or try to do with all their weapons, they aren't going to be able to stay here, they're not going to be able to stop the Mujahedeen and that's for sure.

Voice: What will you tell the American people?

Carroll: Well, first of all I want them to be able to understand, I want them to understand the Mujahedeen, truly. There are a lot of lies to come out of the American government, calling the Mujahedeen terrorists and other things and I think it's important that American people hear from me the Mujahedeen are only trying to defend their country. This is only a jihad to stop an illegal and dangerous and deadly occupation so I think it's important that people see the Mujahedeen are people that we've seen in our entire history resisting an occupation trying to fight a foreign force in their land, it's their country and they have a right to fight for their own freedom so I want people to understand that it's not people that like to kill, not people that like violence but people who love their country, people who want to see their country free from an occupation and also I want them to understand that the situation in Iraq in general, how difficult it is here, people don't have electricity, people don't have water, children don't have safe streets to walk in, women and children are always in danger&People are killed left and right on the streets without any reason. People die everyday from the bombings and shootings of the army and all these things. So I think people need to understand in America how difficult life is here for the normal, average Iraqis. That everyday is a matter of survival, life and death for most Iraqis and thousands and thousands and tens of thousands of Iraqis have lost their lives here because of the occupation. I think Americans need to think about that and day to day how difficult life is here, how terrifying it is for most people to live here everyday because of the occupation.

Voice: Do you have a message for Mr. Bush?

Carroll: (Laughs)Yeah, he needs to stop this war. He knows this war is wrong. He knows that it was illegal from the very beginning. He knows that it was built on a mountain of lies and I think he needs to finally admit that to the American people and make the troops go home and he doesn't care about his own people.

He doesn't care about the people here in Iraq, he needs to wake up and the people of America need to wake up and tell that what he's done here is wrong and so hopefully this time he can get the message that this war was wrong and the continuing occupation is wrong adn he could change his policies. He's dangerous for Iraq. He's dangerous for America. He needs to accept that and admit that to people.

Voice: Do you think the Mujahedeen will win against the American Army?

Carroll: Oh definitely. Things are very clear to see even now they're already winning. Everyday there are soldiers killed. Everyday humvees are blown up. Helicopters are shot down from the skies. Everyday, it's very clear that the Mujahedeen have the skills and the ability and the desire and the good reasons to fight that'll make them ensure that they will win.

Voice: What do you feel now that the Mujahedeen are giving you your freedom while there are still women in Abu Ghraib living in very bad (unclear)?

Carroll: Well, I feel guilty honestly. I've been here, treated very well, like a guest. I've been given good food, never, never hurt while those women are in Abu Ghraib. Terrible things are happening to them with the American soldiers are torturing them and other things I don't want, I can't even say, so I feel guilty and I also feels it shows the difference between the Mujahedeen and Americans, the Mujahedeen are merciful and kind that's why I'm free and alive. The American army they aren't […not clear…] I feel guilty and I also feel that it just shows that Mujahedeen are good people, fighting an honorable fight, a good fight while the Americans are here as an occupying force treating the people in a very, very bad way so I can't be happy totally for my freedom, there are people still suffering in prisons and very difficult situations.

Well, she certainly wasn't being coached...

Okay, it certainly IS a possibility that she said all of these things out of her free will (its a possibility because all that she is saying is true)but having guys with guns pointed at you and swords around their belts certainly will make people say what things they don't neccesarly believe.

In a few months when all this is blown over and she is back home with her friends and family where she's had time to think about it all with a clear head, then I'll take her words as true. As it stands now, she's obviously still jittery and nervous from her ordeal (do you blame her) which is demonstrated in this footage from Iraqi TV (click where it says "Jill Carroll describes her life as a hostage").



In it, she seems to stammer, looks antsy and has on her face a confused look, which would all not be traits of a professional, composed journalist like she was.

The right wing blogs have gone apeshit over this. See, if you disagree with the foreign policy or war in Iraq, you're a terrorist and deserve to die (in the name of freedom of course).

Here's some selected excerpts from my favorite anti-Islamic, prejuidice, Neo-Con bullshit spewing assclown Debbie Schlussel's entry on the matter:

"Why are so many people who claim to be patriotic Americans so overjoyed that Jill Carroll was freed, yet hardly a peep when American contractors and others were freed?

Here's a clue for the obviously dimwitted. Why was Jill Carroll freed? Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she HATES AMERICA and our Mid-East policy. And, oh yeah, she HATES ISRAEL, too.

Not that this should have dawned on people when extremist Muslim groups like HAMAS front-group CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) flew all the way to Amman, Jordan to plead for Carroll's safety."

tee-hee

I love that the best the right has to muster to justify their illegal war and occupation of Iraq and it's unilateral support of Israel are complete idiots like Debbie Schchlussel, Ann Coulter and Victor Hanson.

Fucking assholes.

And let's not forget the brilliant commenters on Little Green Football's entry on the story (taken out of order and probably out of context but I don't give a flaming shit).

LSD 3/30/2006 05:36PM PST


Tool ....

Ward Cleaver 3/30/2006 05:42PM PST


She should be taken to Gitmo.

ToxMan 3/30/2006 05:46PM PST


I have never believed she was kidnapped...she is a sympathizer working with them from day 1...

not a tool
not a useful idiot
but, a compatriot

Lazarus 3/30/2006 05:47PM PST


I wish they had just killed you.

Stuck in california 3/30/2006 05:49PM PST


Don't come home, wench.

ibrodsky 3/30/2006 05:52PM PST


She should be arrested and charged with treason if and when she returns to the US.

jrdroll 3/30/2006 05:56PM PST


Nice headscarf Jill. Maybe you should be stoned for showing up without a MALE relative!

code red 21 3/30/2006 06:03PM PST


Maybe her next news assignment will be in Palestine where she will heroically throw herself in front of a Caterpiller tractor.

zombie 3/30/2006 06:13PM PST


UPDATE at 3/30/06 6:01:49 pm:

Here’s the video at bareknucklepolitics.com

I'm watching it right now.

Stunning.

Mind-boggling.

Traitorous.

She is on their side. The kidnapping was a hoax. She's a member of the mujaheddin.

AND THE MEDIA IS COVERING UP THIS FACT!

Why is this info and video only on blogs?

MSM = Quislings.

Jill Carroll = terrorist-supporter.

and etc, etc.

But one thing the Neo-Con facists do have it right on in his translator Allan Enwiya, who was killed when she was abducted.

Enwiya, who was 32, and his wife, Fairuz, had two children - Martin and Mary Ann. Now they are fatherless.

He shouldn't be forgotten or brushed aside. He was murdered for seemingly no reason and his killers are still on the lose.

May Allah grant him peace in the afterlife and protect his children and his family.

Ameen

Anyways, if you want good, reasonable updates on the matter, visit the Christian Science Monitor's website or a close friend of Carrolls named Natasha Tyne's blog (she's pretty cute actually).

I hope she comes home safe and sound while wishing her the greatest of peace on this Earth. I think she's had enough excitement for now.

Kadima wins elections in Israel - somebody wake up Sharon

Yes, yes, as it was expected, Ariel Sharon's Kadima won the the majority in the elections yesterday with 28 of the possible 120 seats in Parliment. Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (a guy I've never heard of) speaking to members of Kadima said in his victory speech: "In the coming period we will move to set the final borders of the state of Israel, a Jewish state with a Jewish majority," and "We will try to achieve this in an agreement with the Palestinians. This is our hope and prayer."

But of course, this IS the party founded by Ariel Sharon, so, something tells me the bulldozing and assassinations won't be stopping any time soon.

Anyways, I guess there's some light at the end of the tunnel. I mean, they say they're willing to negotiate, which is a good thing, if only I am a bit skepticle because they haven't actually negotiated with the Palestinians since the mid-ninties when Arafat was in charge.

Somehow the idea of ultra extreme Hamas and "centrist" Kadima(in other words, a balance of murder and socialism.... just like the Republican Party)seems pretty implausible if you ask me. Hamas wants Israel, in their words, "dead" so, I assume it's gonna be kinda hard to negotiate with them.

Now do I like Kadima? No, not really. To be honest with you, I don't like any of the Israeli parties. For that matter, I don't like Hamas either.

I think the people in Palestine were just fed up with the Fatah party and their blatant corruption that they went with the ole standby of religion. Now, I know better.

I'm a secularist, so any "Islamist" party is unlikely to get me excited. Especially because Hamas holds a socialist view of the government and seem to think they are justified in meddling inside people's private lives for whatever reason.

And then they justify their actions with vague hadiths and obscure scholars, claiming anyone who disagrees with them is a puppet of the West or a heretic. See, that's the part I don't like.

I'm pretty much what they would call a "Classical Liberal" in the vein of Jefferson, Locke and Paine so I am as suspicious and misanthropical on this new Hamas led government as I can be.

But why would the Palestinians vote for them? As I mentioned before, I think the people in Palestine are fed up with endless bloviating and babbling that the Fatah has been doing for the past 20 years. Hamas seemed like a fresh start to them, and what with their strategy of calling anyone who opposed them sell-outs, they managed to become the punk rockers of the Palestinian political scene.

And like the punks, they'll wear out people's patience in about 3 years. That or they'll sign to CBS records. Either way is bad.

Right, I've gone off topic. Ermm... where was I? Oh yeah, Kadima, the "centrists" won the elections. Although they don't have a clear majority, they are likely to get at least some support. (graph was stolen from the BBC)

Anyways, only 62.3% of elegible voters turned up to the polls, which means soon enough Israel will turn into the US as far as voter turnout is concerned.

So yeah, this pretty much means more of the same in Israel, and because the politics in Israel affect the rest of the Middle East, and the politics in the Middle East affects the rest of the world, we can expect more of the same kinda stuff that's happening now (that is, car bombs, Islamophobia, assassinations, anti-semitism/anti-Americanism, hostage taking, gas shortage and air strikes... what a wonderful world)

Joe Pesci doesn't like people telling his friends to shove things up their asses

I saw the movie "Casino" again a few days ago and thought I'd share one of my favorite scenes with you all.



PWNED!!!1!!!

Palestinian Jews = Contradiction?

Today is the big election day over in Israel. I've got lots to say about that, but for now, I'm gonna write a bit about something somewhat related. Insha Allah I'll write about the elections after they're done... but, on another note, heres something i've had on my mind for a few hours:

What exactly is it that defines a Palestinian? What makes a Palestinian a Palestinian? Are Palestinians a race? Are they a culture? Is it in reference to the speakers of a language or a dialect?

Is the term "Palestinian" in reference to an ethnic tribe that belongs to a particular religion, like the Maronites in Lebanon or the Coptics in Egypt?

Or is it an umbrella term in reference to the citizens of a currently non existent state? But, there never was a "Palestinian State" per say. It was always a province or colony of a greater nation or empire, that being the Caliphate, the Ottoman or the English amongst others, sort of like saying “I’m a Floridian” if you lived in Florida. Back in the Ottoman days, it was more in reference to where you were born and lived, not as much your race or ethnic background, because they didn't think of people in terms of race. But when the empire split, England just called it a colony. They didn't think of the "Palestinians" as a different ethnic group as lets say the Kuwaitis, they just split it that way to better administer the colony.

Is it fair to compare Arabic speaking Palestinians with the citizens of the German speaking nation of Austria? That being a non existing state that was created simply for political reasons. Or is it more like the modern Assyrians, who are an ethnic-religious group that is without a nation state of their own.

Or maybe they're like the medieval Jews...

Can you be a Palestinian Buddhist? Or a Palestinian Christian? There have been people classified as "Palestinian Christians" in the past, such as Dr. George Habash, the founder of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Does it even matter what religion you are, or is it the race and tribe you belong to? Or is it where you're born?

Can you be a Palestinian if you are of Palestinian parents born in Hungary? Does that make you a Palestinian-Hungarian? Or does it just make you Hungarian?

Or how about if you were of Malaysian parents but were born and raised in Palestine, does that make you a Palestinian, a Malaysian or a Malaysian-Palestinian?

You must be wondering why I am asking these ridiculous questions, aren't you? Here’s the big question I’ve been building up: Can you be a Palestinian Jew or is that an oxy-moron?

I personally think its possible, because I think of a Palestinian as a person who is of an ethnic Palestinian background (that being a mixture of Philistine, Babylonian, Persian, Byzantine and Arab) no matter where they are born or what religion they are, but also a person who is born in the area currently referred to as "Palestine". If your parents were Japanese, but you were born and raised in Palestine, its safe to assume you'd call yourself a Japanese-Palestinian, correct? So, in theory, you could be a Palestinian Muslim, Buddhist, Samaritan, Christian or even, yes, Jew.

This shouldn't be a conflict, but, unfortunately, it is, at least with someone I spoke to today. It was a Palestinian born and raised in America of the Muslim faith whom I told about a group of Jews who live in the Palestinian territories, and have done so since even before the Crusades, but refuse to live in Israel or call themselves Israelis. In essence, Palestinian Jews.

This person informed me that was an oxy-moron, because any Jew living in what was once Palestine is called an "Israeli". But to me, "Israeli" refers to the citizens of the state of Israel, and not a race or religion. Consider all the hardcore, orthodox Jews in the Lower East Side of Manhattan who refuse to move to Israel. If these people don't have Israeli citizenship, refuse to call themselves "Israelis" and were born and raised in the US, does that make them any less American? So, how about if theres been a sizeable Jewish community in Palestine for thousands of years, but when the modern state of Israel was created, they refused to leave, does that make them any less Palestinian?

Any look at them will reveal that they have at least some ethnic and cultural ties to the people of Palestine.

But my friend basically said that "Palestinian" also refers to the religion itself, but, how does that explain the aforementioned Dr. George Habash, who was a Greek Orthodox Christian? He fought for years for Palestinian independence and referred to himself as Palestinian. So, what does that make him?

Of course, my friend had no answer to that and in so many words said that Jews are all Israelis and Israelis are all Jews no matter where they were born or if they had any other ethnicity in their blood.

Conspiracy theories aside, there actually ARE non Jews in Israel. At the end of 2003, of Israel's 6.7 million people, 76.7% were Jewish (by religion), 15.8% were Muslim, 2.1% were Christian, 1.6% were Druze and everyone else was "unclassified" (atheists, agnostics, Buddhists, etc.).

So, if these 15.8% of Muslims are Israeli citizens, live in Israel and even serve in the Israeli armed forces, does that make them non Israelis?

Under this person’s logic: yes, because Israelis can only be Jews and Jews can only be Israelis. There are no exceptions and no other way around. "Israeli", "Israeli", "Israeli".

Is this foolish? Yes... especially considering that these page I linked this person was about Palestinian Jews who were against the state of Israel (in other words, the Palestinian's allies) and refused to call themselves "Israelis".

Basically, this person I know was being, and you must excuse me if you read this, a bigot and an elitist. They’re making being Palestinian some sort of elite privilege obtainable only by virtue of faith and not of thousands of years of peaceful co-existence, intermixing and cultural exchange.

They suffered and even fought side by side against invaders and helped their neighbours when they could for as long as the Palestinian Muslims have been in the place we call Palestine and seeking to erase their history and their contributions because of an ugly political situation by Zionist Jews from Europe is shameful and requires a great deal of reflection and rethinking by your part friend.

I think they’ve earned the privilege by now, don’t you think?

ETA waves white flag - but I've been busy. So sue me...

Hi children. Long time no see...

Sorry about my delay in the writing, but I had a combination of things to do and sickness, so, I left the ole' blogging on the backseat. I know this isn't the first time it’s happened, but hopefully it'll be the last in a while.

Anyways, lots has happened so, lets get started with the biggest piece of news that I missed out on: Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, otherwise known as ETA, disarming.

Now, the ETA for those of you out of the loop, is a Basque separatist group that was/is active in Spain and a bit in France, with the intent of separating the Basque territories from Spain and the small area considerd Basque that is part of France. The European Union, Spain and the US all have designated them as "terrorists".

And what is Basque Country you may ask? It depends who you ask. There are those who see it as nothing more then a region of greater empires who simply forgot to impose their language on them and others who see it as a tribe or ethnic group with it's own language and culture. Personally, I see it as the latter but I'll leave the rest up to you. Its difficult to pinpoint who they are or where they came from, but the assumption is that the Basques are an Ibero-Celtic group that somehow survived the Roman conquest of Iberia and although were under Roman rule, were able to retain their language and customs for all that time. Then after the Visgoths came along, they were able to defend themselves well enough as to avoid falling under their rule. So basically, whenever the fuck they got to where they are now, they haven't budged since then. In fact, its said that the Basques have resided in a single region of Europe longer than any other ethnic group since, well, pre-historical records.

Anyways, in the Middle Ages it was called the Kingdom of Navarre, which was then annexed to Aragon, which later merged with Castille to form the Spanish Empire which is now called the Kingdom of Spain and basically the Basques want out. Its a long and complicated history, which every young person in Latin America has to endure when in Secondary school, so, I'll save you the other stuff to read on your own discretion. For now, I'll just talk about the modern history.

The Basque separatist movement started mostly in the XIXth century (alongside every other fucking separatist movement)by guys like Sabino Arana (a staunch, ultra Catholic conservative) who were pissed at the stuff the fuckers over in Madrid were up to. So, they funded the Eusko Alderdi Jeltzalea (EAJ) or National Basque Party with the intent of creating a separate Republic from Spain.

For the most part they were pretty much ignored in the national scene but after the coup in 1936, they sided with the Republicans (which is interesting considering how the Republicans were mostly Socialist while the Basques were mostly conservative. I guess they all agreed that the Republic was much better then having to live under facist, authoritarian Gen. Franco who was also a friend of Hitler)

No, this guy isnt Basque. It's Francisco Franco, the most un-Basque person of all time. I tried finding a picture of him with Hitler (which exist) but none were in very good quality so I decided to put this one up. You like?

As we all know, the Republicans lost and Spain fell under the harsh hand of El Generalisimo Francisco Franco. Franco thought that the whole national identity and seperatism that the Basques had been talking about was treason and government subversion, so he went and actually banned the Basque language and told the Basques to forget anything and everything about their history or culture.

Needless to say, the Basques got pissed. And when tribes get pissed, thats when the fun starts.
Thats when the ETA comes into the picture. They formed in 1953 as a student discussion group at the University of Deusto in Bilbao but as most people back then, quickly adopted Marxism and took up guns against the establishment.

At that time, pretty much every country in the free world gave em a pass because no one really liked Franco, who pretty much dodged the bullet when he decided not to join his fascist friends Hitler and Mussolini in the Second World War, so the whole free world didn't mind the idea much a group of kids blowing up cars and shooting some fascist assholes. Sure they were commies, but back then, who wasn't?

But in 75, the old fucker kicked the bucket, and Spain moved back to being a democracy... err... actually a monarchy, but with certain democratic privileges. They were offered amnesty if they laid down their weapons, but they told the new SpanishRepublic to go fuck itself and continued with sporadic attacks in the 70s, 80s and 90s and were in fact close allies with the IRA over in Ireland. Celts stick together I guess...

ETA declared a unilateral ceasefire on September 18, 1998, and began negotiations with Spain's government. They talked for a while, but they went back to their old habits of killing cops and bombing cars in 2000 after they accused the Spanish government of being "inflexible", which is arguably true. Spain wasn't willing to let them out of the great Kingdom no matter what the Basques thought of it, so they went back to what the knew best: armed struggle.

Now, this is around the time I started getting interested in this. I myself am of Catalonian stock, so I can sympathize with their movement, although I don't sympathize with their desire of a socialist state. Thats really what prevented me from ever supporting them 100%. Frankly I think they should have focused more on general Basque liberation with no clear socio-economic ideology, that way bring more conservative minded folk into the struggle, and after liberation was achieved, they could let the people choice who's policy they preferred.

But, theres one big issue that the press seems to be forgetting while reporting on this so called "terrorist" organization. Over the past 35 years, they've only killed 817 people. Don't believe me? Look at it right here. I'm not gonna say I wish they had killed more people, but the Crips gang kills more people in Compton in one year then these guys killed 35. I'd hardly call them some ultra effective, paramilitary group with numbers like that.

So anyways, after 9-11 and the Madrid train bombings, most people in Europe and in Spain stopped liking these one time darlings of the Franco era. The number of recruits dropped and they stopped finding sources of funding. So that whole speech saying stuff like "ending the conflict, here and now, is possible. This is the desire and the will of Eta" is bullshit. They know they can't carry anymore large scale attacks so they're basically waving the white flag in hopes the Spanish gov. will not prosecute them (which would have been inevitable).

Boo! The ETA during their farewell speech

Alas, so ends the story of the ETA. You and your ineffective, wussy attacks will be missed. Now, who will Zapatero blame when his bullshit economic policies fail? The Americans? The Islamists? The Catholic church? Who will be their new scapegoat?

I for one would suggest blaming the Socialists, what with their "social justice" programs, high taxing, intervention in private businesses and apathy towards fighting illegal immigration, which is making thousands upon thousands of Spaniards lose their jobs to cheap labourers from Latin America and Africa. Spain's gonna be in real bad shape in a few years and the Zapatero government is gonna really regret celebrating the ETA ceasefire.

Nippon beats Cuba

Yep, Japan beat Cuba 10-6 last night in the World Baseball Classic finals. And you know what? I actually watched the game (I'm serious), but Lord, what a dull match. I was pratically falling asleep during the game. Japan and Cuba aren't exactly two teams that are very entertaining to watch which is in deep contrast to the Dominican Republic which was full of sluggers and showboats, which you could argue was what led to their defeat.

While I was watching it, I couldnt help but wonder how THESE two teams could have gotten this far. It seems absolutly amazing to me that these teams managed to advance over Dominican Republic, Venezuela and the US.

Either way, it was okay I guess. I would have perferred if Cuba won, just so a Latin team could be the champions but I suppose Japan was the better. Congratulations you long haired fruits ;)

¡Por Puerto Rico!

Shameful. Outrageous. Despicable. The absolute culmination of American hypocrisy. That's how I feel about the Supreme Court turning down an appeal today that sought to open U.S. presidential elections to voters in Puerto Rico. I feel disgusted.

Here's what the bastard son of a whore the Bush administration sent to argue their case had to say: "No territory has ever participated in any of the 54 presidential elections conducted over more than two centuries of American history"

You son of a bitch.

This is beyond disgraceful, odious and wicked. How the so called "greatest democracy on Earth" can deny the rights to vote and have helf self governorship to 4 million of it's residents screams of hypocrisy, especially in light of the Bush administration's crusading for "democracy" (read: puppet)in the Middle East. How these Neo-Con assholes can say they want democracy yet support tyrannical, un-democratic regimes like the Musharaff government in Pakistan and support stripping the basic right of democracy to the citizens of Puerto Rico is beyond me.

Worst yet is how the media seems to have buried this story. I dare any of you to try to find anything besides the links I've given you. Look at the front page of your newspaper: is it there? Turn on the 24 hour news stations: are they talking about it? Look at any of the other blogs out there: nothing. Fuck, put on one of the gazillion talk radio stations and tell me if any of them have even dedicated a single sentence to it.

The United States and the Bush administration are running an evil, fascist regime. Yes, I said it. And this is coming from a person who sees Pinochet as a personal hero. Anyone who thinks their freedom and their liberty isnt being crushed is either stupid, retarded or benefiting from the loss of freedom.

Where's the international outrage? Sure we'll have Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro commenting on it soon enough. Ironic considering these two are hardly what you'd call democratic themselves. But how about the rest of the world's democracies? Where is their outrage? Or the UN's? Goes to show you how the international community is nothing more then a bunch of spineless assholes.

I hate the world. I hate that nobody cares. It makes me so angry. Fucking plebes. Mindless sheep. Brainless zombies.

Someone should do something. Someone should certainly do something. Especially in Puerto Rico. This is the final straw. They should go to the streets and ask for democracy. Scratch that. DEMAND democracy. I, an anarcho-capitalist libertarian stand behind them. As should all people who support freedom in this world. ¡Libertad para Puerto Rico!