Feline Warrior

According to an email I received, men may find themselves in competition with their own sperm for a woman’s love.

The email’s subject line reads With Spermamax she will love your sperm more than you, but the message itself does not make clear if it is referring to sperm as a whole or individual sperm.

If the advertised product, Spermamax, has the ability to create a love relationship between each and every sperm that a man produces and a woman, this writer predicts an ugly path of lawsuits ahead.

What with the climate created in large part by the FBI-listed polygamist Warren Jeffs, fears nationwide could shoot to alarming levels if Spermamax becomes the consumer hit its makers hope it will. According to Men’s Health over at About.com, 50 million sperm are discharged during just one ejaculation in a normal healthy male!

The challenges for men in this regard are almost too frightening to ponder. The idea of women being suddenly compelled to work their ways through multiple love relationships with potentially millions of sperm… well, I think you can see why I am so very concerned.

Please, please - do not purchase Spermamax! The dangers it poses to the delicate love relationship/eco-system might be irreversible!

Antispam Crusade backfires Blue Security shuts down

The quote: “It’s clear to us that [quitting] would be the only thing to prevent a full-scale cyber-war that we just don’t have the authority to start,” CEO Eran Reshef told The Washington Post. “Our users never signed up for this kind of thing.”

This make me sad. I can’t stand it when the bad guys win. The good guys have a conscience, so they stop what they’re doing, saying they haven’t the authority to start a cyber-war. The bad guys have no conscience and have been attacking the cyber universe for years. They don’t care what people do or do not want, and because of that, they prevail.

I’m grouchy about this now.

Here’s yet another idiotic piece of trash that arrived in my inbox, courtesy of a friend who has confused humor with stupidity.

The text is interspersed with images of naked young women. It begins like this: To all Canadian and all women in other free countries are invited to particicipate, dont let me down

Men will supervise the action . The final answer is here

It goes on to say that it’s the Canadian version of Homeland Security, and is passed on in the name of patriotism. MmHmm. Here’s the rest of the text, sans the naked women:

We all know that it is a sin for an Islamic male to see any woman other than his wife naked, and that he must commit suicide if he does.

Canadian women are asked to walk out of their house completely naked to help weed out any neighbourhood terrorists.

Circling your block for one hour is recommended for this anti terrorist effort. All men are to position themselves in lawn chairs in front of their house to prove they are not terrorists, and to demonstrate that they think it’s okay to see nude women other than their wife and to show support for all women.

And since the Koran also does not approve of alcohol, a cold six-pack at your side is further proof of your anti terrorist sentiment.

The Canadian Government appreciates your efforts to root out terrorists and applauds your participation in this anti terrorist activity.

God bless the Beaver and GOD BLESS CANADIAN WOMEN!

So this is saying that all Islamic men are terriorists, which is not true. Many of us who can recall the Oklahoma City bombing know that some terrorists are white, non-Islamic, American males.

I understand that this email is meant to be funny, but I stand by my belief that laughing at (or forwarding) such stuff implies agreement and/or approval. It’s doubtful that anyone truly believes that this is a true anti-terrorist tactic. The idea is preposterous, of course - using nude women to bring about the suicide of “neighborhood terrorists” - aah, haha, so very funny.

Here are the components:

Men are in charge of women, who will parade around the neighborhood naked - for one hour

By participating in such a way in this event, men will prove that looking at naked women is fine - even if those naked women are not their own wives (maybe even especially if those women are not their own wives)

(This says that married men should feel good about looking at other naked women, and apparently, their wives should feel okay about it too; one must presume that men who are otherwise companioned with women -and those women- ought to follow suit)

The men should have beer at their side during this eventNeighborhood terrorists will commit suicide at the sight of female nudity and beer

As if there wasn’t already enough offensive material in here for you, the author added that the men will be showing “support for all women” by participating in this event. I fail to see how this supports any women at all - the men who are married or otherwise involved with women will surely not be supporting the women in their lives by staring at other naked women, much less “all” women.

The most dangerous myth being presented here is, of course, that all Islamic men are terrorists. It’s dangerous because there are those who believe it, and so will be encouraged in this incorrect idea. There are those who are indifferent, but who think it’s funny to promote anti-Islamic propaganda. And finally, at the very least, by laughing at such bullshit (or forwarding it) one is condoning it. And there’s nothing to condone about this. Nothing.

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Here is a link to What is the Qur’an? from About.com

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  Pfft!

Bush denies spying infringes on privacy - Yahoo! News

According to Dictionary.com:

4 entries found for spy

n. pl. spies (spz)

1. An agent employed by a state to obtain secret information, especially of a military nature, concerning its potential or actual enemies.
2. One employed by a company to obtain confidential information about its competitors.
3. One who secretly keeps watch on another or others.
4. An act of spying.

v. spied, (spd) spy·ing, spies (spz)
v. tr.

1. To observe secretly with hostile intent.
2. To discover by close observation.
3. To catch sight of: spied the ship on the horizon.
4. To investigate intensively.

v. intr.

1. To engage in espionage.
2. To seek or observe something secretly and closely.
3. To make a careful investigation: spying into other people’s activities.

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Just in case you were wondering.

standpatism \STAND-PAT-iz-uhm\ noun:The practice of refusing to consider change in one’s beliefs and opinions, especially in politics.

[The term has its origin in the game of poker. It stems from stand pat, to play one’s hand as it’s dealt, without drawing other cards.]

Permalink: http://wordsmith.org/words/standpatism.html

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Now, I’m not going to point any fingers, but this does sound mighty familiar, this standpatism business. Let’s take a trip back in time… Say about 6 or 7 minutes ago… Or the last time you talked to a Red State fanatic… Ah, yes, there it is, isn’t it? It’s all coming back to you, eh?Don’t confuse standpatism with patty cakes, which is, of course, a game in which two participants (as mother and child) clap their hands together to the rhythm of an accompanying nursery rhyme. Or red fish blue fish one fish two fish.

Movie News - Hollywood Asks ‘What Would Jesus Direct?’ -
AOL News

Favorite quote: ‘GODSPLOITATION’: Ralph Winter, a producer at 20th Century Fox Films, said Fox’s home video department was leading the way in pushing for films for religious audiences.

“They’re very interested in opening up that market so we have been making $2 million or $3 million movies based on (Christian) books,” he said.

So maybe Mel Gibson will do his next project on the Christian book to beat all Christian books: The Bible. Why stop with just one small part of the story, when there’s got to be at least a dozen good opportunities to be had? I mean, Gibson can create in-living-blood-style epics, and in all manner of genre: horror, love, mystery, and so on.

To what was I referring in the previous post? Why, this: Internet under Attack by Renegade Spammer; Blue Security Responds; Blue Security Identifies “PharmaMaster” as the Illegal Spammer Who is Threatening the Internet to Keep His Spam Business Running

Whew! That’s a hell of a headline, but these guys are spam fighters, not writers, so I cut them slack. (I’d be willing to cut even more slack if I knew -KNEW- that they wore masks, tights, and capes while fighting spam.)

Here’s an excerpt:

Blue Security is calling upon its members and supporters worldwide to help the community to win the fight against the criminals who wish to control the Internet. Community members and Internet users can assist by making the information published by Blue Security available on their Web sites and help more people know about the community’s effort to reclaim the Internet from the hands of cyber criminals.

And a plug for Blue Security:

Blue Security was established in 2004 by seasoned entrepreneurs Eran Reshef and Amir Hirsh to provide a viable solution for eliminating spam and spyware. The company’s grassroots approach, the Do Not Intrude Registry, empowers members to securely and automatically request that spammers remove them from their lists. The opt-out action encourages spammers to conduct business elsewhere while defending the rights of registered members.

Rush Limbaugh Arrested On Drug Charges

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., April 28, 2006

Okay, so the headlines were a bit misleading. I must admit that I was all a-twitter at the thought of Rush L. being in the pokey.

But this whole thing is confusing to me. Here it says: Prosecutors’ three-year investigation of Limbaugh began after he publicly acknowledged being addicted to pain medication and entered a rehabilitation program. They accused Limbaugh of “doctor shopping,” or illegally deceiving multiple doctors to receive overlapping prescriptions, after learning that he received about 2,000 painkillers, prescribed by four doctors in six months, at a pharmacy near his Palm Beach mansion.

But then there’s this: Limbaugh, who pleaded not guilty Friday, has steadfastly denied doctor shopping. Black said the charge will be dismissed in 18 months if Limbaugh complies with court guidelines.

So he wasn’t doctor shopping. But he did receive a couple thousand pills from four different docs in half a year. But there’s nothing weird about all those different doctors. Hmm Mmm. Just regular stuff, visiting my four different doctors to get my sick mitts on two thousand pain pills.

Prosecutor: Teen Attack No Hate Crime, White Teens Charged With Beating, Sodomizing Hispanic Teen At Party Near Houston - CBS News

UNBELIEVABLE.

Sometimes I am ashamed to be human. And… how is this not a hate crime?
Briefly:

“Prosecutors will not seek hate-crime charges against two white teens accused of brutally beating and sodomizing a 16-year-old Hispanic boy after he tried to kiss a young girl, officials said.”

And:

“Authorities said the two dragged the boy from a house party Saturday and into the yard, where they sodomized him with a plastic pipe from a patio table umbrella and poured bleach on him. Trent on Friday described the pipe as being sharpened at one end and said Tuck stomped on the boy with steel-toe boots and kicked the pipe into him.

“At one point, the teens tried to carve something on the boy’s chest with a knife, he told CNN Friday.

“I don’t know that the very beginning of the attack was racial,” Trent said, “but there’s no question that they were venting quite a bit of hatred in their hearts.”

“The victim lay behind the house for more than 10 hours before he was found and someone called an ambulance. Trent said there were witnesses to the beating, though no one else had been charged.”

Trial Date Set for South Hills Murder Suspect

An excerpt: Illderton, who pleaded not guilty during arraignments in Kanawha County Court today, was denied bond and remains in south central regional jail. His trial has been set for August 28.

This is a followup to this post, from October 2005: Murder Close to Home

Oh, lord. I’ve been putting together a preliminary playlist for a CD I am making for a friend. I like to do this - in the 80s, I was the friend who would labor for hours and hours and proudly present only the most deserving friends (or crushes) with custom made cassettes, complete with handpainted covers. Oh, yeah, lots of red wine was always involved.  Today there’s no red wine, and there probably won’t be a handpainted cover for the CD.

In searching for songs to add to the compilation, I pulled out a BETTY CD, “Limboland.” It’s a great record, circa 1996. That’s when I heard it first, too - mine is a promo copy because I hired BETTY to play at the Ryan White Youth Service Awards for Metro Teen AIDS, a non-profit for which I volunteered.

So that was December 1996. A very dark time of life for me. When I say dark, you have to use your imagination and picture overflowing ashtrays, empty wine and vodka bottles, candlelight instead of electricity -more for mood accuracy than an unpaid bill, although sometimes it was the latter. Suicidal ideations, as they are called, were splashed across the black canvas of my mind, not as new thoughts, but in the nearing-perfection stages. It would not be unusual to notice a hint of wine coming from my pores, if one were to stand very close to me.

Not a happy time.

But I didn’t talk to anyone about it. Those close -and some not so close- could tell that something was wrong. Otherwise, off to work I went (mostly) and to my various activities.

December 1996. A young friend named William had suddenly fallen ill. First one disease, then another, was diagnosed. Finally, the doctors said he was dying from AIDS-related illnesses. AIDS-RELATED? He’s only 20, for god’s sake! Oh, the weepiness I feel expanding when I tell this story…

December 1996. William, a 20-year old black man, not known to be gay, bisexual, or an IV drug user, but not known not to be. A freakin’ youth educator on all matters sexual. Complicated. Alcoholic mother (like I’m one to judge, but sure as hell, I did), ashamed that her boy has AIDS. I never did meet her at the hospital, and that’s apparently because she did not go. Shame is a mighty powerful thing. When you stir large amounts of alcohol into that shame, you have a mighty intense concoction.

December 1996. This story all happens, really, within a two-week period of time, at the most. William, hanging on, me holding his hand, kissing his soft forehead, rubbing his hands. Me telling him that we love him, we’re proud of him, that the Ryan White Youth Service Awards program is going to be a big hit because of the work he did (maybe a lie, but big deal). I tell him that it’s okay to let go. I tell him I will never ever forget about him, and that I’ll see him in heaven one day. (And at that point, I think it might not even be that long ’till I’m headed that way.)

December 1996. William lets go. I freak out. I killed him, I told him to let go and he did. It’s all my fault. In a drunken rage, I try desparately to reach Kent’s roommate Alma, who is a pastor. She’ll know what to do, she’ll be able to tell me if god (who I only conveniently believe in when I might be in trouble) will be mad at me. Finally, after a thousand rings, call-backs, slurry voice mail messages left, she calls me back. Alma assures me that god is not mad at me, and I helped William to let go. That is a good thing.

December 1996. During this entire time, the BETTY, “Limboland” CD is playing. Constantly. It is the soundtrack of my life at this point. When William dies, and then for the weeks following, I listen to this CD over and over. (William never heard it - it’s just one of those things.) Certainly I played other music too - I had one of those 5-carriage CD players. There had to be other stuff on there, too. But this CD was the soundtrack.

January 1997. Life changes completely. The dark starts to fade, light shines in at times. I don’t start to see in full color for another year or so, but it is better. Much better.

But back to the CD: I could not listen to “Limboland” for a number of years after William’s death. I’d try, because I just love BETTY. Yes, love. But every time I heard it, I’d be shot back in time. I’d find that my heart was filled with unexplainable pain and deep, deep sorrow. It was too much to bear. Finally, I was able to listen to the CD, and most often I just enjoy it for what it is - a damn fine record.

April 2006. Kapow. Listening to “Limboland” as I search for just the right songs to add to the compilation CD, the tender spot isn’t quite as sore as it was earlier today. But that first note, a bassy sound, a softly driving beat, damn if I didn’t get the old feeling. And so in my own odd way, I prayed for William - for his soul, for the life he didn’t get to live, and finally, for the first time, for his mother. I hope she’s better, too.

No, she didn’t say those words. But I was chatting with a very lean, very bleached-blonde woman at the gym today, discussing, of all things, cell phone etiquette. We both agreed that it is rude when people talk loudly on cell phones in public. Further, we agreed that it is unsafe and sometimes scary when drivers’ cell phones are taking all of their driving attention. Then she said, “Even here,” waving towards the rest of the gym, “people do it.” We both shook our heads slowly. Mm-mm-mmm.

But here’s the part that got me: “I’m not prejudiced, but it’s always the blacks and they are loud!”

I stared, shook my head quickly from side to side to snap out of my stare, and said, “I better get back to stretching!” put my headphones back in and stretched.