9/24/06-10/3/06

OF HORSES AND CAMELS 10/3/06

The United Arab Emirates [UAE] is divided into seven emirates. The second emirate is governed by the Maktoum family. Two brothers in the family-- Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al Maktoum the Crown Prince of Dubai; and Sheikl Hamdan bin Rashid Al Mantoum the Deputy Ruler of Dubai and the UAE Minister of Finance-- have been named in a lawsuit filed in Miami, Florida the week of September 3rd, 2006. The brothers keep race horses on farms in Ocala, Florida which is why the lawsuit was permitted to be filed there.

The lawsuit was brought by parents of missing boys and it alleges that Sheikh Mohammad and Sheikh Hamdan have been involved in black-market purchases and kidnapping of young boys chiefly from India and Pakistan for import to the UAE so they can work as camel jockeys and stable hands. It is alleged that the boys are kept in substandard conditions in desert camps, given growth hormones to stunt their growth, and forced to work with the camels.

Camel racing is a dangerous undertaking. UAE camels have one hump. Boys have been trampled to death and otherwise injured by the camels. Undersized jockeys are preferred because less weight enables camels to go at top speeds. Boys who begin to gain weight as they get older are put to work as stable hands. Around the age of twelve, they are often arrested as illegal immigrants and given prison sentences. Those boys who are returned to India and Pakistan are often left in the streets of the "nearest slum" since records of their origins are not kept. A couple posing as parents of boys enable their crossing to the UAE when first taken. There are no "parents" availabe to help them when they are either brought back or arrested.

Sheikh Mohammad was served notice on the lawsuit on September 11, 2006 while attending Keeneland's Special Yearling Sale of racing thoroughbreds. Together with his bloodstock advisor John Ferguson, they topped the buyers' list there this year.

Read and learn.

spike q.

Thanks to Lilly over at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-by2ZNJo4aKc7ON.DLInKEozU?p=681 for providing the links and information below:

http://www.keeneland.com/livesales/press_releases/details.asp?PID=2073 http://www.bloodhorse.com/rss/article.asp?id=35307

http://www.sheikhmohammed.co.ae/english/history/history.asp http://www.sheikmohammed.co.ae/english/biography/crown.asp http://www.sheikhhamdan.ae/english/horse_racing.htm http://www.ameinfo.com/82534.html

http://www.uaeone.com/traditions/camelracing.htm http://www.camelraces.com [picture of youngsters on camels provided from that site also]

PERFECTLY ME 10/2/06

~Blondie on Little Chebeague, Maine. Picture taken by me.~

Sometimes, I wish I could be more like my dog. My dog does not sit and mourn over loss opportunities in her life. She does not ponder huge questions or dream about things that she cannot have. My dog lives for the "right now." She lives in perfect acceptance. She is her own true self. She cannot be anyone other than that.

~spike q

HUGO CHAVEZ 9/26/06

I have noted with some interest the fanfare that emerged after Hugo Chavez called President Bush "the devil" at the United Nations recently. Who is Hugo Chavez? Is he an enlightened leader or something else?

Hugo Chavez is the current president of Venezuela.

He is openly Marxist and a socialist.

Hugo Chavez has been building diplomatic relationships with such notable countries as Cuba, mainland China, North Korea, and Iran. He has been accused of having ties with Al Queda, the Taliban, FARC, and ELN.

Venezuela is providing oil to Cuba at discounted prices. Hugo Chavez also imported Cubans to help him in his bid for power in Venezuela.

Venezuela and Red China are also planning to exchange ideas for the economic and development good of both countries. China is currently not capable of refining Venezuela's crude oil exports. Hugo Chavez is hoping to encourage Chinese government investments in his oil refineries.

Chavez is sympathetic to the North Korean government. He visited North Korea after missile testing.

Hugo Chavez considers the current Iranian regime to be worthy of imitation. Venezuela and Iran are partnering to build an oil refinery in Syria, among other joint projects.

Hugo Chavez has been accused of having terrorist ties with Al Queda. Although publickly he espouses many of the same 9/11 conspiracy junk-science "theories" which have been popping up all over the web, he may have contributed financially to Al Queda in order to get the job done.

Hugo Chavez wanted to send troops to aid the Taliban when the United States attacked Afghanistan.

Hugo Chavez may also have ties with two strong terrorist organizations-- FARC and ELN-- in Colombia. He has also been investing money in poorer South American countries in order to build political alliances.

Hugo Chavez is not worthy of admiration. He is not "enlightened." He is a dictator and he admires repressive governments which are very far removed from democracy. He has promised to alleviate the plight of South America's impoverished residents. Even if he can deliver on that promise, at what cost? Taliban. FARC. ELN. Al Queda. Iran. North Korea. Mainland China. Cuba.

Taliban. FARC. ELN. Al Queda. Iran. North Korea. Mainland China. Cuba. No Thanks.

~spike q

1. Hugo Chavez the dictator: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108140.html http://goinside.com/04/9/chavez.html http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/3/25/175844.shtml http://www.financialsense.com/stormwatch/geo/pastanalysis/2003/0109.htm http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=2144 http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_6_55/ai_98954243

2. Hugo Chavez and Cuba: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/70FAE354-7832-4AC8-A714-604F65F6C78E.htm

3. Hugo Chavez and China: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-08/23/content_672174.htm http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=8120 http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=qw115606584296W643 http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/zxxx/t176888.htm

4. Hugo Chavez and North Korea: http://caracaschronicles.blogspot.com/2006/07/common-sense-meltdown-chronicle... http://www.neoliberalismo.com/KIM.htm http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=/ForeignBureaus/archive/20... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060916/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/nonaligned_summit

5. Hugo Chavez and Iran: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fnews/1704476/posts http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C9DFE280-E615-4FEB-ADE5-6708D459E9B8.htm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4336169.stm http://www.irandefence.net/archive/index.php/t-338.html http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=... http://www.worldthreats.com/latin_america/Iran-Chavez%20Alliance.htm http://jewishworldreview.com/0906/scarborough092206.php3

6. Hugo Chavez and FARC and ELN: http://www.williambowles.info/venezuela/2005/chavez.html http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/177yckaw.asp http://www.ciponline.org/colombia/apr1801.htm http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/milreview/demerest.pdf#search=%22chavez%2... http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/colombi/articles/20060228.aspx

7. Hugo Chavez and the Taliban: [also evidence of Taliban resurgence] http://www.venezuelasolidarity.org.uk/ven/web/dvd/chavez&iraq.html http://www.militaresdemocraticos.com/articulos/en/20021231-01.html http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/848112/posts http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article1757264.ece http://www.dw-world.de/dw/function/0,2145,12215_pg_1,00.html http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/10/afghanistan.fighting/

8. Hugo Chavez and South American countries: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/25/AR20060925011... http://www.vcrisis.com/index.php?content=letters/200508081031 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5032074.stm http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/0088673F-D07C-46EB-9A7E-864A3D354744.htm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4576972.stm http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2006/654/654p12b.htm

9. The 9/11 Conspiracy Junk-Science "Theories" have been debunked. Hugo Chavez public profession of belief in them: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military_law/1227842.html http://blogs.salon.com/0001561/stories/2003/09/22/mpMichaelMeachersCrackpotCo... http://michaelgriffith1.tripod.com/refute.htm http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000DA0E2-1E15-128A-9E1583414B7F0000 http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/06-09-11.html http://www.loosechangeguide.com/LooseChangeGuide.html http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=86556&d=14&m=9&y=2006&pix=w...

EQUINOX VICTORY 9/24/06

The Wiccan soldier who died in Afghanistan will have the pentacle engraved on his tombstone in his state's cemetary! http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/09/14/D8K4DACO0.html

Although the Office of Veterans Affairs continues to not make a determination on this issue, this is still a victory.

Happy Autumn Equinox to those who celebrate it; as I do.

Also the Jewish high holy days are upon us as is the holy month of Ramadan.

spike q

Thanks to Fishy&Tiggs over at http://360.yahoo.com/profile-HWfoO4Q8eqi.2J0RVVlAVZleTpU-?cq=1 for sending me the link.

ILLEGAL ALIENS FROM MEXICO 9/24/06

My friend Jeremy Crow at http://blog.jeremycrow4life.com/2006/09/two-muslims-and-frenchman-volume-1.html recently blogged about his experiences helping some of his co-workers study for the U.S. Citizenship test. He also commented on the question of illegal aliens in his state and surrounding states. It may not be a popular liberal stance but it is one that I happen to agree with.

For those of you who need to be brought up to speed, back in May of 2006, President Bush proposed a "guest worker program" along with a form of amnesty for illegal Mexican immigrants already here in the United States as part of a plan to re-gain control of the U.S. southern borders. He proposed increasing border patrol personnel and the building of more fences but did not put any real muscle behind his proposals in the form of necessary funding.

Some traditional Republicans along with some Democrats and bloggers came out against the idea of providing English classes along with fines and background checks for those illegal Mexican immigrants already present in this country. I too am very much against a "guest worker program" of any duration and against any form of amnesty or path leading to American citizenship for the illegal immigrants already here.

Illegal immigrants commit criminal acts when they sneak across the Mexican border into the United States-- whether it be in the back of a truck or trespassing on the lands owned by American citizens which border on Mexico. The mules who take them across the border are also committing criminal acts. The folks who hire them-- at substandard wages or not-- are also committing criminal acts.

All four of my grandparents were legal immigrants to this country. They worked hard to provide better lives for their children. They did not come here expecting handouts in the form of education or healthcare. If I were to move to another country and seek citizenship of that country, I would have to go through the legal red tape and I would have to have a plan to sustain myself in my adopted homeland. I would also be learning the language, history, and some of the customs of that country long before I began to pack up to leave my country.

So why should illegal Mexican immigrants be rewarded for sneaking into the United States with language classes, medical clinics, tuition for education, a driver's license, or any other thing? Could Bush's stance on this issue have anything to do with the fact that it is election year for some of his Republican politician friends? Is this political pandering in order to win Latino votes?

spike q

http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=13441 http://www.stoptheftaa.org/artman/publish/printer_91.shtml http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/july2006/210706amnestydead.htm http://www.rasmussenreports.com/2006/May%20Dailies/Immigration%20May%2016%20(... http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/01/20040107-3.html http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/11/20051128-7.html http://www.stoptheftaa.org/artman/publish/article_107.shtml http://lonewacko.com/blog/archives/003837.html http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26788 http://www.vdare.com/francis/amnesty_its_alive.htm http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/05/17/dobbs.bushspeech/index.html http://www.eagleforum.org/topics/amnesty/index.shtml http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-05-20-bushradioaddress_x.htm http://www.diggersrealm.com/mt/archives/000380.html

As usual, well-thought out differing opinions with or without URL citations always welcomed.

What do you think?

Yes to guest worker program, yes to keeping present illegal aliens from Mexico.

1

Prison time for the present illegal aliens, mules, and those who hire them-- and deportation after.

5

Fine them money and deport them.

1

Other.

4

9/8/06-9/18/06

WHAT KIND OF FROG ARE YOU? a break from intensity 9/18/06

http://www.allaboutfrogs.org/funstuff/frogtest.php3

Found in the dry, hilly regions of south central Madagascar, these amazing frogs escape the searing heat and dry winds of the region by burrowing into the ground for the duration of the dry season. Very shy by nature, when threatened, these frogs inflate themselves and will not hesitate to charge their assailants. These frogs can be very gluttonous, devouring a wide variety of bugs, grubs and the like.

~spike q.

Hassidic Jew removed from airplane for praying

Hassidic Jew removed from airplane for praying: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2006/09/05/qc-hasidicprayeronplane.html

Comments from various sites: http://www.witchvox.com/wren/wn_detail.html?id=16154 http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/brian_whitaker/2006/09/a_wing_and_a_praye... http://www.drudge.com/news/85193/praying-jew-forced-off-plane

Very well-thought out blog entry at benediction about his removal: http://www.benedictionblogson.com/?p=2656

sapphoq's entry on sapphoq.com about the same newsarticle: http://www.radical.sapphoq.com

spike q comments: I wonder what the response would have been if the man was rocking back and forth due to the neurological condition of autism? Or if he had low vision problems and was merely displaying a blindism? This incident is political correctness gone awry at best. Certainly the flight attendant's comment recognizing that the man was "not a Muslim" displayed her own prejuidices.

26 YEARS OF FREEDOM TODAY ... 9/8/06

from the bondage of addiction!

Today I am celebrating 26 years of freedom.

spike q.

A FEW LINKS: Bush, spying, and lies 9/8/06

For news reported by ABC regarding what President Bush claims is progress on and since the "war on terror:" http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2407457&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312 [ The same folks who are bringing us the drama-fabrication about 9/11/01 on our teevee sets soon].

9/1/06 Various politicians and various agencies line up on various sides regarding the war in Iraq; and Iran's refusal to comply with the kingpins at the U.N. regarding cessation of uranium enrichment research and activities: http://www.ain-al-yaqeen.com/issues/20060901/

Paid advertisement of a hypothetical speech that a journalist from Israel wrote which he envisions is an ideal speech for the Israeli Prime Minister to give: http://www.nysun.com/speechforisrael.php In this fabrication, the journalist refers to the six million victims of the Holocaust. [He neglects to mention that not all of them were jews.] He also refers to the "the Jewish state" of Israel. A clear example of sensationalism and emotionalism being used to perpetrate a fraud.

Also at the New York Sun http://www.nysun.com/article/39114 is a report that Anthony Coppelino, a Justice Department attorney, told a federal judge on September 5, 2006 that it is President Bush's constitutional right as president to use wiretapping as an anti-terrorism tactic.

Any bloggers with more news sources regarding President Bush, his equating of Islamic with terrorists and Iraq, the lawsuit being brought by the ACLU against his extensive wire-tapping of American citizens, news sites directly from the Middle East [written in Arabic, French, or English], opinions of folks who are followers of Islam, opinions of folks who live or have families in the Middle East-- please feel free to comment below if you wish and include links to your blogs or news sites if you wish.

Salaamz,

spike q

?docu?DRAMA !!! PROPAGANDA 9/8/06

In just over 48 hours, ABC will air a partisan "docudrama" about 9/11—apparently part of a right-wing attempt to exploit the anniversary. The movie was written and produced by a right-wing activist who fabricated scenes to smear Democrats and excuse Republicans. Sign the petition to tell ABC not to air partisan propaganda on 9/11. Sign the petition Here's the full petition text: "ABC must not air partisan propaganda on 9/11."

Dear Friends and Readers,

I am not really sure how effective an internet petition drive is in changing the actions of any politicians or organizations.

I am posting the following letter about ABC's airing of a "docudrama" about the bombings of 9/11 for your information. The topbox and the letter below came from http://www.moveon.org . They cite more references in their letter.

President Bush is on another speaking campaign in his endeavor to cull votes for his republican buddies hoping to be elected or re-elected to office. He has referred to his "war on terror" and is once again equating whole nations of people with terrorists. Meanwhile, he has asked for authorization to increase his ILLEGAL warrant-less wire-tapping program all in the name of this so-called "war on terror." The latest Commission report indicates that his sources were "faulty." These sources allegedly gave him [untrue] information on terrorist activities and threats. More website URLs will be posted about these things shortly here at http://360.yahoo.com/sapphoq .

Once again, I wish my Muslim friends in the Middle East and here in the United States and all over the world true comfort and safety in these troubled times.

~spike q

Dear MoveOn member,

In a little over 48 hours, ABC will air a five-hour "docudrama" on the 9/11 attacks. The movie was written and produced by a right-wing activist who fabricated key scenes to blame Democrats and defend Republicans.¹ It's so partisan that even Rush Limbaugh was surprised ABC decided to air it.² And an FBI agent who was brought in to consult on the docudrama quit because, he said, "they were making things up."³

Public outrage is mounting across the country, and Variety reports that ABC is now "mulling the idea of yanking the mini altogether."⁴ But we only have a little time to act. We'll start delivering this petition to ABC headquarters tomorrow at noon and continue as more signatures come in. So we're looking for 200,000 signatures TODAY.

Can you sign? Click here:
http://pol.moveon.org/abcdoc?id=8706-7551103-OC9063_MNIERyglbvm0tyQ&t=4

Then please pass on this message to folks you know who can help.

The Path to 9/11 appears to be part of a coordinated push—including speeches by President Bush and millions of dollars in advertising—to exploit the five-year anniversary of 9/11 for political gain. That's not acceptable from anyone—especially not a news organization like ABC.

It's not just that ABC's movie is slanted. Big parts of it are simply untrue. The producer himself even admitted to simply improvising a key scene which depicts the Clinton administration letting bin Laden go when they had him in their sights—a complete fabrication.⁵ Last night, the movie's star, Harvey Keitel, said "It turned out not all the facts were correct."⁶

It's really pretty simple: ABC shouldn't have any role in the political exploitation of 9/11. But this docudrama is designed to do just that—spreading a false message to millions of viewers across the country.

Sign the petition to tell ABC not to air partisan propaganda on 9/11. Click here:

http://pol.moveon.org/abcdoc?id=8706-7551103-OC9063_MNIERyglbvm0tyQ&t=5

Thank you for all you do.

–Nita, Eli, Carrie, Joan, Jennifer and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Friday, September 8th, 2006

P.S. For the most current information on the scandal involving this film, and for more information on the movie itself, please visit our friends at ThinkProgress:

http://www.thinkprogress.org

Sources:
1. "Writer of ABC's 9/11 'Docudrama' Is Avowed Conservative Activist," ThinkProgress, September 1, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2047&id=8706-7551103-OC9063_MNIERyglbvm0tyQ&t=6

2. "Clintonoids Prepare To Attack 9/11 Movie," The Rush Limbaugh Show, August 30, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2049&id=8706-7551103-OC9063_MNIERyglbvm0tyQ&t=7

3. "FBI Agent Who Consulted On Path to 9/11 Quit," ThinkProgress, September 7, 2006
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/07/fbi-agent-quit/

4. "Under fire, ABC mulls yanking mini," Variety, September 7, 2006
http://www.variety.com/VR1117949675.html

5. Greg Mitchell, Editor & Publisher, MSNBC appearance, September 7, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2077&id=8706-7551103-OC9063_MNIERyglbvm0tyQ&t=8

6. "Harvey Keitel speaks out on Path to 9/11: 'It turned out not all the facts were correct'", Showbiz Tonight, September 7, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2078&id=8706-7551103-OC9063_MNIERyglbvm0tyQ&t=9

Support our member-driven organization: MoveOn.org Political Action is entirely funded by our 3.3 million members. We have no corporate contributors, no foundation grants, no money from unions. Our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. If you'd like to support our work, you can give now at:

http://political.moveon.org/donate/email.html?id=8706-7551103-OC9063_MNIERyglbvm0tyQ&t=10

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