Happy [expletive deleted] Birthday, Charles!

/I think...

littleoldlady
Wikipedia says that Charles was born on the 13th ;)

Once again, Happy Birthday Charles.

/have nothing pithy to say at this time.

My URL appears to have changed after posting a spinoff link. o_O Weird. Should be fixed now.

Hey, I finished reading "Caliphate" by Tom Kratman yesterday. A good read, but all the information in it is old news to all here. I may have to do a book review on it.

Birthday songs abound, but this is still my favorite....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Maz Jobrani

re: #2 MigueldowninMexico

His birthday is on wikipedia?! WOW. Is today the 13th?

/I hope so. I could use the renewed faith in my memory. ;-)

re: #7 littleoldlady

His birthday is on wikipedia?! WOW. Is today the 13th?

/I hope so. I could use the renewed faith in my memory. ;-)

It is :)

Where did everybody go?

every moment’s an ambush.

Great line!

/a tad paranoid, but useful for some days.

Morning

re: #11 storagemanager

Morning

Easy for you to say.

re: #9 BlueCanuck

Where did everybody go?

Present teacher! :)

Now a little music for the Sunday morning open thread.

re: #11 storagemanager

Morning

Hello there, storage ;)

re: #11 storagemanager

Morning

storage, your clock is slow. It's afternoon here.

re: #10 littleoldlady

Maybe a tad paranoid, but even paranoids have enemies. Tend to live longer too in certain situations.

FOR CHARLES' BIRTHDAY.

IsraelNN.com) Nearly 60% of Israelis say the Israeli government is secretly negotiating the division of Jerusalem with the Palestinian Authority - despite government attempts to blur the existence of such talks.

This and other findings were the results of a survey carried out by the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies in Bar Ilan University. The official numbers will be presented this Tuesday at a special seminar at Bar Ilan. The Guest of Honor will be Trade Minister Eli Yishai, the head of the government coalition member Shas Party. Yishai has stated frequently that the moment it becomes clear that Jerusalem is being negotiated, his party will quit the coalition.

[Link: www.israelnationalnews.com...]

I jusre: #16 rightwinger3

storage, your clock is slow. It's afternoon here.

Are you in Oz? :)

(Australia)

re: #17 BlueCanuck

As the shrinks like to say, "Paranoia always has a basis in reality".

;-)

Nice Canuck, I always Pink Floyd. I got to see them in the Superdome, the Pulse tour I believe... the best concert I ever saw.

re: #20 RTLM

Germany right now, Australia in a couple months.

rightwinger3! :-)

storage! :-)

RTML! :-)

(IsraelNN.com) Iran, disgraced and censured, is nonetheless seeking to obtain a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council to represent Asia for the 2010-2012 term, when Indonesia completes its rotation.

The Islamic Republic, thrice sanctioned by the very body on which it hopes to secure a seat, brazenly applied nonetheless for the privilege, despite facing three pending resolutions against it. At least two are calling for more sanctions in response to its ongoing defiance of demands by the body on which it wishes to serve, that it halt its nuclear development program.

According to a report by Haaretz, however, it is likely that Japan, "not only a central and respected UN member but also [which contributes] the largest sum after the United States to the UN budget" will beat Iran for the Asia seat.

[Link: www.israelnationalnews.com...]

re: #23 rightwinger3

Germany right now, Australia in a couple months.

Dass ist gut, mein Herr.

re: #24 littleoldlady

rightwinger3! :-)

storage! :-)

RTML! :-)

Howdy all !

re: #26 MigueldowninMexico

Yes it is. You know Germans do not make crappy beer. I've been trying to find a crappy German beer and have not succeeded!

re: #25 storagemanager

That'll actually be hard to call. The only Middle Eastern nation besides Israel to get the Angry Statement Treatment wants a seat on the Security Council, but faces opposition from Japan.

It's like Venezuela versus Guatemala from a couple years back.

re: #24 littleoldlady

morning littleoldlady. Another good thing about being in Germany is reading the dead thread in the afternoon instead of being wide awake at 2 in the morning!

Good morning, Lizards.

(Good morning, littleoldlady! :-))

And Happy Birthday to our gracious host.

As for the quote, here's a good answer;

To avoid surprise, remain in Condition Yellow.

-Col. Jeff Cooper

cheers

eon

Happy birthday, Charles!

Did you ever in your wildest dreams as a child think that you would one day create a place where thousands of freedom-loving people from all over the world would gather to share news, exhange ideas, and help one another muster the courage to face down evil in the world? Did you ever imagine yourself as a superhero?

If you didn't...you should have. Because you are.

It's Charles' birthday?!?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLES

/my ol' standby, but it's a perfect fit imho. :)
//oh, and TURN YOUR SPEAKERS UP.

Good morning everyone!

Iran to the rescue...have no fear...Iran is here.........

..Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Sunday that Iran is preparing a package to help resolve the regional and international problems.

He made the remarks in a joint press conference with his visiting counterpart from the Philippines, Alberto Romulo.

"Since the Middle East region and the entire world are suffering from a variety of crises, Tehran is preparing a package to put forward for the settlement of regional and international problems and present it publicly," Mottaki noted.

"We think all sides, including the Group 5+1 would make use of the package."
The Group 5+1 -- United States, Britain, France, Russia and China plus Germany -- are to meet in Shanghai, eastern China, on April 16.

The meeting, to be held at the level of political directors of the Group, is expected to discuss Iran's nuclear standoff with the West.

[Link: www2.irna.com...]

eon! :-) Howdy!

My coffee can not kick in fast enough......

Happy Birthday, Sir Charles

re: #30 rightwinger3

I'm jealous. :-/

re: #34 storagemanager

So that's where our diplomats have been. =_=

Chai, a bright shiney new thread, dead threaders and some tunes... a nice way to start a Sunday.

Now where's Real with his donut run (I want an apple fritter but would have to go 11 miles in my pajamas to get one)?

gettinby! :-)

Ohhh! How perfect!

/I remember! I bookmarked it way back when you first posted it...somewhere. :-/

re: #37 littleoldlady

I'm jealous. :-/

littleoldlady, bad thing about it is I've gained 10 lbs eating bratwurst and drinking beer, my fault but I can't get enough of it!

re: #28 rightwinger3

Yes it is. You know Germans do not make crappy beer. I've been trying to find a crappy German beer and have not succeeded!

Then the pass word is:
Trink! ;)

littleoldlady! { {to you} }

I like the 'No mortal can deter this individual' line with regard to what Charles accomplishes with this site.

How have you been doing?!

O Light-Seeking Zombiesque One: I've posted the MP3 of Obama's "Bitter Hillbilly Morons" speech at the ever-popular I Call BS!

Good stuff, O Zomboid One! :D

re: #42 MigueldowninMexico

Then the pass word is:
Trink! ;)

Yep! The "secret" password is: We are going to Klosterkreuzburg "to see the monks"

re: #42 MigueldowninMexico

Bernard Trink used to write a regular column in the English-language Bangkok Post...

Do we hafta check with HIM first?

JEDDAH, 13 April 2008 — A private initiative by three Saudi women activists to raise awareness about children’s rights is facing problems of “bureaucracy and misunderstanding,” resulting in officials halting public lectures to be held at a Jeddah mall last weekend.

The organizers of the campaign, entitled “Saudi Arabia’s First Campaign to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect,” said that they had secured official approval before its launch at the beginning of this month.

The three women organizers include Amal Al-Khalifa, a psychologist at King Faisal Specialist Hospital; Souad Al-Shammri, a lawyer; and Fatimah Al-Ansari, a children’s rights advocate.

Al-Khalifa, who is also a member of Amnesty International, said they chose April as “it is internationally considered the month of prevention of child abuse.”

To the three women’s shock and surprise, the most crucial part of their campaign, which involved lectures for parents at Sawary Landmark Mall, was suddenly stopped last weekend.

The lectures, which were to be delivered by the three women, were to be held on Wednesdays and Thursdays at the mall throughout April.

“I can’t explain what I don’t know,” said Al-Khalifa, commenting on why the lectures were stopped

ISLAME! [Link: www.arabnews.com...]

re: #43 gettinby

littleoldlady! { {to you} }

I like the 'No mortal can deter this individual' line with regard to what Charles accomplishes with this site.

How have you been doing?!

Yes, that whole thing is so...Charles!

Me? Everyday is an ambush. ;-)

How's by you?

re: #38 laZardo

So that's where our diplomats have been. =_=

Morning, storage. Morning, Lazardo.

Yes, and considering the nations involved, and the area in question, I'm trying (over breakfast) to figure out why the meeting is being held in Shanghai and not, say, Geneva?

Thinking.

Thinking.

Thinking.

Nope, nothing yet. But my cognitive dissonance is setting in.

Hello, G-5 + 1?

China?

Tibet?

Major arms supplier to Iran?

Is anybody getting a raging clue here?

/somehow, I don't expect anything they "decide" will affect the PRC's sales posture toward Dinnerjacket & Co.

cheers

eon

re: #33 gettinby

It's Charles' birthday?!?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLES

/my ol' standby, but it's a perfect fit imho. :)
//oh, and TURN YOUR SPEAKERS UP.

Good morning everyone!

Good morning, gettinby! :)

Good morning, lizards.

The Telegraph is reporting that the Pope will pray for Islamic jihadis to convert to Judaeo-Christianity when he visits Ground Zero. The prayer is for God to "turn to Your way of love those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred."

The seething will be deafening.

You mean China is linked to Iran?...falls down in shock.

re: #43 gettinby

littleoldlady! { {to you} }

I like the 'No mortal can deter this individual' line with regard to what Charles accomplishes with this site.

How have you been doing?!

Wow, that was impressing!

re: #45 rightwinger3

Yep! The "secret" password is: We are going to Klosterkreuzburg "to see the monks"

LOL

re: #46 Karridine

Bernard Trink used to write a regular column in the English-language Bangkok Post...

Do we hafta check with HIM first?

Why not?
If he has good booze ;)

re: #17 BlueCanuck

Morning Lizards.

Just because you are parinoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get ya.

Istanbul • An Italian woman artist who was hitch-hiking to the Middle East dressed as a bride to promote world peace has been found murdered in Turkey.

The naked body of Giuseppina Pasqualino di Marineo, 33, known as Pippa Bacca, was found in bushes near the city of Gebze on Friday.

She had said she wanted to show that she could put her trust in the kindness of local people. Turkish police say they have detained a man in connection with the killing.

Very sorry to say..you found the answer and you were wrong. [Link: www.thepeninsulaqatar.com...]

re: #51 godfrey

Good morning, lizards.

The Telegraph is reporting that the Pope will pray for Islamic jihadis to convert to Judaeo-Christianity when he visits Ground Zero. The prayer is for God to "turn to Your way of love those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred."

The seething will be deafening.

Hi godfrey!
I'm afraid you're so right...

re: #49 eon

Good morning, eon :)

re: #48 littleoldlady

My new residential property management job is like 'being ambushed every second!'

There is one particular family giving us most of the headaches right now...their kids are unruly and bullies to the other kids, they are hateful to their neighbors, they have threatened to kill one of their neighbor's little fluff doggie (police were called), etc., etc.

/you can guess, probably successfully, what peaceful religion they adhere to.

This is going to become a very interesting situation. LOL

re: #56 Bubblehead II

Morning Lizards.

Just because you are parinoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get ya.

LOL! That's right!
Good morning :)

re: #56 Bubblehead II

Morning Lizards.

Just because you are parinoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get ya.

True. Like the old saying goes, even paranoids have enemies.

They just have trouble telling the real ones from the little voices inside their heads, is all.

/old Abnormal Psych joke

cheers

eon

re: #60 gettinby

Oh boy.

/not good! :-(

re: #57 storagemanager

I feel very sorry for Giuseppina, but she was a perfect dhimmi.

I'll leave it at this considering her fate.

re: #53 MigueldowninMexico

'Morning Miguel!

Impressive

You're so right.

That's a good word to describe not just Charles, but most of the posters who find their way here, doncha think?!?!

/pats on back and hi-fives to those posters. :)

Ry Cooder, The Very Thing That Makes You Rich (Will Make You Poor)

re: #56 Bubblehead II

Heh, heh, everyones out to get me. :)

re: #60 gettinby

Welcome to property management...we are a special breed..lol

re: #59 MigueldowninMexico

Morning, Miguel. How's the weather?

We're maybe-sort of -kind of looking at spring here in OH. It's still down in the low 40s (F) at night.

cheers

eon

re: #60 gettinby

Wow, I hope things manage to be kept sane, or at least not to insane.

re: #60 gettinby

May God protect you always.
God, those people are truly insane aren't they?
Always violent! :(

re: #65 gettinby

'Morning Miguel!

Impressive

You're so right.

That's a good word to describe not just Charles, but most of the posters who find their way here, doncha think?!?!

/pats on back and hi-fives to those posters. :)

Hahahahaha.

Ok I second that!

re: #63 littleoldlady

Yup. My boss called me after my first week to ask how things were going.

I casually mentioned that I may have gotten us into a war with the middle-east; but other than that, all was well.

Heh.

re: #68 storagemanager

Welcome to property management...we are a special breed..lol

Perfect description!

/Don't believe I've ever been referred to as a 'special breed.' LOL

re: #69 eon

Morning, Miguel. How's the weather?

We're maybe-sort of -kind of looking at spring here in OH. It's still down in the low 40s (F) at night.

cheers

eon

It's pretty mild here. Our small and not cold winter is practically over.
We have the advantage of never being really cold, and the disadvantage of not having all those things that have to do with snow and a cold winter ;)

I never saw mention of this: Gunmen blow up British cemetery monument in Gaza in April.

Palestinian gunmen blew up a monument in a British-run cemetery for foreign soldiers in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Thursday, witnesses and British diplomats said.

"Gunmen." With explosives. Well, whatever. They're angry at Britain's capitalist imperialist crusading infidel past. Who isn't? Serves those dead soldiers right! /

I wish we had a delete button.... take two
The Very Thing That Makes Her Rich (Will Make You Poor) - Ry Cooder

*Hic*
(excuse me while I back away from the key board).

*blush*

re: #74 gettinby

Perfect description!

/Don't believe I've ever been referred to as a 'special breed.' LOL

How many unit's do you have?

re: #77 The Albatross

LOL, Yeah I have done that before.

/last week in fact and I was as sober as a judge.

re: #77 The Albatross

If you're going to make a mistake, do it on the Dead Thread.

/most of us are either too tired or too drunk to notice.
//if neither of the above, too polite to point it out. ;-)

Blue Canuck!

What a great Sunday brunch spread you did.

Thanks.

Also, did I read about an adjustment you made to your 'tude-o-meter for your job?

Good on ya!

re: #62 eon

Want to find out how paranoid your neighbors are? Put a surveillance camera up pointing in thier general direction. Not kidding. Had the people across the street complain to the park manager that I was "spying" on them when I replaced a old CRT camera with a newer CCD one. The manager just laughed. That particular camera had been up for more than 5 years before they moved in.

re: #80 littleoldlady

If you're going to make a mistake, do it on the Dead Thread.

/most of us are either too tired or too drunk to notice.
//if neither of the above, too polite to point it out. ;-)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Great comment! LOL

re: #76 godfrey

I never saw mention of this: Gunmen blow up British cemetery monument in Gaza in April.

"Gunmen." With explosives. Well, whatever. They're angry at Britain's capitalist imperialist crusading infidel past. Who isn't? Serves those dead soldiers right! /

Those 'gunmen' are really into desecrating graves, Godfrey. They desecrate Baha'i graves in Iran monthly... along with other pogromite efforts...

re: #73 gettinby

LOL!

re: #81 gettinby

Why thank you. And yes I did. It has done wonders for my sleep. :)

re: #75 MigueldowninMexico

It's pretty mild here. Our small and not cold winter is practically over.
We have the advantage of never being really cold, and the disadvantage of not having all those things that have to do with snow and a cold winter ;)

Lucky you. Up here, we define snow as "that white s**t that paralyzes the state at least five times every year between October and May".

/seriously, we got hit with enough snow to declare a level 3 emergency (only emergency vehicles moving, anyone else gets ticketed) in the middle of March

cheers

eon

Good morning all and Happy Birthday to Sir Charles. Thank you for an intelligent (usually) forum to ponder current events.

Prominent Qatar-based Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi has sparked controversy by issuing a religious law allowing Muslims to consume tiny amounts of alcohol, which is banned in Islam.

"The latest fatwa caused confusion among people... We could have done without it," the editor of the Qatari daily Ash-Sharq, Abdullatif al-Mahmoud, wrote on Thursday.

In his fatwa published on Tuesday in the Qatar's Al-Arab newspaper, the Egyptian-born Qaradawi said that consuming drinks containing small quantities of alcohol that is "constituted naturally through fermentation" did not violate Islamic teachings.

"The presence of alcohol in a proportion of five in a thousand (0.5 percent) is not banned because it is a minimal quantity, especially when it is produced by natural fermentation. Hence there's nothing wrong in consuming such a drink," Qaradawi said

[Link: www.alarabiya.net...]

re: #84 Karridine

Those 'gunmen' are really into desecrating graves, Godfrey. They desecrate Baha'i graves in Iran monthly... along with other pogromite efforts...

{Karridine}
Extensive to all your people...

re: #78 storagemanager

How many unit's do you have?

I'm part of a corporate-team-management-situation with a company that has about 10,000 units (apartments and manufactured home communities).

Still getting used to the team concept. I've always been pretty much a one-woman get'r done kind of manager.

Actually, at my age, this team thing is fun...

/sharing the responsibilities means blaming the other guy? LOL

re: #84 Karridine

The desecration of graves has been taboo since the dawn of humanity. How do they even attempt to justify it?

re: #87 eon

Lucky you. Up here, we define snow as "that white s**t that paralyzes the state at least five times every year between October and May".

/seriously, we got hit with enough snow to declare a level 3 emergency (only emergency vehicles moving, anyone else gets ticketed) in the middle of March

cheers

eon

Wow, it's been a cold year.
Let's notify Gore ;)

re: #89 storagemanager

About time someone over there got a clue and a dash of common sense.

/wonder when there's going to be a fatwa on him.

re: #88 tappin52

Good morning all and Happy Birthday to Sir Charles. Thank you for an intelligent (usually) forum to ponder current events.

Good morning :)

re: #92 godfrey

The desecration of graves has been taboo since the dawn of humanity. How do they even attempt to justify it?

So right.

re: #92 godfrey

Ummmm... Because they are infidels, thus the sons of apes and pigs?

re: #82 Bubblehead II

I had a neighbor whose paranoia was close to Fox Mulder levels once. She used to call the sheriff claiming I was shooting over her house (about 1/2 mile from mine). How could she tell? She claimed she could hear the shot from my shotgun hitting her roof.

The desk sergeant's response?

"Ma'am, it's raining."

And it was, too- I was inside, curled up in front of the TV, with a cup of coffee, a good book, and Forbidden Planet.

I've moved, so has she, and I have no idea where she is, now.

/don't care, either

cheers

eon

Morning, Miguel.

re: #51 godfrey

Viva Il Papa!

Some believe the group, known as Jundallah, is linked to al-Qaida. Jundallah, or God's Brigade, has waged a low-level insurgency in southeastern Iran.

Fars said the mosque's cleric gives a weekly speech denouncing the Bahai faith and Wahabism — an austere brand of Sunni Islam practiced mostly in Saudi Arabia. Such speeches are not unusual in Iranian mosques

[Link: www.weaselzippers.net...]

re: #80 littleoldlady

the "ding-age" is very moderate on the Dead Thread.

re: #101 storagemanager

[Link: www.weaselzippers.net...]

Wow! And I thought that Wahabbists were the only extremists pushing the ticket right now.

God, I'm so glad I'm not a muslim...

re: #102 BulgarWheat

the "ding-age" is very moderate on the Dead Thread.

Like I said...too tired or too drunk. ;-)

'Morning, Bulgar! :-)

Hey Bulgar! :)

godfrey! :-)

Have I told you that I love your tie?

/also LOVE that movie!

re: #104 littleoldlady

Howdy Lil'Ol! Looks like it's going to be a pretty nice day down here in North Carolina.

re: #105 MigueldowninMexico

Hey, Miguel! How you doing?

re: #101 storagemanager

Someone explain what the Shiites have against the Baha'i. Specifically speaking.

re: #93 MigueldowninMexico

Wow, it's been a cold year.
Let's notify Gore ;)

Nahh, he'd just say it was the Bush-Cheney Orbital Weather Control Laser Satellites being used to discredit him.

Of course, if the people who don't believe in Global (Gorebull) Warming think the Earth is flat, too, logically, they wouldn't attempt to launch satellites because it would be illogical for them to be able to acheive orbit around a "pancake".

/picturing Mr. Spock raising one eyebrow in disbelief, as he surmises that Gore's brain is in a tight orbit around his lower intestine.

cheers

eon

I am a newbie
But...
Happy Birthday Charles !
Without you we would have had Algore or John F-ing Kerry as POTUS and we are forever grateful and in debt to you !
David

re: #108 BulgarWheat

Hey, Miguel! How you doing?

I'm doing ok, thanks!
How about you?

Happy Birthday, Charles!

re: #98 eon

hehehe... What made it even funnier was that the focal point was on the back door of my home. it wasn't even aimed at thier place.

And with that I have to get ready for work.

I am not parinoid. I am just security concious.

re: #109 laZardo

Someone explain what the Shiites have against the Baha'i rest of the human race.

re: #109 laZardo

Shiites hate eveyrone who isn't shiite. If you ask me that's a little narrow minded and "shiity"

re: #89 storagemanager

[Link: www.alarabiya.net...]

Great. All we need are hung-over jihadis.

Mike Gravel is back!

/new moonbats are out early this year

re: #110 eon

Nahh, he'd just say it was the Bush-Cheney Orbital Weather Control Laser Satellites being used to discredit him.

Of course, if the people who don't believe in Global (Gorebull) Warming think the Earth is flat, too, logically, they wouldn't attempt to launch satellites because it would be illogical for them to be able to acheive orbit around a "pancake".

/picturing Mr. Spock raising one eyebrow in disbelief, as he surmises that Gore's brain is in a tight orbit around his lower intestine.

cheers
LOL!
eon

re: #107 BulgarWheat

Bulgar,

I'm tempted to put away the winter coat...finally.

/may be premature. only a high in the 50's today.

re: #101 storagemanager

Some believe the group, known as Jundallah, is linked to al-Qaida. Jundallah, or God's Brigade, has waged a low-level insurgency in southeastern Iran.

Biting the hand that feeds them
Kind of a pattern of the Islamicnuts

'Morning, Mandy! :-)

re: #116 BulgarWheat

Shiites hate eveyrone who isn't shiite. If you ask me that's a little narrow minded and "shiity"

GMTA ;)

"Shiity"! LOL

re: #116 BulgarWheat

Pieces of Shiite. Seriously though, why'd they pay special attention to the Baha'i?

re: