» 2008 » April News of the Restless

No, of course they’re not terrorists.

April 30, 2008 — Sabina Becker

The Venezuelan opposition, stoop to such undiplomatic and undemocratic vulgarities as this? Perish forbid! Everybody knows that they are the paragons of civil society. Right?

Right???

A dissident former general has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for bombing attacks on Spanish and Colombian diplomatic missions in Venezuela’s capital.
The state-run Bolivarian News Agency reported Wednesday that former National Guard Gen. Felipe Rodriguez was convicted of conspiracy and aggravated burning of property for the 2003 attacks.
Rodriguez, who was sentenced Tuesday, was accused of planning the explosions at the Spanish Embassy and Colombian Consulate, which injured four people.
Venezuelan officials said at the time that the bombings were meant to destabilize the government of President Hugo Chavez, who shortly beforehand had warned Spain and Colombia not to interfere in Venezuelan affairs.
Rodriguez, also known by his nickname “The Crow,” was among military officers who rose up against President Hugo Chavez in a short-lived 2002 coup.
He later helped lead a series of demonstrations in Caracas along with other military commanders opposed to Chavez’s left-leaning government.

Folks, this is what we call a false flag operation. And had it succeeded, it might have become a classic one.

Too bad it backfired. That’s what we call being hoisted on one’s own petard, if I’m not mistaken.

Posted in Huguito Chavecito, Isn't That Illegal?, Karma 1, Dogma 0. Comments Off »

Sacrebleu de merde! What is this?

April 30, 2008 — Sabina Becker

Oh, it’s just France kissing both the dimpled cheeks of Chavecito…again.

France’s top diplomat sought help from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday to press for the liberation of rebel-held hostages in Colombia.
Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is aiming at restarting talks to free hostages who include French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt.
“We spoke about the liberation of the hostages, all of the hostages, of course Ingrid, but also all of the others,” Kouchner said after emerging from the presidential palace. He revealed few details of the conversation.
Kouchner has said he believes Chavez can play an important role. The leftist rebels express an ideological affinity with the socialist president and have freed six Colombian hostages to his government so far this year.

Heh. Looks like all those France-haters left over from the run-up to Gulf War II can now join all the Venezuela-haters in screaming over this. (Why do you people hate the freeing of hostages, people?)

And, bonus! The AP has had a moment of correctitude in saying that the FARC are sympathetic to Chavecito, rather than the other way ’round as usual.

Posted in Crapaganda Whores, Huguito Chavecito, Morticia! You Spoke French!. Comments Off »

A legal precedent worth noting…

April 30, 2008 — Sabina Becker

…wherever you are. In this case, it’s Australia punching a big, fat hole in the Religious Reich’s anti-gay agenda:

Christian organisations in all states and territories may have lost the right to discriminate against gay people despite religious exemptions in anti-discrimination laws, legal experts claimed this week following a landmark ruling against the Uniting Church’s Wesley Mission.
Homosexuality as an intolerable sin was not a doctrine of Christianity, the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal ruled last month, because there were many dissenting views on the subject among Christian groups generally, and specifically within the Uniting Church.
As long as gay-friendly congregations like Metropolitan Community Church exist, this ruling means Christian organisations don’t have a license to legally discriminate against gays, Brisbane lawyer Stephen Page said.
"Religious exemptions are worded almost identically across all state and territory anti-discrimination laws, so I’d expect other commissions to start citing this case," Page told SSO.
"Christian religious schools in the ACT, NSW, Victoria, SA and WA would not be able to use religion as the reason that gay and lesbian students can be prevented from bringing their partners to the school formal."
The Tribunal rejected the welfare agency’s right to refuse a gay couple seeking to become foster parents as the laws only allowed exemptions for religions, and there was no "religion of Uniting Church".

Um, would the phrase “suck it” be too vulgar to use in this context? Or would it be only too apropos?

Posted in Law-Law Land, Oceania, Pissing Jesus Off. Comments Off »

Little Red Chavista Riding Hood

April 26, 2008 — Sabina Becker

I love ‘toons, don’t you?

“Once upon a time in South America, there was a frail little girl named Venezuela. But then along came Chavez…”

And look! Evo can morph into Rambo:

(more…)

Posted in All About Evo, Boycott This Toon!, Found in Translation, Huguito Chavecito. Comments Off »

Yes, the Pigman WANTS riots in Denver

April 26, 2008 — Sabina Becker

And no, he doesn’t have plausible deniability here:

Image taken from the Denver Post.

I thought he was tired of carrying water for the Repugs. When did he switch back, and what put that shit-eating no-dignity grin on his face? Oxy again? Damn. When’d he get back on that? Or (as I suspect) did he simply never get off it?

If he wants a Rocky Mountain High, I wish he’d OD on that. He’s clearly not man enough for adrenaline.

Posted in Crapaganda Whores, Isn't That Illegal?. Comments Off »

Ever been glad you couldn’t afford something?

April 25, 2008 — Sabina Becker

Then you probably know just what I’m feeling about LASIK after reading this…

Patients unhappy with their laser eye surgery urged U.S. health regulators to do more to limit poor results, saying complications from the LASIK procedure have taken a toll on their sight and emotions.
Blurred vision, dry eyes, glare and double-vision have led to depression and in some cases suicide, several patients told a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel.
“Since LASIK, I am visually handicapped,” said patient David Shell, adding that he has near constant eye pain and depression. “My eyes never feel comfortable… 10 years have passed and I still suffer from this problem.”

And just think–you pay by the eye for this. Or should that be through the nose? Either way, I’m glad I still wear my glasses and contacts, even if they ARE inconvenient at times. It beats committing suicide because some butcher with a laser fucked up your eyes.

Posted in Good to Know, If You REALLY Care, She Blinded Me With Science. Comments Off »

The Pigman’s violent streak

April 25, 2008 — Sabina Becker

Mike Malloy hangs Rush Limbaugh’s fat ass out to dry on the air. Courtesy of Malmo Blue’s Equal Radio.

Posted in Crapaganda Whores, Isn't That Illegal?. Comments Off »

Festive Left Friday Blogging: For cute Evo-pix, sign here

April 25, 2008 — Sabina Becker

Yes, I know…I’m shameless. But if you want to see cute pix of Evo AND express your social conscience, Todos Con Bolivia is the place to go.

And don’t forget to sign their petition.

(Thanks to Corey and Madalena for directing me to the site!)

Posted in All About Evo, Festive Left Friday Blogging, If You REALLY Care. Comments Off »

Has Rafael Correa been reading my blog?

April 22, 2008 — Sabina Becker

The reason I bring this up is because he says exactly what I’ve been thinking about Alvaro Uribe myself:

“Just when relations improve with him, something strange happens and you get stabbed in the back. Something in his head’s not working right.”
“That’s Álvaro Uribe Vélez. Something’s wrong. His behavior is terribly psychotic.“
“Uribe doesn’t want peace, nor does he want hostages released, because Betancourt is a potential presidential candidate.”

(h/t Machetera for translating this lengthy, very enlightening interview. Linkage added to quote to illustrate.)

Posted in Ecuadorable As Can Be, El NarcoPresidente, Found in Translation. Comments Off »

My Beautiful Mommy needs a shrink, not a surgeon

April 21, 2008 — Sabina Becker

There are all kinds of sensitive issues begging to be covered by a children’s book. Is this one of them, or is it just another sad sign of times gone mad?

Dr. Michael Salzhauer said so many moms brought kids to their appointments that he was motivated to stock up on lollipops in his Bal Harbour, Fla., office. In “My Beautiful Mommy,” he explains mommy’s recuperation, changing look and desire for plastic surgery.
“Many parents don’t explain to their kids what’s going on,” said the father of four, with his fifth child on the way. “Children are very perceptive. You can’t hide a major surgery from them. When mom goes down for two weeks after a tummy tuck it affects them.”

Yeah, and when she dies on the operating table, or from an embolus afterwards, it affects them even more. Just something for all the Mommy Makeover patients out there to mull, along with how much of their children’s college education fund is going to get eaten up by Beautiful Mommy’s buying in to a patriarchal construct of feminine beauty.

And no, the good doctor who wrote this deathless prose is not shilling for his own practice at all! Perish the thought, you vulgar thing!

Illustrations show a crook-nosed mom with loose tummy skin under her half shirt picking up her young daughter early from school one day and taking her to a strapping and handsome “Dr. Michael.”

Strapping and handsome…and one helluva chiseler. In more ways than one.