Ramadan and Islamic Oddities

Ramadan is a holy month for Muslims. One thing that Muslims observe is fasting each day. So what happens if you happen to be in a Muslim country during Ramadan? Below find a copy of a notice issued by a hotel for this year's Ramadan Holiday:

(Click to enlarge)

Find anything strange about this notice? Isn't it strange that there will still be a buffet each day and that you can get breakfast, lunch, dinner and alcohol? But if you are a Muslim, they will not serve alcohol to you, during Ramadan. During the rest of the year, they will gladly serve to Muslims. Sounds pretty tolerant to me.

It is taboo to use your left hand in Muslim cultures. Hell, it was (is?) taboo in the US too. When I was small, my father tried relentlessly to force me to use my right hand, fearing that I would have problems in society if I grew up left-handed. However, I turned out to be much more forceful in using my left hand. (My brother went through the same 'torture' and now uses both hands.)

I was aware of the left-hand taboo when I was traveling in the region. It caused me a little concern, but once I was there I had used my left hand so often by accident that I quickly gave up attempting to use my right hand. If I happened to offend anyone in the process, so be it. Anyway, the shopkeepers had no problem taking money from my left hand. So taking a look around the Internet, I can see that there are left-handed Muslims. Wondering how they are treated, I found a good degree of tolerance for these left-handed people. Although the 'Ask the Imam' website forbids even left-handed people from using their left hand for eating. This is ridiculous. But I did find this question and answer from another Imam which I think is a great read for all left-handed people:

Q325 :I am a 12 year old student, and I am left-handed. People have often reminded me not to eat or write with my left hand, because people who do so will not go to heaven; they will go to hell. I have tried to use my right hand for eating and writing, but I always feel that my right hand is weaker. I will be grateful for your advice.

A325 : Let me tell you straight away that no one will go to hell for using his left hand for eating, drinking, writing or indeed for any other purpose. Any one who suggests otherwise does not know and makes a huge assumption which he cannot substantiate. Indeed such a person betrays a degree of ignorance of God, His compassion and fairness.

What we have to remember is that God knows every aspect of a person's abilities, motives and intentions. A left handed person does not choose to make his right hand the weaker hand. This is something that he is created with and cannot change just like [he cannot change] the color of his [skin,] eyes or his hair. So God will not ask anyone why he is left-handed, because it is He who has created him. Besides, using one's right hand for eating and most other purposes is recommended, or a sunnah. This means that it is not obligatory. On the Day of Judgment, God will not ask any person why that person has not done something that is not obligatory. Nor will he punish anyone for not doing such a non-obligatory matter. He will look at what recommended practices we do in this life and reward us for them. But He will not punish us for omitting any of them.

In the question of which hand to use for eating, God will reward those of us using their right hands only if they choose to do so in response to the Prophet's recommendations or to follow his example. In other words, His reward is not for the action itself but for intention behind the action. Hence, if a left-handed person trains himself patiently to eat and drink with his right hand until this becomes quite easy for him, and he does all that in order to follow the Prophet's example, he is sure to earn more reward than a person who does the same but does not have the added difficulty of being left-handed. I know some people who have done that. Their action is certainly commendable. The habit they acquired has become natural to them to the extent that they do practically everything with their left hands but when they eat they use their right hands. Perhaps you could do likewise and be patient until it comes naturally to you. You only need to be patient with yourself. But if you find it too difficult, then you should not bother about what people may say. You just explain that this is a natural difficulty and that it is God who created you so.

This last weekend I had went walking downtown and by the White House there was a group of Muslims. One of them was carrying a Koran, in his left hand.

One of the more amusing things that I learned about Islam while I was there was that Allah has 'blind-spots.' In other words Allah is not all-knowing, all-seeing.

Some Muslim shipyard workers come onboard the ship and immediately they pull out their cigarettes (during Ramadan.) I tell them that they are not allowed to smoke. Their reply was interesting to say the least "No, is o.k. Allah is not here." I then not so politely pointed out the huge "NO SMOKING" sign in huge red capital letters painted above his head. This was in Dubai. (They were most depressed.)

I wonder, if Allah cannot see what is going on an American-Flag ship, would he not see what is happening in America itself? In the Seaman's Mission in Dubai, they had a book at the entrance where Muslims signed before entering acknowledging that alcohol is served inside the mission; that they are Muslims, and that Muslims do not consume alcohol.

This brings me to the Island-State of Bahrain. It is connected to Saudi Arabia by a bridge. Allah does not see past the bridge. On Bahrain, Muslims, mainly from Saudi Arabia, can pretty much do whatever they want. Smoke, drink, whatever. I was in an Irish bar, and in the room next door, there were a bunch of Saudi men, all dressed in white, sitting in Laz-e-Boys with water pipes next to each chair. They were smoking and drinking and watching two scantily-clad women from the UK dancing on a stage. I bet that Allah would not approve. My boss has told me that Allah cannot see what goes on inside hotels either. Come to think of it, that can be a pretty handy character of a God.

So if Allah can be tolerant for left-handedness, and turn a blind eye at certain times, what about pigs and pork? We all can see how the UK is handling the pig issue. Not only are real pigs bad, but even images of pigs, and cartoon pigs of all things. Banks are tossing piggy banks as part of this pig purge. But then we have Michael Totten's 'Middle East Journal' where he clearly illustrates the position of pigs in the Middles East.

Look. I’m in Lebanon. Somewhere around 35 or 40 percent of the people who live here are Christian. Except for around 60 Jews, the rest are Muslims. This is a Muslim-majority country. Muslims outnumber Christians approximately two to one. And yet pork – pork – is all over this place. I had a pizza for lunch today. My pizza had ham on it. Not fake halal “ham,” but actual pig meat. The restaurant that served me this pizza is on the Muslim side of the city. - MJT

So apparently pork is not a problem. Sounds like Muslims can be a really tolerant bunch. There is evidence even here of this. Sometimes when I go food shopping, there is Muslim woman at the checkout (wearing a hijab) and she handles my pork products just like all the others. Am I disrespecting her religion by bringing pork to her? Apparently not. I would even bet that there are Muslims who are fans of Piglet, and apparently some Muslims do eat pork. (How about a nice hotdog?)

So it appears that the West's efforts to wipe pigs off the face of the Earth is of no importance to Muslims, then what can we do to make Muslims happy? What matters to them?

I understand that the President of Iran knows what he wants. Of course the rest of the world is not going to give it to him. Might he be willing to solve this problem himself? Should we do something about this, or just write it off to cultural differences?

Left-handedness - Islam City

Piggy banks 'offend UK Muslims' - The Age, Australia

Who’s Afraid of the Pig? - Michael J. Totten

Sony CDs and Spyware

There has been a number of attempts to make CDs copyproof. So far without success. the most well known failure needed only a black magic marker to defeat. Now Sony has resorted to a new tactic to prevent your computer from copying their music, spyware.

This spyware does not sneak into your computer through the internet, it is hidden in the CD waiting for you to place it into your computer's CD drive. To be 'fair' to Sony, there is a prompt stating that the CD will install a small program that will remain in the computer until removed or deleted. the joke is that if you try to delete it, there is a good chance that you'll end up disabling your CD drive.

Privacy and security experts charged that the technology built into many of Sony's music CDs since March is unnecessarily invasive and exposes users to threats from hackers and virus writers.

"Here you have one of the biggest name-brand corporations on the planet getting into what many people in other circumstances would consider hacking," said Richard Smith, a security and privacy consultant based in Boston. "That's just not acceptable." - Washington Post

Did I mention that the software the CD installs can be used by hackers to hijack your computer? Read the following entry which goes into detail what this 'small program' does to your computer and how impossible it is for normal people to remove the software once it's been installed.

Sony, Rootkits and Digital Rights Management Gone Too Far - Mark Russinovich

But don't worry, there is a way to get the program off your computer:

But according to Mikko Hypponen, director of research for Finnish antivirus company F-Secure Corp., users who want to remove the program may not do so directly, but must fill out a form on Sony's Web site, download additional software, wait for a phone call from a technical support specialist, and then download and install yet another program that removes the files.

I suggest you fill out the form and get your computer cleaned. After all, if you have no clue that this is operating on your computer, you never be sure that it is the reason it is acting strange. Oh, if you can't find the form mentioned above, you can find it here or the Uninstall request here.

It was only a week or two ago that I read that there are also copy protection issues with Sony's Playstation and PSP. Apparently Sony uses region coding in the PSP so that only games purchased in the same region as the Playstation will work. So if you happen to buy the playstation in the US and move to Australia, the games sold in Australia will not work in your Playstation. I have been told that the games have yet to be coded by region, yet.

Whatever damage this software might be doing to computers, it probably is nothing compared to the damage to Sony's reputation. So now in addition to not buying Sony electronics, now I need to avoid their CDs too. Not that I play CDs in my computer now, but I might want to in the future.

Study of Sony Anti-Piracy Software Triggers Uproar - Washington Post

Read here for my comments on Sony Stupidity concerning their new DVD standard:

Those who cannot learn, Prologue: SONY Blue-Ray DVD Stupidity - FFI

Controlling the Internet - The US, ICANN, and the UN

Unless you have been living in a cave, you already know that the member states of the UN are planning to takeover governance of the Internet. Currently there is a Corporation in California, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which is responsible for managing the domain registry of the Internet.

Note that ICANN control does not extend to other countries “Country-Code Top Level Domain.” (ccTLD.) These are the Internet addresses that end with the country code of a specific country. An example would be ‘.uk’ for internet addresses using the United Kingdom’s ccTLD. So registration of Internet addresses ending in .uk are overseen by the UK and not the California Company nor the US Government. Each country has it’s own Internet country code. Approximately 38% of all websites on the Internet have a non-US ccTLD. So already 38% of the Internet is controlled by the member states of the International Community.

Some countries take responsibility for control to a higher degree than others. It is well known that China, as well as some other countries filter what their citizens can access on the Internet in addition to managing the registration of websites. Now these countries want to manage the part of the Internet not under their direct control, namely those websites that end in .com. (Like Blogger.com)

This is not the first time that the global community was concerned about US control of new technology that it developed that turned out to become very useful globally. Take the Global Positioning System (GPS.) GPS was developed and is operated by the US Military. It is now used globally for any number of purposes by users, including myself, who pay no fee to use the system. In essence, a gift to anyone willing to take advantage of it. In the past, the free signal was not as good as the signal that was available to the military, but now everyone has access to the same data. (I never noticed a difference in the quality of the data.)

However, as the GPS system is controlled and paid for by the US Government, there is always the risk that the system might be turned off for non-military users leaving them ‘lost’ for lack of a better word. We’ll forget that this has never happened, but it remain a threat to those who depend on the service.

Did the global community attempt a takeover of the system? Did they demand that the UN take over governance of GPS? No. The EU decided to develop and pay for their own system, which would not be controlled by the US. The EU and US have even cooperated concerning the EU’s Galileo positioning system. In addition, the project has received funding from non-EU countries such as China, Israel, and India. Galileo is expected to come online in 2008. By then there should be GPS receivers that will use signals from both systems. Sounds like a perfect solution, and we end up with two global positioning systems.

So, why the controversy over control of the Internet? Just like GPS, it was the US that invented the Internet and paid for a good bit of its development. Is the UN offering to pay for what they are planning on taking? Not likely. I have seen comments elsewhere that this might be an evil plan to tax the Internet through the taxing of each domain name. I don’t think so. They have other issues they want to tackle first. I suspect that they really want to go after all of the sites that show their country, and the UN, in a bad light. You see, you cannot get a press pass to access the UN if you don’t believe in the UN:

“The Department of Public Information reserves the right to deny or withdraw accreditation of journalists from media organizations whose activities run counter to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, or who abuse the privileges so extended or put the accreditation to improper use or act in a way not consistent with the principles of the Organization.” - UN

So if the UN cannot even accept dissenting viewpoints from the media, how do you think they will accept dissenting views on the Internet? If President Bush’s White House acted this way, most of the White House Press Corp would have had their WH press passes withdrawn years ago.

There is no limit to the amount of tampering that the international community could inflict on the Internet. The UN and countries might claim that a domain name cannot contain the name of their country (or UN) unless it meets some quality standard or pay a special fee. Crazy suggestion? Well the European Court just decided that cheese can only be called Feta if it is made in a certain part of Greece. Likewise, Champagne can only come from a region in France. Don’t tell that to “Great Western,” makers of New York Champagne. Thankfully NY is not part of the EU and they can call it New York Champagne if they want to. Think you can have Helsinki Feta? sure you can, but only if you make it in Greece. It does not matter if you are a Greek cheese maker. Do these items truly taste unique to a specific region? Perhaps, but different brands will taste differently so the place issue is nothing more than an attempt to brand a commodity and then protect the brand.

Now lets apply this logic to websites. The Iranian Government gets no benefit from all of the dissident sites located around the world, especially when they are more than ready to second guess the new President on items such as how to fix the decline in their stock market. They would shut all these sites down if they could. (God only knows what they would do to those who operated the sites.) However, at the moment, all they can do is try to prevent those from inside Iran from viewing these sites. The same goes for China. Thankfully these countries currently cannot prevent anyone outside their borders from viewing these sites.

One of their arguments for UN control of the Internet is very similar to the GPS argument for a separate system; The US controls access to the Internet and they can shut them out at any time. Of course there is no reason for the US to do this. The US would probably buy every Iranian household a computer and give them free Internet access if it would give Iranians access to the Internet not filtered by the mullahs.

Internet users do not seem to be so crazy about rocking the boat. One reason is that they are afraid that countries, in addition to denying access to their sites, is that they might redirect traffic to other sites setup by them. This is done by changing the addresses in the routers of where the website is located. These routers currently get their information from ICANN.

Somebody has to control the list of internet address names. Letting the UN take control of this service is an invitation to disaster. If these countries are so concerned about being shut out, they could just build their own Internet. Even if the US can shut them out, it would have no effect on the Internet within their country. If your domestic Internet sucks, well who is to blame there?

Finally, there is one other area where the US has ultimate control over an area of International interest and has the possibility to fully cripple the operation of the UN. That is in the role as the issuer of Visas to the US. That includes all the diplomats and world leaders going to the UN. It was suggested that the New President of Iran should be denied a visa as some suspect him of being involved in the Embassy hostage crisis of the 70’s. In the end, President Ahmadinejad did get a visa and was permitted to attend meeting at the UN. But how humiliating it must have been to ask the United States for permission to go to the meetings. Even Castro manages to obtain a visa to attend UN functions. But come on. None of this is about the way the US is acting, it is all about the fact that they could if they wanted too, and that is what is the issue. But for some reason, there is no concerted effort to wrest Visa control from the US. That might change the next time President Ahmadinejad asks for a visa.

Keep your U.N. off my Internet. – Opinion Journal
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) – UN
Workshop on Internet Governance - ITU (Chairman’s Report, PDF Document)

ICANN

Galileo European Satellite Navigation System - EU
Galileo positioning system - Wikipedia

Mobility of the Workforce - "Working in the EU"

In this weeks "CARNIVAL OF THE CLUELESS #19" there was an entry by "The Wide Awakes" criticizing a number of facts presented on the European Union's at a glance summary page. He covered a number of the 'facts'. One that caught my eye that he did not address was the following:

"did you know that: the EU allows you to travel, live and work in any EU-country, in most cases without border controls or paperwork?"

I would not call this deceptive. The statement does depend on where you are now as to how 'Great' this aspect of the EU is compared to your country.

Living in the US, I am living in a union of states where I have the same right. I can move to any of the 50 states (and DC) and live there for work and be equal to those that have lived there their whole lives. This mobility of the workforce is a very important part of reducing unemployment. If the population is mobile and has the freedom to move from region to region, they can move to where the work is.

In the EU, most citizens can move to wherever they want in the EU for work, or for any reason without much restriction. There is talk of restricting citizens from new member states to prevent them all from moving to the higher paying countries. But the funny thing is, the EU did not need to enact barriers to keep people from moving from one country to another, as there were already natural barriers in place. Take language. almost each country in the EU has it's own language and I can tell you from experience, that your going to have an impossible time finding work if you don't know the language. Language matters for even trivial work. But that's just for starters. You are not in their 'system.' Not in the banking system. Not in their Social Security system.

Then there is the fact that you are in another country. You have to learn how things are done there. In the UK, they drive on the other side of the road and you'll have to buy a new car because yours has the streering wheel on the wrong side. They do not use the euro in the UK either. Nor is the Euro used in Sweden and in the new EU member-states. As you are not a citizen of that country, you can be excluded from public sector jobs, such as policeman, etc which is a shame since the public sector is normally the biggest employer.

As for border controls, the UK still has them for internal EU citizens too, but it is a formality. However, in a number of the countries, you will have to obtain a residence permit if your going to stay. And if you just want to move there and you don't have a job, you need to prove that you have enough funds to live without assistance as well as adaquate health insurance. This is setup to prevent movement of the poor (most likely from states with poor welfare to those with good welfare programs.)

That's one of the great things about working in the US. Sure, NY is very different from Arizona, and from Alaska, and Hawaii, but I can be confident that all the basics will be the same; The language, the currency, the social security, the tax system and Government.

Note: Fred has worked in a number of EU countries both as cargo ship crew and shoreside.

Being Less Poor

I am tired of hearing supposedly smart (Democrat) politicians and groups like the ACLU complain that it is unfair to require people to spend $20 - $30 to obtain a photo ID because poor people cannot afford them. So this got me thinking, WHY ARE PEOPLE POOR?

At its simplest level there are two reasons why people are poor:

• They do not earn enough money
• They spend too much money / Save too little

To avoid being poor, it is very important to earn as much as possible while trying to spend as little as possible. Good discipline in controlling spending can do a lot to stretch income, especially the more limited it is. This applies to not just the poor but to everyone, as a recent report noted, that its easier to make a million than it is to keep it.

With the two reasons listed above in mind, it is not possible to accurately determine how expensive something is just by looking at the price. To better determine how expensive things are, you should take the cost of the item and then figure out how many hours you have to work to earn the money to buy it.

So if you earn $8 an hour and a movie costs $8 to see, it will cost you one hour of work to enjoy a movie. That is actually a good deal because it only costs you an hour to earn the money and two hours to spend it.

Now add in the cost of a date +$8, dinner +$24, and movie snacks +$8, and your looking at an evening costing $48. Add to that going to lunch and a pack of cigarettes +$12, and your looking at $4 left over from what you earned that day for any other expenses you need to pay, like rent for example.

Strange enough, by using this method, depending on how often you smoke, smoking might not be that expensive. Of course, any amount spent on smoking is a waste of money, it just might be that your not wasting that much. However, you can surely find a better use for $100+ that you would have spent on smoking over the course of a year, like perhaps to use for gas to escape a hurricane, or use the money to pay for a picture ID.

Of course increasing your hourly wage now becomes even more important as it reduces the amount of time required to earn enough to afford the things you want, and take less time to pay for the things you need.

This can be a little difficult if you do not have a job. Then again, without a job, what the hell are you doing looking at designer handbags and expensive electronics instead of flipping through the help wanted pages?

Look, NOBODY is going to help you be less poor. This is something you need to work on yourself. It will take hard work and effort. Nobody is interested in helping an indifferent person. A handout might get you through the next couple of days, but it will not solve your problem. I am not saying to not take the handout. Accept it with thanks, but use it to your advantage and take the opportunity to put some money away.

Also, be careful about spending money to maintain some sort of image. Your friends should like you for who you are, not for what you wear or what you drive. Anyway, it is silly to project an image that is expensive to maintain, when at the end of the day, you are sleeping in a shithole or in the middle of the projects.

So before you go spending what little money you might have, you should really think twice about what is more important, the object, or cash socked away. Here is a list of items I consider potential ways to waste money:

• Do not buy a new car. (Used cars are just fine)
• Do not buy an SUV (Station wagons are just fine)
• Do not spend a ton of money customizing your car.
• Do not waste money on custom license plates
• Do not buy a flat-screen TV. (Regular ones are 1/10th the price)
• Do not order magazine subscriptions (Go to the library)
• Do not buy lotto tickets (They are supposed to help the poor through rich people buying them)
• Do not gamble
• CDs DVD – drain you of packet change
• Do not give money to politicians
• Do not give money to political parties
• Quit or cutback on smoking
• Cutback on drinking
• Do Not Do Drugs - Its certainly not going get you out of the poorhouse and if your use is noticeable, nobody will want to hire you.
• Do not steal - This can land you in jail and when you get out nobody will want to hire you, because nobody likes a thief, especially a coworker who is a thief.
• Do not eat at restaurants or fast food places (or eat out less)
• Bring your lunch to work
• Do not waste money on expensive hairdos
• Do not waste money on tattoos
• Do not waste money on expensive clothes
• Do not waste money on expensive shoes and sneakers

No matter how little you are earning, save something.

• Participate in a direct stock purchase plan.
• Many can be started for as little as $250. Additional contributions as small as $50 can be made with automatic deductions from your bank account.
• Yes, $250 is lots of money, but it is also a goal to reach when you start saving.

Hold the members of your family accountable.

• If a teenager wants money, help them find a job.
• Teach them that when you have a job, that you do your job correctly.
• Do not worry about what others are getting away with, do things correctly. It will eventually be to your benefit.

Consider the possibility that you need to move to a different part of the country to find a decent job with a decent wage.

Stop blaming all your problems on race. Try taking advantage of it for a change. there are opportunities available to minorities that are not available to whites.

• Colleges need to have a minimum amount of black students to avoid being racist.
• You do not have to do as well academically to get into college
• You have more grants, scholarships, and reduced tuition possibilities than whites.

If you do well, you will probably end up 'stealing' jobs from whites.

Georgia Voter ID Law a ‘Poll Tax’ Says U.S. District Court Judge Harold Murphy - FFI

The Road To Poverty - Signal 94

Signs that Allah (God) is not on Your Side: Update

There was recently a devastating earthquake in Pakistan. Apparently the hardest hit area of Pakistan includes the region where Osama Bin Laden is believed to be hiding as well as parts of Kashmir where there has been a problem of Muslim extremists.

“New Delhi estimates that anywhere between 500 to 2,000 militants might have been killed in the October 8 earthquake that has claimed over 40,000 lives. Although the impact on cross-border militancy is yet to be known, several observers have pointed out that the killer quake is the biggest flushing out of the jihadi infrastructure in Pakistan that might have occurred in the region.”

To add to the whole insult against the extremist movement, many of the victims of the quake have been receiving aid from the American Military that has been flying helicopter aid missions in the region.

There are even questions being raised about the fate of Osama Bin Laden. Could it be that the quake buried him in some cave up there?

“10/12/05 - Members of the Pakistan military and civilians from multinational relief agencies carry an injured woman to a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter for a medical evacuation in the remote Pakistani village of Rawalakot, Oct. 12, 2005, while a U.S. Army CH-47D Chinook helicopter, background, prepares for its next mission. The Department of Defense”

There are thousands of poor people who are unwitting victims in this tradgedy who truly need help. So try to keep that in mind.

Signs that Allah (God) is not on Your Side - FFI
Nature forces back terror – AT Times

A Little Perspective On Military Deaths

With the news of the 2,000th Military death in Iraq there seems to be no perspective concerning what has actually been accomplished.

We took Afghanistan and remain there to this day at a cost of under 300 American lives.

We took and continue to hold Iraq for over two and a half years at a cost of around 2,000 American dead. While the body count continues to grow in both operations, the cost in American human life has yet to reach the number of lives lost on 9/11 in just a couple of hours due to terrorism.

Both Afghanistan and Iraq provided the US with an excuse for the US to attack them.

The accomplishment highly outweighs the price paid in terms of American lives lost, not only on the American side, but on the Iraqi side also. The cost however is extremely high for the individual families of those killed and injured, as each one of those deaths and injuries is a tragedy for that soldier’s family and friends. However, America as a whole, all 300 million of us, benefit greatly from the sacrifice of the 2,000 and all the others who continue to fight to protect America. We should all be very greatful that there are so many willing to take up arms for America.

One number not being counted by the press and anti-war crowd is the lives that have not ended as a result of the US War against Terror. Would there have been another 9/11? Would 2,000 soldier’s lives lost be worth preventing another 9/11? What about Saddam’s killings? There was no shortage of state-sponsored murder in Saddam’s Iraq. The cost of our war dead did result in a changed world, which over time will be much better than the one that included Sadam.

I see no mention in the press of the toll that other nations whose soldiers are serving in Iraq have paid. Soldiers from the UK, Italy, Ukraine, Poland, Spain, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Netherlands, Estonia, Thailand, El Salvador, Latvia, Denmark and Hungary have all suffered casualties in Iraq.

Also, there is another issue that needs to be addressed that so far appears to have been overlooked. Saddam did not believe that the US would actually invade Iraq. He was paying off the Russians and the French, who managed to get the Germans and Chinese to stand up for Saddam with them and they did a great job of subverting any action coming out of the UN Security Council. Then there were the hundreds of thousands of anti-war (anti-Bush) protestors protesting against the US around the world. Then there were the many intrepid people who traveled to Baghdad to act as human shields for Saddam. Not only did these groups not prevent the war, they probably helped make it a reality by giving Saddam false hope that world pressure would protect him, despite his utter failure to come clean in accordance with Security Council Resolutions.

“Senior (Iraqi) military officers and former Regime officials were uncertain about the existence of WMD during the sanctions period and the lead up to Operation Iraqi Freedom because Saddam sent mixed messages.” - Page 94, WMD Report

The War on Terror is not a fight against Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. This is a fight against terrorism. The former Iraqi Government was a terror enabler. Saddam had to go. Libya was also a terror enabler. It is now an example that there are peaceful solutions, however the outcome is not solely in the hands of the US, EU and UN.

For peaceful solutions to work, you need a cooperative party on the other side who is also willing to work towards a peaceful outcome. In the case of Libya, both sides were able to work together. We did not have that in Iraq, nor did we in Afghanistan. We do not seem to have governments conductive to peaceful outcomes in Iran or North Korea either. So the next time you start shouting “War is not the answer” do be sure that both sides get the message. (That doesn’t mean Republican and Democrat.)

Iraq War Casualties

The Connection between Iraq, Al-Qaeda and the War on Terror - FFI
Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. - FFI
Fallout likely caused 15,000 deaths - USA Today

Reason to like the Lada

"People make jokes about a Lada like the one we have, but would you want to do something like this in anything but a Lada?" - Fred's Friend 6 June 2003

A friend of mine sent this to me a while ago. It was apparently taken in Finland, at least that's my guess.

Georgia Voter ID Law a ‘Poll Tax’ Says U.S. District Court Judge Harold Murphy

There is no possible way that the US can pass a law requiring voters to present a photo ID when they vote that the Democrats will not claim disenfranchises the poor in some way. For starters, I don’t see any Democrats proposing any voter ID laws.

It is common sense to ask voters to present a photo ID when they vote. Not requiring a photo ID to vote in nothing more than an invitation to fraud.

This brings me to the Great State of Georgia in which Republicans have been accused of 'ramming' a Voter Photo ID through the legislature.

A federal judge in Rome today issued an order suspending a new state law requiring voters to show photo ID at the polls for the upcoming November municipal elections throughout Georgia.

U.S. District Judge Harold Murphy granted the injunction to lawyers for Common Cause of Georgia, the ACLU, the NAACP and other groups who challenged the law that requires Georgians to purchase a state-issued photo identification before voting. - ajc.com

This centers on the inability of the poor and the elderly to purchase photo IDs.

Unemployed get unemployment. Others get welfare. The elderly get social security. When all else fails, children can ask their parents for the money. Parents can ask their children for money. People who received $2,000 from FEMA can put $35 aside for a new ID, especially if they can spend cash for $700 Prada bags, alcohol, and strippers.

This argument of the Democrats has nothing to do with not being able to afford an ID. It is an excuse to keep the window open to permit fraud. Every person can manage the fee to obtain an ID. They just decide to spend that money on something else.

Having an ID has other benefits unrelated to voting.

• Minorities and the poor need a photo ID to cash Social Security, unemployment, welfare and other checks.
• Minorities and the poor need photo IDs to write checks.
• Minorities and the poor need photo IDs to use bankcards and credit cards.
• Minorities and the poor need photo IDs to buy alcohol and cigarettes.
• Minorities and the poor need driver’s licenses (a photo ID) in order to drive.

It makes you wonder how many people don’t already have an ID?

What also bothers me is that you do not have to obtain a new ID each year, IDs are valid for a number of years.

There is a provision in this law to permit those who cannot afford an ID to get one for free. But it has been challenged as not fair because it is not as easy to obtain a free ID as it is to pay for it. Why not make state ID’s free for everyone and available at all DMV offices? I am sure the Democrats will fine some problem with that too. Perhaps it is too much for the old people to get there, forgetting that they manage to get to other places, like to casinos and to bingo, as well as to the polls on election day.

The Federal Government should take control of this issue and pass a voter photo ID law. Just as the 10,000 black people ‘stranded’ without transportation (who were believed drowned) in New Orleans managed to somehow escape the city on their own, they will also manage to obtain an ID in order to vote. To suggest otherwise is an insult to them.

Voters want a requirement to show an ID at the polls. I challenge Democrat lawmakers to come up with a workable solution to this issue instead of declaring every proposed solution as being biased, racist or unconstitutional. Don't give me problems, give me a solution.

Voter I.D. -- No Complaints from Dead Voters - Commonvoice.com

Public biggest loser in voter ID law brawl - MDJOnline.com

P.S.

Congressmen John Conyers Jr. came out praising the judge’s decision:

"Truth be told, the issue should have never reached this point - the Georgia Legislature should never have passed this modern day poll tax, the Governor should not have signed it, and the Justice Department should have intervened to stop it. That is why 21 Members and I asked the Department to prevent this law from taking effect.” - Congressman Conyers.

If this Congressman is so concerned about the poor, then you would never think that the Congressman’s Staff would steal turkeys intended for the poor. Too bad that last year, that is exactly what happened. 61 Thanksgiving turkeys were given to the Congressman’s staff to pass to his constituents that were poor. Too bad the trail of the turkeys ended with the staff members.

I guess the Congressman does not realize that it’s no fun to vote on an empty stomach. That’s strange, since other Democrats keep getting caught giving out cigarettes and beer on election day to the homeless to entice them to vote. How about giving out money for Ids?

Conyers Commends Decision to Bar Georgia's Voter ID Law - Scoop News NZ
Did Conyers' Staff Steal Food From The Hungry? - Captain’s Quarters

Update: 6 May 2006

The Voter Fraud Party - California Conservative

One Year as a Fund Manager

I recently passed the one-year mark in managing a Mutual fund. The fund was started a year ago with One Million ($1,000,000) US Dollars. Currently it is worth about $1.2+ million which comes out to just over a 20% return. Pretty respectable, considering that the market has been horrible over the last year especially recently.

This is not a real mutual fund, it is a virtual fund. The website, Marketocracy.com lets you operate your own fund. It is a great way to see how well you would do IF you had lots of money to invest in the stock market. Not only can you see how well you can do, but you also get ranked against other funds on the site. Over the last year, my fund outperformed 86.4% of the other funds on the site. I think that is pretty respectable considering that while attempting to make a profit, you need to keep the fund in compliance with fund rules.

Now I am investing in the market, both trading occasionally via the web as well as making monthly purchases through BP, ExxonMobil, and GE's Direct Investment Programs. These programs allow you to invest as little as $50 a month. In addition, every three months there is a dividend that also increases the amount of shares that you own. It is a great way to save, and over time, the investment grows nicely.

Now, I only need to get my hands on a real million or two.

Fund Performance for merimies's Mutual Fund - Marketocracy

Fighting Illegal Immigration is easier than anyone is willing to admit: UPDATE

In my original post "Fighting Illegal Immigration is easier than anyone is willing to admit" I wrote about how the US can fight illegal immigration. One main aspect of the plan called for ending 'catch and Release.' It seems that the Government has finally decided to acknowledge that this is a problem as stated by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff recently:

Our goal at DHS (Homeland Security) is to completely eliminate the 'catch and release' enforcement problem, and return every single illegal entrant, no exceptions.

It's about time that this problem gets addressed. Of course this is not the only issue needing attention when it comes to illegal aliens.

P.S.

As for legal aliens the Government needs to get on the case of the "US Citizenship and Immigration Services" also known as BCIS. BCIS is by far the WORST Government Agency. Be happy that you were born an American, because this agency will put you through your paces as different members of the Agency provide you with conflicting information, deceive and outright lie to you, as they put their hand over their badge so that you cannot take down their name while all the time demanding more money from you because another file needs to be completed. But no matter your efforts, some invisible person working in the BCIS Texas Service Center will go and put the wrong name on your wife's Greencard, just for laughs.

I only mention this about BCIS because if the Government intends to kick out all of the illegal aliens, it would be helpful to provide all of those who are here legally with documentation to prove their legal status.

US security chief strives to expel all illegal immigrants - Breitbart.com
Fighting Illegal Immigration is easier than anyone is willing to admit - Fred Fry International
Greyhound Bus lines - No Tickets for Illegal Aliens - Fred Fry International
US Citizenship and Immigration Services

Do we really want to Force Liberals to have more children? The Abortion Issue.

I am sick and tired of hearing about Roe v. Wade. It is almost as if the Supreme Court is going to hear only one case in the next twenty years.

Sure, abortion is a very sensitive issue no matter which side you stand behind. Unfortunately, neither side is willing to put forward a sensible solution. At its most basic level, abortion is merely one solution to the problem of an accidental pregnancy.

Listening to the PRO-CHOICE backers, one would think that there was ONLY one choice available, abortion. On the other side of the issue, the PRO-LIFE backers carry on with their message that it is ‘murder to stop a beating heart.’ For the large number of people who feel strongly (one way or the other) on this issue, it is very disappointing to me that only the extreme positions are being voiced.

Abortion is one of many choices available today. Not having an abortion is also a choice.

Women who do not want to have a baby have many choices to choose from in order to avoid becoming pregnant. Of course there is abstinence, but who are we kidding, abstinence is no fun. Nobody said that all of your choices have to be appealing and as it so happens, the most effective way to prevent accidental pregnancy just happens to be avoiding physical sex. Nonetheless, abstinence is a choice.

One thing that both sides need to accept is that they are going to have to accept a compromise situation. The Pro-Lifers, have a huge problem if they ever expect to ban abortions for even if they manage to get Roe v. Wade reversed, that will merely revert abortion regulation back to the states. New York was one state where abortion was legal prior to Roe v. Wade. So while some states might pass laws banning or severely restricting abortions, women can go to a neighboring state for the procedure. The Pro-Choicers are going to have their hands full trying to limit the tightening of restrictions on how late in a pregnancy a person can obtain an abortion, especially considering that modern technology now makes survival of ever-younger fetuses possible.

Every day a pregnant woman does not have an abortion is another day that she HAS CHOSEN to keep the baby. Being pro-choice works both ways. A choice is made and it is not only a choice to have an abortion but also a choice to have a baby.

At some point, you have to say enough is enough and stick with the choices that you have made the day before, and many days before that. Every day a woman keeps the baby, the baby is a day closer to surviving outside the womb. Once the baby gets to a certain point, say like 20 weeks, then she should commit to sticking with the pregnancy until giving birth. We all make agreements every day that we are held accountable to, and this should be no different. If you want to give the baby away once it’s born, then so be it and it should be easy to do this if a woman does not want to keep the baby.

But this is only half the issue. You seen, most of the time the woman who is looking for an abortion, never wanted to get pregnant in the first place. In this day and age many people that get accidentally pregnant get that way due to their own carelessness and (while some studies deny it) their own stupidity. There are so many ways to keep from getting pregnant. Sure no birth control method is perfect. However, there is no rule saying that you can use only one. Ideally, more than one should be employed to increase protection as well as protect against the possibility of failure of any one device. Getting pregnant is also not the only risk of having unprotected sex. While birth control pill will protect against getting pregnant, they do nothing about preventing the transmission of STD. So ideally the man should wear a condom no matter what type of birth control the woman is using. However, just using the pill (correctly) is a very effective form of birth control.

The Pro-Life group also needs to become more pro-active. Last fall I stopped by one of their booths located in a street fair in Front Royal Virginia. Not one item concerned safe sex or ways to prevent accidental pregnancy. There was not even anything on abstinence. When I asked why there was no prevention material available I was told that they are not allowed to hand out that type of material.

Abortion should not be the issue it is if those who keep shouting ‘woman’s choice’ explain to their children that they have choices they can make to avoid having to make the choice of having an abortion.

At the end of the day, each family has their own set of issues, concerns, cultural and religious beliefs and problems that they need to deal with. Not all Americans are religious. Many Americans have a problem with abortion, but some of them will still have one despite their convictions. I for one think that abortions should be legal, to a point, say 20 weeks. That’s five months into the pregnancy and past the halfway point. That is plenty of time to end the pregnancy and much more time that they spent deciding to have sex in the first place.

I also think that there should be models of the fetus for each of those 20 weeks so that each person asking for an abortion knows exactly what they are asking to be removed from them. There has been something similar that is being done in places and apparently some women do change their minds and that is pissing off the Pro-choice people.

To prevent unwanted pregnancies the Government should immediately approve use of the day-after pill in the US. Along with this, there is no room in this whole argument for pharmacists who refuse to dispense birth control pills. They should be fired for failing to carry out their job. If this is an issue, they should have realized this conflict of interest before going to school. I find their stance the most ridiculous as their refusal to distribute birth control might actually result in increased abortions.

Oh, yes, the title of this post. I find it strange that if the Pro-Lifers ever get their way, that would theoretically result in many more births to ‘liberal’ parents than ‘conservative’ parents. Just what the world needs, more moonbats....

Fred

P.S.
Apparently I am not the only person bothered by this whole abortion issue. Reliapundit has a great post on this subject:

TECHNOLOGY CAN MOOT THE ABORTION DEBATE – Astute Blogger

I agree with his post entirely. I would even think that this process might even be cheaper than artificial insemination, provided they figure out how to get the embryo to ‘stick’ inside the new mommy. Another benefit from artificial insemination is that there will not be all these fertilized eggs in freezers across the country.

Other sites:
How abortion is costing the Democrats voters--literally. - Opinion Journal
Oral contraceptives are highly effective - RxList
There is NO SUCH THING as Accidental Pregnancy – “Little Whip’s Lair”
Envisioning Life Without Roe: Lessons Without Borders - Guttmacher.org
The causes of unplanned pregnancy – The Pro-Choice Forum
Pre-emptive Executions? - Steve Sailer
Teenage Pregnancies Not Always An Accident – Aphrodite Womens Health

USSR Passport: Issued in 2000!

The USSR was no more as of 1991, or was it?

Take a look at this Soviet passport (personal details removed) and you can see that it was issued in 2000.

I am unable to find the issuing authority for these passports. Now I have learned that the Internet suffex '.su' for the Soviet Union is still in use. What's going on here?

This reminds me of the Simpsons episode where the Soviet Union returns (See video clip here)

Didn't we win the Cold War?

Soviet Union - Wikipedia
.su - Wikipedia
The Simpsons - Soviet Union

(St. Petersburg Metro Station, October 1999. The shadow in the right corner is a female security officer 'requesting' that I put my camera away, by yelling and putting a hand over the camera.)

Gore 2008 - Not Happening

Former Vice President Gore spoke in Stockholm, Sweden today 12 October. Most notably, he stated that he will never run for President again. Looking around the internet, there are sure to be a number of conservatives that will actually be disappointed at this announcement. I for one was hoping for a Gore-Sharpton ticket.

In addition to announcing that he will not run, he took the opportunity to trash the current administration, and repeat false accusations, providing those who hate America with ammunition in the form of quotes and sound bites, from one of our own. For example:

If Gore was President:

"We would not be trying to control and intimidate the news media. We would not be routinely torturing people," - Former VP Gore

The first comment is ridiculous. This administration cannot control the media any more than they can control bloggers. Hell, it has been documented that Bush cannot even control dissent in his own bookstore. Perhaps Gore has forgotten, but the media in the US (and everywhere else) is heavily biased against Bush.

As for torture, I do not think that any country is immune to the possibility of acts of brutality against those under their control. Does the US routinely torture people? No. Members of the US military have been caught torturing prisoners. That's different. And my understanding is that the incident occurred over the period of one night. That's hardly routine.

I am against torture in general.

I am not against making life difficult for prisoners. After all, for most of them, it is entirely their fault that they ended up in prison in the first place. So think before you do the crime. The punishment might be much worse than you expect.

Now whose prison would you rather find yourself a guest of, Bush's or Saddam's? If I had to bet a bad day at Bush's prison is probably still better that a good day at Saddam's prison. Provided that you survived the event. Of course in Saddam's prison, there were eight years that you could feel warm inside because Clinton and Gore were in the White House. Then again, you might not have been lucky enough to get as far as Saddam's Jail.

Here are some relevant Gore Quotes from the past:

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country." - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002.

"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power." - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002.

Gore had his chance in 2000 and he was not smart enough to take advantage of Clinton's popularity to get him the job. Now it is nearly impossible for him to win the position as there are five years worth of Gore quotes just waiting to be used against him.

Gore: I Won't Run Again - CBS News
If Bush is such a dictator, why can't he even stifle dissent in his own bookstore? - Opinion Journal
Saddam's daily horrors make America's Abu Ghraib abuses seem almost trivial - World Net Daily
SPEECH BY SENATOR AL GORE concerning Iraq - September 29, 1992

Other Fred Fry 2008 Postings:

Biden 2008? - Last Exit Before Toll - 9 Oct 2005

Obama 2008? Mr. Electability? - 25 July 2005

PETA Presents: "Daddy Kills Animals" Comic Books

This is beyond ridiculous.

"Keep your doggies and kitties away from him. He's so hooked on killing defenseless animals that they can be next!"

Talk about intolerence. Keep your sick comics away from my kid.

PETA has made other news lately, what I like to call "Our Way or the Pie Way!"

"PARIS (AP) — Anna Wintour, editor in chief of Vogue magazine, was hit with a tofu pie by anti-fur demonstrators as she attended Paris fashion week."

"Dan Mathews, vice president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said the vegetarian tofu tart was retaliation for Vogue's decision to run fur ads while refusing to use PETA's anti-fur messages." - USA Today

Poor Peta, some magazine did not want to run their ad. Looking at their comic book, I don't blame them. It does not matter how classy the ad they provided might have been, PETA itself is an extremist organization and Vogue was not interested in pissing off their readers. Now they have also managed to open themselves to a nice lawsuit.

Adding insult to injury, PETA is a Google News Source.

Spotted first at Ace of Spades HQ:

If It Worked For the Nazis and Soviets, Why Not PETA?