Vancouver Secrets

30 Years Ago Today.

This sick event happened 30 years ago today…

It was the event that introduced the phrase - drinking the Kool-Aid.

The mass suicide was preceded by Congressman Leo Ryan visiting the compound with a news crew to prove all was OK…

His statement “there are people here who believe this the best thing that happened to them their whole life” proved to be deadly wrong.

During Ryan’s visit, a few of the believers asked if they could join the Congressman on his return ride home.  The confrontations mounted, with Jones at first saying anyone who wanted to go was free to leave.  Jone’s depression grew as the size of the departing contingent swelled.

Ryan and the defectors headed for the local airstrip, but would never get off the ground. Some of Jones’ “security” people opened fire on Ryan, killing him and several others, including an NBC reporter and his camera-man whose camera eerily rolled on, catching it all for history.

900 died and Jim Jones died of a gunshot wound.

One of the unimaginable act that parents committed - 303 children were killed by Jones loyalists using syringes to squirt cyanide down their throats, while the parents sat by, waiting for their turn.

Hopefully we’ve learned to be wary of those that lead - especially when it comes to religious cults.

How To Fix The Global Financial Crisis

You Go Girls…

The Money Hole

Weekly Onion

These guys are great…

The Taliban Calls Out For Help

The Taliban has urged the United Nations to press the Afghan government to stop executions.

“We strongly request the U.N., the EU, the Red Cross and human rights groups to earnestly prevent this barbaric act,” the Taliban said in a statement on their website, accusing Karzai’s government of corruption.

This has something to do with Afghanistan executing four men today, including three linked to deadly attacks by Taliban and al Qaeda insurgents.

Poor Babies.

Here’s a short list of Barbaric acts by the Taliban:

- Yesterday two Taliban fighters poured acid on the faces of four schoolgirls in Kandahar.

- Five days ago, a Taliban force intentionally mixed in with a wedding party in Kandahar. The Taliban continued fighting and prevented the civilians from leaving. NATO forces called in an airstrike, which resulted in the death of 27 Taliban fighters and 36 civilians.

- A week ago, Taliban fighters halted a bus in Kandahar and dragged all thirty passengers off. All of the passengers, including women and children, were murdered. Six were beheaded.

Not to mention the Arena hangings they replaced soccer games with for five years.

The UN released the expected condemnation- of the Afghan government - “citing concern about the standards of judicial fairness.”

Let the hangings begin..

photo credit: jamiefreaky

The Lesson Is?

h/t

A family vacation to Oregon nearly ended in tragedy when a 3-year-old girl fell through a fence atop a cliff wall and began tumbling toward the edge.

Alaina Pitton and her sisters were posing for a picture above the 150-foot cliff above the Pacific Ocean when the terrifying incident happened.

The child stepped back, slipped through a fence and disappeared into tall grass as the family’s video camera was rolling.

Her mom, Charlotte Pitton, said the close call was the absolute scariest moment of her life.

She described it as “that heart-pounding and that terrifying feeling … I have never experienced that terrifying feeling like that before.”

Pitton and her husband said they hope the fence will be fixed to prevent other children from passing through it.

Every think of not posing your kids on the edge of a cliff? Michael Jackson come to mind?

Heather Mallick Has The Hots

From her infamous CBC blog:

“There’s a universal language - clothing - and it’s time to deconstruct what people have been mutely declaring on the world stage. These are leçons des choses, lessons from things.

Michelle Obama’s dress on Election Night was stunning, a black satin Narciso Rodriguez dress blasted with two patches of crimson spatters, with black bands criss-crossing her torso to emphasize her tiny waist.

Ugh, said a woman named Elaine commenting on NYMag.com’s fashion blog. “I thought the dress drew the eye to her breasts and stomach.”

It did, Elaine. That’s what made it alluring. Women have breasts; both they and men are pleased that it should be so. Bellies are where babies come from. There’s the result: Sasha and Malia.

Here finally was a Democratic woman on a political stage not concealing her sexuality but happy to celebrate it. She has been rightly praised for her fashion sense - and true, there are very few clothes that don’t flatter a tall, athletic woman like Michelle - but what’s startling is that her clothes reflect her self-confidence in her femininity. She is a high-earning, Harvard-trained lawyer and she doesn’t have to tone herself down for anyone.”

Hmmm.. contrast this with what she had to say about our girl Sarah?

“Palin has a toned-down version of the porn actress look favoured by this decade’s woman, the overtreated hair, puffy lips and permanently alarmed expression. Bristol has what is known in Britain as the look of the teen mum, the “pramface.” Husband Todd looks like a roughneck; Track, heading off to Iraq, appears terrified. They claim to be family obsessed while being studiously terrible at parenting. What normal father would want Levi “I’m a fuckin’ redneck” Johnson prodding his daughter?”

Puke now.

photo credit: Barack Obama

Monday Funny

The celebration

Sorry if the video comes down- Viacom is after this one - for obvious reasons.

Sunday Funnies - Social Progress

WASHINGTON—After emerging victorious from one of the most pivotal elections in history, president-elect Barack Obama will assume the role of commander in chief on Jan. 20, shattering a racial barrier the United States is, at long last, shitty enough to overcome.

Faced with losing everything, Americans took a long overdue step forward and elected Barack Obama.

Although polls going into the final weeks of October showed Sen. Obama in the lead, it remained unclear whether the failing economy, dilapidated housing market, crumbling national infrastructure, health care crisis, energy crisis, and five-year-long disastrous war in Iraq had made the nation crappy enough to rise above 300 years of racial prejudice and make lasting change.

“Today the American people have made their voices heard, and they have said, ‘Things are finally as terrible as we’re willing to tolerate,” said Obama, addressing a crowd of unemployed, uninsured, and debt-ridden supporters. “To elect a black man, in this country, and at this time—these last eight years must have really broken you.”

Added Obama, “It’s a great day for our nation.”

More here at the onion…

A Great Muslim Game You Never Knew About

(sorry for the commercial)

Muslims in western India have been observing a bizarre ritual - they’ve been throwing their young children off a tall building to improve their health.

The faithful have been observing the ritual at a shrine in Solapur, in western India’s Maharastra, for more than five hundred years.

They believe it will make their children strong and say no accidents have ever happened.

Okay…

Nancy Pelosi Finally Makes Sense

Came across this today - I couldn’t resist… Nancy at her best.

For your viewing enjoyment.

Nancy Pelosi Techno Chicken from wreckandsalvage

Free House Giveaway at freehouse.wordpress.com

This is a sign of the times - and a great chance to own a home in one of America’s best areas.

George Tran is a friend of mine… so I’d like to share the story (I’m not using this as my entry - so don’t Digg this…) :

From George’s site - About the Deal

As an internet marketer, I wanted to try a social network experiment to see if we can have some fun and give away our house to someone who is most worthy of it…and who would cherish the house.

What we want to do is to give away the house to someone who is worthy and at the same time see if we can help some non-profit organization.

Our thoughts was this: if we can ask people to pay $49.95 to register their interest in the house and write us a story about why they deserve the house…and let the internet community decide who is most worth.  The family that is voted most worthy by December 23rd (Christmas eve), will receive the house free and clear from us.

Here’s the idea.  We ask for a $49.95 registration fee.  If we receive $300,000, enough to cover our basic expenses so we can pay off the mortgage, anything higher, we will give to a charity.  Something like Habitat for Humanity or Best Friends Animal Shelter or Citizens for Health.

What’s the Catch?

Everyone’s trying to see if this is a scam or not.  It’s not.  I’m an honest guy trying to do something creative.  I make my living online.  My reputation depends on my honesty and integrity.  I’m using my real name, my real address, and all facts supplied on this can be verified upon request.

The catch is…if we don’t meet our $300,000 price, we will refund everyone’s money.  Frankly, if we don’t reach our target but we get a price close to what we paid out, we’ll probably let it go anyway.

The other catch is…you have to write a story.  Come on.  You’re getting a house for a $49.95 registration fee.  Tell us a story of why you are the most worthy recipient.  We’re not going to be the judge, we’re letting the internet decide.  There’s a website called Digg.com.  It’s a site where people vote for the most newsworthy or coolest stories.  You are free to post a blog, or make a youtube video or whatever…as long as it is sincere, and legal.  Of course, it helps if it is touching and/or funny too.  When you submit your story, you will need to submit your story to Digg.com, using the keyword “freehouse”.  We will search for “FreeHouse” for the winner.  You can click on the link on the right hand side under “Leader Board” to see who is doing what.

If you want to take part, go to George’s Free House Give Away site here.