Prince Harry Goes to Iraq

Prince Harry, third in line for the throne of England, will go to Iraq, despite warnings from the Mahdi army (Moqtada al-Sadr supporters) that they'll kidnap him if found.

In an interview to mark his 21st birthday, the prince said: "There's no way I'm going to put myself through Sandhurst and then sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting for their country."

While I think it's great and honorable that Harry wants to defend his country, because of the circumstances by which we went into this fucking war, I'm pretty pissed off that another honorable soldier is being put at risk because of a LIE. The fact that he's a royal is irrelevant to me, because in the bigger scheme of things, he's just another soldier, not a celebrity.

The world has already lost too many lives because of this war. It just needs to end.

What I find especially infuriating is that while England is willing to send one of its royals (albeit reluctantly, due to his high profile) to fight in the war, what about the Bush Party Twins? I don't see them getting getting dressed in camo any time soon.

I agree with Windspike: If this mission is so critical, why aren't the First Offspring doing the same?

UPDATE 5/16: Guess not:

Gen. Sir Richard Dannatt, the army chief of staff who recently traveled to Iraq, said the changing situation on the ground exposed the prince to too much danger. Media scrutiny of Harry’s potential deployment exacerbated the situation, he said.

“There have been a number of specific threats, some reported and some not reported, that relate directly to Prince Harry as an individual,” Dannatt said. “These threats exposed him and those around him to a degree of risk I considered unacceptable.”

(Photo credit: Ian Holding/PA)

East Bay: Free Movie Screening this Wednesday

To all you Bay Area hip hop fans, listen up.

This Wednesday, May 2, the UA Emery Bay Stadium theater will host a free screening of The Hip Hop Project at 7 p.m.

From Executive Producers Bruce Willis and Queen Latifah, The Hip Hop Project is the compelling story of Kazi, a formerly homeless teenager who inspired a group of New York City teens to transform their life stories into powerful works of art, using hip hop as a vehicle for self-development and personal discovery. Kazi challenges these young people to write music about real issues affecting their lives as they strive to overcome daunting obstacles to produce a collaborative album. Russell Simmons, hip hop mogul and long-time supporter of the project, partners with Bruce Willis to donate a recording studio to the Hip Hop Project. After four years of collaboration, the group produces a powerful and thought-provoking CD filled with moving personal narratives and sharp social commentary. In contrast to all of the negative attention focused on hip hop and rap music, this is a story of hope, healing and the realization of dreams. Inspired by Kazi’s work, 100% of the net profits from this film are being donated to organizations working with youth.

Say, "Torture!"

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, number 588, poses for a reunion photo with his fellow Harvard alumni.

Kudos to the students at Harvard who effectively forced Gonzales to escape through the back door during visit this weekend to his alma mater:

At a time when many in the nation are calling for Gonzales to resign, one third-year student managed to communicate the mood of his own alma mater directly to Gonzales. While the Attorney General's security detail kept protestors at bay and the photographer prepared the class photo, she slipped though the law library's front doors and approached Gonzales from behind. "On behalf of many other Harvard Law students," she said, "I'd like to tell you that we are ashamed to have you as an alumnus of this school. And we're glad you're here to be able to tell you that." Gonzales thanked the student and offered to shake her hand, but was refused. After the class photo was taken, several of the Attorney General's classmates clapped and approached the protesting students to thank them for their efforts.

Following the group photo, Gonzales ducked into the library to take a stroll around the main reading room, which, on the weekend before final exams, was full of students going over their notes. When the protestors caught up with Gonzales, the cavernous reading room, ordinarily a place of hushed whispers, echoed with chants of "shame" and "resign."

Funny. That last part kind of reminds me of the shower scene in Carrie, for some reason.

Anyway, unfortunately, Gonzales probably won't resign, even though everyone and their mother is asking him to. I swear, the inner circle of the Bush Administration is like a bunch of freakin' cockroaches --- they just won't go away!

Thanks to Jonsey (read his blog now!) for the link.

(Photo lifted from here.)

It's the new "Safe Sex Happy Meal"

Hey, look on the bright side. At least it wasn't a finger:

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A grandmother was alarmed to find a condom in a happy meal gift pack bought for her 7-year-old granddaughter at a McDonald's restaurant in New Zealand, local media reported Thursday.

The condom was discovered Tuesday night in a bag that came with Maia Whitaker's meal, which her grandparents bought at a McDonald's outlet in the city of Wellington.

[...]

The outlet quickly swapped the happy meal for a hamburger and pencil case. McDonald's is investigating the find.

Grandma was "horrified" at the thought of her seven-year-old granddaughter finding the condom in her Happy Meal, and said that it would be "difficult to explain."

If a kid came to me holding a wrapped condom, asking me what it was, I'd just take it from them, make something up, and then blow it off. And then show the kid something shiny.

I mean seriously, when did it become bad to tell a little white lie to kids?

/sarcasm



(source)

Notes from the G List

I don't even know why I care, but this blog has been demoted to an insignificant microbe in the TTLB Ecosystem.

That's the lowest on the totem pole, y'all.

For a while, I've flitted about somewhere between flappy birds and marauding marsupials, enjoying my middle-of-the-road existence.

Now, I'm amoeba-ish.

I'm a little bummed about it. Whatever.

UPDATE 4/30: I am back to flappy bird status. I never thought some random online hierarchy could provide me with some sort of validation. But it does. And I'm ashamed of myself for it. I mean, who wants to be known as an insignificant microbe anyway?

Just in time for prom

As if you needed another reason to love Brooklyn:

Paris Hilton's naked "corpse" could provide an invaluable service to students preparing for prom this season.

An interactive Public Service Announcement featuring the graphic display of a tiara-wearing, autopsied Paris Hilton with removable innards is designed to warn teenagers of the hazards of underage drinking. The display also features Tinkerbell, Hilton's forlorn pet Chihuahua with matching tiara, and debuts in the trendy Williamsburg, Brooklyn neighborhood where prom-goers frequently dine, courtesy of Capla Kesting Fine Art.

"Campaign to Rescue Women of Youth" featuring "The Paris Hilton Autopsy" offers a cadaveric nude Paris Hilton, laid out with twisted body and opened abdominal cavity on a coroner's table, while her cell phone remains in her grip. The 'unglamorous' display which includes support material from anti-drunk driving organizations counters "the disturbingly glamorized trend of Hollywood's 'girls gone wild'," according to gallery director, David Kesting.

Paris Hilton, arrested for a DUI last year, previously released a marginally effective PSA concerning drunk driving. This latest PSA includes a website by Capla Kesting, which offers high school educators an icebreaker for discussing drunk driving's consequences. Students are encouraged to take the virtual field trip at http://www.ParisHiltonAutopsy.com to view the making of the "Paris Hilton Autopsy" and compete for prizes by writing Paris Hilton's obituary.

What's more is that this sculpture/PSA is interactive in that Paris' innards are removable, allowing aspiring prom queens to see the effects of drunken driving "from a coroner's perspective."

Art. Public Service Announcement. Social commentary on The Evil That is Paris. Writing contest. What more do you want?

Brilliant.

Courtesy of the same gallery that brought you the Crowning Britney.

(Photo credit: Capla Kesting Fine Art)

If it bleeds, it leads

Take a look at this picture. Do you find it offensive?

Some may argue that the reportage element to this photo is offensive.

Others might be offended at the amount of blood is in this photo.

Still others might be offended at the sight of the gunshot wound.

And then there are some who are offended because they say that they see the wounded man’s penis in the photo.

This photo was published in the Roanoke Times on April 17.

Almost immediately, newspaper readers began to debate the image. A message board devoted to the Detroit Free Press sparked a debate the next morning over whether the picture actually showed genitalia. The Hartford Courant was bombarded with complaints, many of which reader representative Karen Hunter posted online.

"You are showing his penis right on the front page," one Courant reader complained to Hunter. "I think that's disgusting.... I think you should have blocked it out or something."

Over at the New York Post, editors anticipated that exact response. The Post ran the picture big and in color, but cloned out the flesh-colored shape protruding from the student's lap. Across town, the archrival Daily News ran the picture unedited.

People edited the photo, while its sister magazine Time ran the picture unedited.

You’ve got to be kidding me. More than thirty people were killed, and you’re worried that this dude’s dong is showing? Why are you looking so closely at the photo anyway?

Look. Humankind, in all its glory, is as much bloody, gory, dirty, smelly, pus filled, and evil as it is beautiful, loving, flowery and brilliant. But to get up in arms about whether or not you see his penis in the photo (I'm still not even convinced that's what it is), to focus on it and then call it "disgusting," is missing the point altogether.

And it's not like the newspaper published this photo out of some prurient motivation. "If it bleeds, it leads," as they say. Get your heads out of the gutter.

(Photo credit: Alan Kim/The Roanoake Times)

Snap out of it!

Hi. You may remember me as the owner of this blog.

Where have I been?

Oh, here and there. Working and playing. And dancing lots of flamenco.

And dealing with a really bad case of writer's block, which I need to snap out of soon, because I'm now part of the writing team at Bring It On!, which I'm really excited about.

Of course, I'll still be posting here, but perhaps I'll focus my political commentary over at the other place, because this blogging? It's real hard work, y'know.

Anyway. That's what's new with me.

How about you?

Oh, great.

So I finally decided to tear into my box of Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies that have been sitting at my desk for weeks.

There's freakin' trans fats in this bitch. Dammit.

Sure, the label says 0 grams trans fats, but "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil" is right there, #3 on the ingredients list. That means there could be up to 0.5 grams of trans fats in a serving, which is four cookies. (The FDA allows manufacturers to label a food or dietary supplement as having zero trans fats if it has less than 0.5 grams per serving.)

Sure, it's a relatively small amount. But damn, these sneaky trans fats. They're everywhere!

(Photo snagged here.)

Oakland Goods

I wanted to highlight a new blog I just added to my blogroll.

One of the things I love about living in Oakland is the sense of pride many people feel about this city. Sure, it's got it's share of problems---nobody's denying that Oakland has a long way to go on that front---but that doesn't mean that this city doesn't have its shining moments.

Oakland Goods does a great job of highlighting this city's cultural and artistic nuggets of greatness.

If you live or work in Oakland, or are looking to explore what I like to call this "diamond in the rough kind of city," check out this blog for some inspiration.

(Cross-posted on the Beast Blog.)

Green Zone Security Breach

I guess this is one of those "bad days" Bush was talking about.

Q: Who's yo baby daddy?

A: Larry Birkhead.

Moving on ...

(Photo credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Monday evening YouTube blogging

Yes, Dear Reader, I do realize that posting YouTube videos does not constitute proper blogging.

But seriously, I had to share this clip of Alanis Morisette doing a cover of "My Humps" by the Black Eyed Peas.



I thought I was over her. I was mistaken.

If you've been living in a cave for the last year or so, see the original song here.

(Props to BYO for the link.)

Knitters of the World, Unite!

As some of you know, we here at You Forgot Poland! are always looking for ways to support and give voice to some worthy causes.

Here’s another one: The Red Scarf Project.

From the project’s web site:

Send warmth and encouragement to America’s college-bound foster youth. OFA needs thousands of handmade scarves to put in our Valentine Care Packages to these parentless youth attending college on their own. Your handiwork will truly be the personal touch in these packages and bring students the encouragement they need to move forward and graduate to a brighter future. For over 25 years, OFA has provided funding and family-like support to foster youth in transition. www.orphan.org

Nikko, a Silicon Valley youngster --- who, I have on the very best authority, is one of the most adorable and intelligent kids you'll ever meet --- has taken up this cause as part of his Homeschool Service Project. Won't you help him out? Click here to read Nikko's hand-written appeal and sign up to join. He's set a goal of 100 scarves by January 2008.

(Thanks to May for the heads up.)

What I'm listening to

Ladies and gentle people, Amy Winehouse:

Joe Francis Goes Wild, Goes to Jail

Things aren't going so well for 'Girls Gone Wild' Founder Joe Francis:

A federal judge in Panama City, Fla., on Thursday ordered "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis jailed for contempt of court in a civil suit brought by seven young women who claimed the entrepreneur's film crews had placed them in sexually explicit situations.

Francis, the Santa Monica-based multimillionaire who has made a fortune selling risque videos of scantily clad coeds, was ordered by U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak to surrender to court by noon Thursday, but hadn't done so by mid-evening.

Francis told the Associated Press late Thursday that Smoak "had lost his mind."

"This judge has gone as far as to call me the devil and an evildoer," he said. "It is a case of a judge gone wild."

First of all, he should go to jail just for making that corny-ass remark.

Also, I'm not defending this scumbag by any means, but this lawsuit? These seven young women trying to sue Francis for the Girls Gone Wild film crew putting them in sexually explicit situations? Get real. You girls know damn well what GGW is all about. Come on, now.

Photo credit: Evan Agostini/Getty Images

A Volvo does not a "whip" make.

Please keep the A's in Oakland. If only so these guys don't make any more of these videos:



(Props to Miss Pretty in Pink for the link.)